Description

Japanese artist Sugai Ken presents a kaleidoscopic radio play inspired by the traditional Japanese art of Mingei.

In Sugai Ken’s own words:

”In recent years I have been researching old Japanese culture and customs in order to deepen my musical production. I found that, countless times, we still don’t see through it as a whole. I am still excited to find that there are many untouched roots yet to be discovered which only motivates me to pursuit my research further.

As I dig deeper, I’m always struck with the general idea that “everything has its own ground”, otherwise known as rigid ideas and concepts.
Indeed, it is important to have a clear ground to explore things from. Especially as our times are overloaded with too much information, things which are spoon fed to us will always be short lived, so for me it becomes a case of those rigid ideas becoming less flexible.

One of the many benefits of computer music is being able to separate it from history/traditions and allowing you to simply enjoy mixing sounds and concepts, regardless of its original meaning. By being free from ‘having to’ make sense we can make creation much more enjoyable.

When I made this album I put my priority in freedom, rather than being stuck with those rigid ideas and concepts. This way I could really enjoy and get deep into the ‘mixology’ of it all. Like my other works, Japanese is always a fundamental motif and I envision it like an imaginary radio drama by adding spontaneous dialogs throughout.

I will be happy if listeners pay attention to these (and other) details and enjoy listening to my work.” Sugai Ken, 2018

Translated by Micheeky and re-edited by Gonçalo