Tag ‘Kodo One Earth Tour’
“Another Side of ‘Mystery'” by Otodaiku
The “Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery” North America Tour is about to begin. This production premiered in Japan in December 2013 and it has just set off on its first tour abroad. We are really looking forward to seeing how the audiences in the USA and Canada react to this new programme.
Last year, we released the music from “Mystery” as an album, which captures the work in another unique light. The composers created new arrangements of their stage pieces especially for the album, which we then recorded at Kodo Village.
Each performer took great care to pack each and every sound with feeling. We hope you will enjoy the album, as a fresh look at the music from this “One Earth Tour” stage performance.
“Mystery” is available from Kodo performance venues, Kodo Online Store, iTunes, CD Baby, and Amazon MP3.
【Listen to Track Samples Online】Discography | Mystery
【Purchase Download Version】iTunes, Amazon MP3, CD Baby
【Purchase CD】Kodo Online Store
【”Kodo One Earth Tour: Mystery” Preview】YouTube
“Transit at Incheon International Airport” by Tetsumi Hanaoka
Jan. 26, 2015
A couple of hours after we left Japan, we arrived at Incheon International Airport in South Korea, were we waited in transit for our flight to Vancouver.
We ate lunch, looked over our tour schedule, double-checked our recent performance videos, and did other bits & pieces of tour preparation to pass the time.
See you soon, North America!
“Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery” North America Tour
“Our Morning Departure from Sado Island” by Shogo Komatsuzaki
Jan. 25, 2015
Sado Island sunrises are so beautiful.
The freezing cold air stinging my nose, quiet waves, birds chirping, the scent of the mountains…
I will remember these sensations, sights, and sounds, and take them with me on the road.
All over the world, people experience nature in the same way, using with all their senses.
We have a young cast for this tour and we will do our very best, make each day count, and work hard in the hope that our audiences can sense nature, Sado Island, and Japan, through our performances.
Off we go!
North America, see you soon!
Our farewell from Kodo Village (Taken aboard the Kodo bus)
“Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery” North America Tour
“Studying Iwami Kagura in Shimane” by Tetsumi Hanaoka
Happy New Year!
I wish you all the best for the year ahead and thank you in advance for your support.
So, how did you all spend your New Year’s?
I went to Yunotsu in Shimane Prefecture to study Iwami Kagura (Iwami: a region, the west part of Shimane Prefecture/ Kagura: dance and music for the kami, or deities) with some of my fellow Kodo members. Our group, including a couple of new members, will perform the serpent dance Orochi featured in “Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery,” on the North American Tour that starts on January 28.
We were taught by Mr. Taizo Kobayashi and other members Yunotsu Maiko Renchu, a group of local performers that uphold Iwami Kagura in Yunotsu. Mr. Kobayashi is one of members who had helped us to create the programme for “Mystery,” who is an Iwami Kagura performer and a craftsman who carves masks. Mr. Kobayashi made the heads of all the serpents we use on stage for our “Mystery” performances.
During this visit, our lessons were mainly for the new members who will join this programme for the first time. They were taught to make very detailed movements so that the heads and bodies would move smoothly and they learned how to move so that the serpents would look real on stage. I also learned many new things. I can now see that while Iwami Kagura looks simple, it is performed with really well-refined movements.
During these rehearsals, one of our missions was to take part in the local evening Kagura performance as serpents. This is a regular performance for Yunotsu Maiko Renchu, which is held at the Tatsuno-gozen Shrine every Saturday night. I was also fortunate enough to take part in this performance when I first came to learn Iwami Kagura here two years ago.
“Kodo One Earth Tour 2014: Eternity Tour Finale” by Yuichiro Funabashi
Kodo One Earth Tour 2014: Eternity
We had the tour finale of “Kodo One Earth Tour 2014: Eternity” in Niigata on Dec. 25, 2014.
Thank you very much to everyone who came to see our performances on this debut tour. This production was full of challenges for Kodo as an ensemble and all the performers individually due to the limitless theme of “Eternity” under the direction of Tamsaburo Bando; the work was entirely created using brand new compositions with great attention to detail in the way we produce each sound.
This was the debut tour of this programme, but thanks to the warm applause and feedback from our audiences, we were able to improve our performance day by day. We are truly grateful to everyone for their encouragement.
Kodo has a really varied lineup planned for 2015 and we look forward to seeing you all at a theater somewhere in Japan or abroad. The “Eternity” tour will continue in Japan from June and we aim to bring you an even further evolved sound. We will strive to exceed your expectations. See you soon!
