Japanese and American Music Mashing Duo Jam in NYC for the First Time in over 10 Years

Scratching Vinyl, Tripping Turntables and Shredding Guitars

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE and CHRISTIAN MARCLAY: Turntable Duo

Saturday, November 19, 2011, 8:30 pm, at Japan Society

 

** With a Pre-Concert Talk with the Artists at 5:00 pm **


大友良英＆クリチャン・マークレー ：ターンテーブル・デュオ・コンサート

New York, NY -- Japan Society presents a one-night-only concert featuring the acclaimed Japanese multi-instrumentalist and composer OTOMO Yoshihide taking the stage with internationally-recognized visual and audio artist Christian Marclay, for a rare live, improvisational jam session played with vinyl records, turntables, mixers and guitar. For fans of avant-garde music, students of turntablism and anyone curious about the use of sound in contemporary art, OTOMO YOSHIHIDE and CHRISTIAN MARCLAY: Turntable Duo, taking place Saturday, November 19, promises to be one of the year's most revelatory events.

OTOMO Yoshihide boasts a groundbreaking résumé. The Japanese native has spent the past 30 years stretching the limits of free jazz, improvisation and noise music with an array of approaches and styles.  Otomo has released dozens of experimental recordings, including a full-length album collaboration with Marclay, Moving Parts, in 2000.  Most recently, Otomo collaborated with the Japanese poet Ryoichi Wago and musician/activist Michiro Endo to create Project Fukushima!, an ongoing performance festival staged to support those affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster of 2011.  In addition to his live performance with Marclay on November 19, he is introducing a new installation artwork entitled Without Records, shown exclusively at Japan Society November 17-20.  A lengthy interview with Otomo is available online at furious.com.

Christian Marclay is one of the acknowledged inventors of turntablism, the art of creating experimental sound using nothing but pre-recorded records, multiple turntables and a mixer.  Roughly concurrent with the birth of hip-hop break-beat DJ-ing pioneered by DJ Kool Herc, Marclay's late-1970's experiments in turntablism drew largely from the light-hearted, found-art style of the 1960's Fluxus movement.  For multiple decades, Marclay has utilized vinyl records as a creative tool to explore sound in new and exciting fashion. His recent experimental video, The Clock, won Marclay the prestigious Golden Lion for Best Artist at the 2011 Venice Biennial and caused a sensation when it was exhibited at NYC's Paula Cooper Gallery earlier this year, leading to round-the-block lines to enter the gallery. 

Prior to the concert, Japan Society hosts an open conversation between Yoshihide, Marclay, and writer/musician Alan Licht, moderated by ethnomusicologist David Novak.  The discussion starts at 5:00pm on November 19 and is open to the general public, either as a separate event or as a combination talk-and-performance ticket.

 

COMPLETE SHOW INFORMATION:

 

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE and CHRISTIAN MARCLAY: Turntable Duo
Saturday, November 19
Pre-Concert Talk, 5:00 pm; Doors/Bar Open, 6:30 pm; Concert 8:30 pm
Talk: $10 / $8 Japan Society Members; Concert:  $25/$20; Combo: $30/$24
Advance, reserved seat: 212-715-1258 or www.japansociety.org

Two experimental music giants, OTOMO Yoshihide and Christian Marclay, perform together in New York for the first time in over a decade.  Multi-media composer and visual artist, Christian Marclay, one of the world's leading artists and winner of the 54th Venice Biennale Golden Lion Award, pushed the boundaries of musical creation when he pioneered the use of the turntable as a musical instrument.  Otomo Yoshihide, electroacoustic improvisation musician, free jazz guitarist and one of the most influential figures in Japan’s experimental music scene, earned an international reputation as a central figure amongst Japan's avant-garde.  Together, these unconventional "turntablists" will again push to the extreme what is possible with turntables and records. Turntable Duo is presented as part of the Performa 11 biennial.

