I recently finished composing the music for a new project, The Witching Hour. As the title suggests, this is an hour-long series of ambient “responses” to Aokigahara (also known as Jukai – the Sea of Trees), the world’s most popular suicide site, second to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
Each “response” can be heard below:
I have lots of ideas for where things might go next – including the possibility of setting it to dance.
Watch this space…
Last Thursday’s Shostakovich Undressed event was really quite a spectacle. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could combine Shostakovich’s turbulent chamber symphony in C minor with spoken word, electroacoustic responses and burlesque dancers…yet, somehow it worked. I don’t believe that such a thing has been attempted before, certainly not in Aberdeen. Of course, it wasn’t to everyone’s taste – I overheard one audience member remarking, “I’m not sure that it’s Shostakovich Undressed, but rather Shostakovich tortured!” You can’t win everyone over, I suppose.
I overheard that last comment following the performance of my own work, the video and sound of which can be found here:
During rehearsals, composer Clive Grace took the following pictures. The video projection of my own work is visible in the background:
Along with sound artists Pete Stollery, Suk-Jun Kim, Clive Grace and Chandra Chapman, I’ll be providing a “response” to Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony in C Minor (Op. 110a) which will be performed in its entirety by the Scottish Ensemble at The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen on 6th June 2013.
The performances will also provide live music for 3 burlesque performers:
- Tom Harlow
- Kim Khaos
- Cherryfox Silhouette-Burlesque
SERG (Sound Emporium Research Group) will be presenting manipulations of the music, and members of the Creative Writing Society will be performing original work inspired by Shostakovich.
The night will be rounded off by DJ A La Fu.
Shostakovich Undressed: Breaking Through Perceptions
The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
Thursday, June 6 2013 9:00 PM
£8 (Students £5)
Tickets available here.
Further details on the Facebook event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/130767537125593/
A few weeks ago, I was chatting with one of my students and, I’m not sure how, but the subject of Japan’s so-called “Suicide Forest” came up. I can’t remember what the exact context of the conversation was that led us to this, but it was one of those casual chats that sometimes finds a way of sticking in the brain like a fish-hook. Somewhere, at some point, I’d read about this place, or in some way had become aware of it, because what my student was telling me was vividly familiar to me. In hindsight, it’s probably no great shock that this conversation had triggered a memory - Aokigahara (also known as Jukai - the Sea of Trees) is second only to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge as the world’s most popular suicide site.
A bit of online digging revealed a wealth of largely sensationalist explorations into this place and its tragic history. So far, the only documentation that I’ve found which manages to retain any sense of dignity and respect is this one:
It is said that one of the key characteristics of Jukai is the sense of solitude or isolation which is evoked both by the dense trees blocking all external sounds and by the absence of wildlife. Despite being an area which is widely-documented, particularly online, it still appears to be a place which allows for great privacy.
To further add to Jukai’s dark mystique, the forest has a long association with Japanese mythology, and particularly with the yūrei who, it is said, often appear there during Japan’s “witching hour” (ushimitsudoki), 2-3am. The yūrei - or at least a variation of the concept – have appeared in modern culture, particularly in Japanese horror movies such as Ringu (Ring) or Ju-on (The Grudge). Traditionally, their appearance is of long, straight black hair and they wear white burial robes. It is thought that they are spirits, angry at having died in a violent manner, e.g. murder or suicide.
All of this has inspired me to compose a piece – or rather, series of pieces – based around Jukai and the so-called witching hour. The work will be an hour-long series of ambient ‘responses’ exploring moments of calm, solitude, distress, tension, horror, self-reflection and resolution.
It’s important to say that, despite a great yearning, I have yet to visit Jukai. At the moment, all I have to go on is my own life experience and research. These pieces are personal ‘responses’ to (my present understanding of) a place and a phenomenon.
Here is the first response:
More to follow soon.
I’ve been reading a bit about hauntology lately and considering how my own work relates to the concept. The term itself appears to be somewhat ambiguous. Introduced by Derrida, it is, put simply, concerned with the significance of the past in our present. The term has also been applied to certain fields of music and, in particular, artists who have mined digital and analogue archives in search of potentially creative material. As a concept, I can’t help thinking that it’s all a bit obvious and has already been exhausted in several other areas of philosophy. Still, I like the “literal” element of phantoms and spectres that seems to be a recurring theme: the imprinting of a past life or death on something as tangible as a building or landscape.
A couple of weeks ago, I went to see a live performance by the band Public Service Broadcasting. During the gig I kept thinking about this whole hauntology malarkey. Sound-wise they have a very post-rock feel – long instrumental numbers that slowly build to a cacophonous crescendo – albeit with a strong sense of parody – and littered with samples of “Keep calm…”-style commentary, which struck me as being very nostalgic and yet very current – (I’ve lost count of the many variations of “Keep Calm and Carry On” that I’ve seen on Facebook in the last couple of years, and I wonder how many of those posting the images are aware of its origins). Visually, the performance shared that same kind of recontextualisation as the audio material. A stack of old-fashioned TVs had been piled on either side of the stage displaying meticulously edited archival news footage, occasionally combined with real-time video of the audience. Whether this was a conscious fusing of past and present or pure gimmick remains unclear.
Overall, the mood was satirical, at times recalling Harry Enfield’s public service announcement skits (see below). Even the ritual of live performance was parodied, a faceless, stiff upper lipped-voice introducing the band members, telling the audience how nice it was to be “back in…[pregnant pause]…Aberdeen!” or announcing the end of the show followed by – gosh! – an encore.
It’s hard to imagine where PSB will go next – it feels like a very self-contained, one-off kind of project. But maybe that’s the point…? The sources that the band have incorporated into their act are ripe for piss-taking, even if many of those sources come from a dark part of our history. Perhaps in a few years someone will create an act based entirely around the “dirty old celebrity” epidemic that we’re currently being made aware of. Imagine a band riffing over Jimmy Saville’s “jingle jangle jewellery” catchphrase. Would it be any more distasteful?
And finally…
Last Saturday’s performance went much better than any of the Cruel and Unusual members could have hoped. The event was sold out and, unfortunately, some people were turned away at the door.
After a long day of rehearsals, I think we managed to give the best performance we possibly could – nerves and adrenalin probably helped! I even managed to recite texts in Latin without fluffing my lines…
Si habeatur corrupta!
Documenting the event was photographer Carla Coulthard. Below are a selection of images from the performance and post-show discussion (click to enlarge). Make sure to check out her website for more of her fantastic work:
http://www.littlebluecat.com/CruelandUnusual
Many thanks to all who made it along. We plan on performing Cruel and Unusual again in the near future. Watch this space…
Final preparations… One (or rather four) of the key elements arrived yesterday in the shape of masks. These were created by Jane Stewart Wright and Barry Wright. See below for an idea of the process of their creation:
I particularly like the repeated use of the astrological symbol for Taurus.
This afternoon we spent a very inspiring couple of hours with a dance tutor at Citymoves in Aberdeen…where I realised how unfit I am. It was a fantastic learning experience and I think the performance will be all the stronger for it.
