The music of multi-instrumental Japanese sound artist Asuna has reshaped multiple facets of the experimental music scene of Japan, from ambient and drone to improvisation. In an Australian premiere, Asuna’s sonic performance featuring 100 keyboards will resonate throughout The Substation this October as part of Melbourne Festival International Arts Festival.
Since the late 90s, Asuna has created experimental sound works that vault genre divides, crossing from hip hop to hardcore punk to freak folk noise and low-fi pop. Performances might feature sound sources as diverse as popping candy, wind-up toys and kazoos, but the playfulness of the compositions belie the profound sensibilities of a true avant-garde artist.
His landmark site-specific work, 100 Keyboards, is an auditory experience in which one hundred cheap plastic keyboards play the same key, generating an undulating sonic harmony both mesmerising and mysterious. The crowd of sounds takes on its own kind of mass, while subtle acoustic variations emerge, hover and retreat.
“Asuna’s playful and exploratory music is just a cathedral of sound,” said Melbourne Festival Artistic Director Jonathan Holloway. “What better place to have that amount of thrumming musical energy than Melbourne’s own Substation in Newport.”
“Asuna’s live performances are an experience; textured soundscapes that blur the lines between art and music.” – Tokyo Art Beat
100 Keyboards
The Substation, 1 Market Street, Newport
Season: 10 – 13 October 2018
Bookings: www.thesubstation.org.au
For more information, visit: www.festival.melbourne for details.
Image: 100 Keyboards – photo by ASUNA