PRIOR TO THE CONCERT (5:00pm):
A Discussion with Christian Marclay, Otomo Yoshihide and Alan Licht
In an exploration of their artistic careers, Marclay and Otomo are joined by musician, writer and curator Alan Licht.They examine the past, present and future of avant-garde music movements in Japan, America and across the globe. Moderated by David Novak, Assistant Professor of Music at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

RELATED EVENT:
Otomo Yoshihide’s Installation: Without Records
Thursday-Sunday, November 17-20

Thur, 11:00 am-6:00 pm; Fri, 11:00 am-9:00 pm; Sat & Sun, 11:00 am-5:00 pm
FREE and open to the public
Otomo’s computer operated installation – a series of empty turntables set up to produce a variety of sounds – created as an homage to Christian Marclay’s album Record Without Cover (1985) and exhibited at museums and galleries throughout Japan in recent years, will be on view in Japan Society’s public space for New Yorkers to see and hear.

 

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Founded in 1907, Japan Society is a world-class, multidisciplinary hub for both English and Japanese-speaking artists and audiences.  Since the inception of the Performing Arts Program in 1953, Japan Society has produced more than 600 showings of Japan’s finest performing arts to an extensive American audience in and out of New York City.  Program topics range from the traditional to the avant-garde.  Japan Society commissions new works, administrates national tours, organizes residency programs for American and Japanese artists and develops and distributes educational programs.  The Society is responsible for hosting more than 100 events each year.  An American nonprofit, nonpolitical organization, the Society’s overarching goal is to cultivate a constructive, resonant and dynamic relationship between the people of the U.S. and Japan.

 

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE and CHRISTIAN MARCLAY: Turntable Duo takes place Saturday, November 19. Pre-Concert Talk, 5:00 pm; Doors/Bar Open, 6:30 pm; Concert 8:30 pm. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, between First and Second Avenues, accessible by the 4/5/6 trains via the 42nd Street-Grand Central Station or the E / V at Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street. Talk: $10 /$8 Japan Society Members; Concert:  $25/$20; Combo: $30/$24. For tickets call the Japan Society box office at 212-715-1258, visit www.japansociety.org, or visit the box office in person Monday-Friday from 11:00 am-6:00 pm, and Saturday & Sunday from 11:00 am-5:00pm. 

Turntable Duo is supported by grants from The Japan Foundation through the Performing Arts JAPAN program and The Asahi Shimbun Foundation. The installation Without Records is made possible through the cooperation of Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM), and the technical support provided by YCAM InterLab. Special thanks to TOKYU HOTEL for artist accommodations.Turntable Duo is part of Performa 11.  Performa 11, the fourth edition of the internationally acclaimed biennial of new visual performance presented by Performa, will be held in New York City from November 1-21, 2011. The three-week biennial will showcase new work by more than 100 of the most exciting artists working today, in an innovative program breaking down the boundaries between visual art, music, dance, poetry, fashion, architecture, graphic design, and the culinary arts. Presented in collaboration with a consortium of more than 40 arts institutions and 25 curators, as well as a network of public spaces and private venues across the city, Performa 11 will ignite New York City with energy and ideas, acting as a vital “think tank” linking minds across the five boroughs and bringing audiences together for brilliant new performances in all disciplines. Performa is the leading organization dedicated to exploring the critical role of live performance in the history of twentieth-century art and to encourage new directions in performance for the twenty-first century. Performa launched New York’s first performance biennial, Performa 05, in 2005, followed by Performa 07 (2007), and Performa 09 (2009). Major support for Japan Society 2011-2012 Performing Arts Programs is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and the Endowment for the Performing Arts, established with leadership gifts from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Globus Family, Kyocera Corporation, The Starr Foundation and Toyota Motor Corporation. Additional major support is provided by the Odawara Art Foundation. MetLife Foundation is a Corporate Partner of Japan Society’s 2011-2012 Performing Arts season. Japan Society is also grateful to the following individuals, foundations, and government agencies for their generous support:  Dr. John K. Gillespie; The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.; Dr. and Mrs. Carl F. Taeusch II; Mr. Norton Belknap; Mr. Terry Brykczynski and Ms. Andrea Miller; Howard and Sarah Solomon, Mr. and Mrs. Dean R. Thacker; Mr. Alex York; Paula S. Lawrence; The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council and The New York State Council on the Arts. Transportation assistance is provided by All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.

 

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Media Contacts:

 

John Seroff, GreenHouse Publicity, 201-743-8536, greenhousepublicity@gmail.com

 

Shannon Jowett, Japan Society, 212-715-1205, sjowett@japansociety.org

Kuniko Shiobara, Japan Society, 212-715-1249, kshiobara