Toshio Hosokawa - Deep Silence (2004)


a strange album i picked up - the odd numbered tracks are modern performances of gagaku, or traditional Japanese court music, and the evens are new compositions. the only 2 instruments used are the sho (a free reed) and the accordion (yeah, that one). old pieces or new, they all sound incredibly avant-garde. but a warning - it moves glacially and is more about sound and texture than harmony. the range of sounds moves from pure tones and deep groans to bagpipe-esque wheezes and shrieks. very challenging.

uh...?

5 Responses so far.

  1. Rob says:

    Challenging indeed.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I think this forms part of the soundtrack to the Matthew Barney film "Drawing Restraint 9" featuring his wife Bjork. It's really nice though! Although there is a soundtrack album to that as well.

  3. Anonymous says:

    nope, different music in Drawing Restraint 9. altho the sho performer Mayumi Miyata is the same.

  4. Deino says:

    Beautiful, it does sound quite modern! Yet elegant and ancient. I'm loving it.

  5. This is an incredibly beautiful album! Thank you so much for posting this. Greatly appreciated.

Leave a Reply