Photos: Takashi Okamoto
“Five Back-to-Back Performances in Tokyo” by Mariko Omi
Kodo One Earth Tour 2014: Eternity
From Dec. 19 through 23, we had five days of performances at Bunkyo Civic Hall in Tokyo. Many people came to see us perform each day.
For this production, “Eternity,” the artistic direction requires detailed movements and delicate sounds during quiet scenes. To improve the performance, everyday we reflected on the performance from the previous day, checked those movements, and talked about the tempo of certain pieces.
During consecutive performances at the same venue, we have more spare time than on a one-day-only performance. So, during this period new members can learn how the senior members use their time to warm up and get in the zone before each performance. They get given specific advice like, “Make your time to rest your ears.”
The audience reacted completely differently each day, even at the same venue, so we enjoyed their unique responses and were kept on our toes for all five days.
After that, we had our final performance for the tour in Niigata City, my hometown!
“Kodo One Earth Tour: Eternity”
“Backstage Tour” by Naomi Iseki
After the “Kodo One Earth Tour2014: Eternity” Tokyo performance on Dec. 22, we held a backstage tour for a special group of people who handle our ticket sales.
We don’t get to offer this kind of tour usually, but we were able to show this group around backstage with the support of our junior members.
Yosuke Oda appeared as a special guest! He played a hirado-odaiko drum with an array of different drumsticks. It was a very short time, but I think everyone enjoyed it.
Thank you to all of the participants for joining us! I would like to plan this kind of tour more often in future, so I hope you’ll have a chance to come along, too!
“New Piece Michiru” by Mitsuru Ishizuka
“Kodo One Earth Tour: Eternity” New Piece Michiru
On our current tour, we have performed on Sado Island, and in Nagaoka, Nagoya, Osaka, Okayama, Hiroshima and Fukuoka.
Right now, we are in Tokyo.
In this production, we play my brand new piece Michiru.
When I first heard that the theme of this performance would be “Eternity,” for me it conjured the image of something “revolving.” I don’t know what is revolving exactly.
Perhaps it is like Sun or Moon orbiting, or the Earth revolving, or the hands of time turning over and over again. It could be the spirals and cycles of people’s everyday lives…
I took that image of “turning around” and worked to create a new piece in my favorite “taiko-meets-dance” style.
The title “Michiru” means “to be full.” It came from the words of our choreographer, Ms. Kawahara, who said “As the piece goes on, the power increases little by little until it is full like a full moon. (My name, Mitsuru, is similar to the name of this piece, but I didn’t name it after myself!)
Please come to see us play it live in Tokyo or Niigata!
Kodo One Earth Tour 2014: Eternity
Dec. 19 (Fri)–23 (Tue/Public Hol.) Bunkyo Civic Hall, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo
Dec. 25 (Thu) Niigata Prefectural Civic Center, Niigata City
CD Kodo “Mystery” Now on Sale!
Our brand new album, “Mystery,” was released today! It is now available at our performance venues in Japan and from the Kodo Online Store.
The first 300 customers to purchase it will receive a special gift: an original Kodo “Mystery” sticker. We hope you’ll add it to your album collection.
Kodo “Mystery”
http://kodo.shop.multilingualcart.com/goods_en_jpy_77.html
Kodo Online Store
http://kodo.shop.multilingualcart.com/index_en_jpy.html
Popular New “Eternity” Tour Merchandise!
Brand new t-shirts and tenugui towels featuring “Kodo One Earth Tour 2014: Eternity”-inspired motifs are on sale now at our performance venues in Japan.
Left: Masayuki Sakamoto & Mariko Omi model the new “Eternity” t-shirts.
Right: Shogo Komatsuzaki shows the new “Eternity” tenugui towel. Traditional Japanese tenugui are thin cotton towels which are great as a sports towel, bandana, or even wall hanging.
*Also available from the Kodo Online Store
[T-shirt] Kodo Tour T-shirt “Eternity”
http://www.kodo.or.jp/store/38.html
[Tenugui Towel] “Eternity”
http://www.kodo.or.jp/store/24_1455.html
For orders in English, please contact the Store by email.
Kodo Online Store (Japanese) http://www.kodo.or.jp/store/
Kodo Online Store (English) http://kodo.shop.multilingualcart.com/
Email: store.eng@kodo.or.jp