The Squid's Ear Magazine


Tsunoda, Toshiya / Taku Unami: Wovenland (erstwhile)

The liner notes give good detail to each composition from these Japanese sound artists and composers Toshiya Tsunoda and Taku Unami, reworking and transforming field recordings from a diverse set of environmental locations by changing pitch, playback speeds, frequency, amplitude, &., creating 11 compositions, imbuing the mundane with unusual and surprising aural attributes.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Toshiya Tsunoda-composer, performer

Taku Unami-composer, performer


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Label: erstwhile
Catalog ID: 084
Squidco Product Code: 25629

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2018
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Recorded by the artists.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

The liner notes give good detail to each composition from these Japanese sound artists and composers Toshiya Tsunoda and Taku Unami, reworking and transforming field recordings from a diverse set of environmental locations by changing pitch, playback speeds, frequency, amplitude, &., creating 11 compositions, imbuing the mundane with unusual and surprising aural attributes. The beauty of their compositions is the way they placate the listener with normal environments and then jolt them with unusual changes to their recordings, some of them very abrupt, then shifting back to more environmental work. The results are unpredictable but compelling, the diversity of approaches making for a rewarding listen.


Artist Biographies

"Toshiya Tsunoda (Kanagawa, 1964) is a sound creator known for works of field recording and collage. He studied oil painting at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, where he received his MFA. Aside from his work as a sound creator, he is also known for his wide-ranging activities as an installation artist and performer. By using small or contact microphones to produce his field recordings, Tsunoda's sound works capture the acoustic characteristics of spaces with dazzling clarity. These works show the ways in which particular vibrational phenomena shape the subjective experience of time and space. His exhibitions include "Soundings: A Contemporary Score" with Luke Fowler, MoMA, New York (2013), "Simple Interactions Sound Art from Japan," Museet For Samtids Kunst, Denmark (2011), Yokohama Triennale with Luke Fowler, Yokohama (2008) and "Half Life," Kilmartin Glen, Argyll, Scotland (2007). Tsunoda has also performed at Inverleith House, Edinburgh (2012) and Stuk Arts Centre, Leuven, Belgium (2010)."

-Toshiya Tsunoda Website (http://toshiya-tsunoda.blogspot.com/)
4/28/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Taku Unami was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. He is a composer and improviser working with assorted stringed instruments, including the guitar, mandolin, and contraguitar, laptop and vibrating objects (from which he amplifies the inaudible vibrations). Despite being linked to minimal improvisation his music is hardly classifiable, being able to surprise listeners on every new release, raising unforeseen questions and forging new paths for improvisation. He is part of the group HOSE and has active collaborations with Mattin, Taku Sugimoto and Masahiko Okura. In the past he has worked with Radu Malfatti, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Klaus Filip, Masafumi Ezaki, Burkhard Stangl, Rhodri Davies and Keith Rowe, among others. Unami has also composed for film, including 'Lost My Way' (directed by Takeshi Furusawa) and 'In 1,000,000 years' (directed by Isao Okishima). He has released more than 30 records, both solo and in numerous groups and collaborations. He runs the influential label Hibari Music and co-organizes the Tokyo concert series Chamber Music Concerts with Taku Sugimoto and Masahiko Okura."

-Taku Unami Facebook page, Jon Abbey (https://www.facebook.com/Taku.Unami/about/?__xt__=33.%7B%22logging_data%22%3A%7B%22page_id%22%3A%22179276168795059%22%2C%22event_type%22%3A%22clicked_view_page_about%22%7D%7D)
4/28/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. The Farthest Land #1 (Inzai, Chiba) (10:00)

2. Park Cleaning / Crickets Chirping (2:53)

3. In The Park (2:14)

4. In The City, Fire Sirens (13:48)

5. The Farthest Land #2 (Higashimurayama, Tokyo) (5:00)

6. Crickets Chirping - Water Fountain In A Park (1:10)

7. Parking Lot For Bicycles / The Library (6:00)

8. Shorefront Of A Lake / Commercial Space (3:00)

9. In A Farmland (4:02)

10. From The Rooftop, Railway Terminal Station (0:44)

11. The Farthest Land #3 (Inzai, Chiba) (10:00)

Related Categories of Interest:

erstwhile

Electro-Acoustic
Electroacoustic Composition
Japanese & Asian Improv/Rock
Duo Recordings
New in Experimental & Electronic Music

Search for other titles on the label:
erstwhile.


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