"Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Chaos"
–Kodo 35th Anniversary Production–

The first work that I did with the Kodo ensemble was a piece for the Kodo One Earth Special Tour in 2003. Following that came Amaterasu, DADAN, Legend, Mystery, and Eternity. I've been thinking about how to create pieces with a wider musical spectrum, so this time, I went ahead and added Western-style drum sets. Already, in Legend, I had put in timpani, and they fit in with the sound of Japanese drums unexpectedly well. Now I use them in most of my creations as an "after echo" of the reverberations of taiko, and for me they've become essential.

In this way, as I've been experimenting with various kinds of percussion, I've come to realize that not only timpani and drum sets, but Japanese drums and Western percussion – they are all percussion and that's that.

If performers –as percussion players– can execute a program with artistic and musical merit, then whether it's from East or West, from ancient times, today, or the future, I feel that all sounds can merge and we can listen to them with pleasure.

Art follows a cycle of tradition and new development as it advances into the future. As human beings we tend to look back fondly on the past and naturally view the future with some unease. But if we resolutely try out new things, we're able to experience a new and fresh atmosphere.

If you look up "Chaos" in the dictionary, it says, "everything is all mixed up without differentiation, and nothing is clear."

From chaos to harmonious merging – when you think of it, that's naturally the origin of the universe. And in our own hearts, this exists floating amidst the chaos. Within chaos we find harmony, and this then dissolves again into chaos…

Although it's a world that can't be expressed well by words, thoughts, or feelings, I hope you can experience it with us in a pure spirit of happiness.

Tamasaburo Bando
Artistic Director