Artwork by Pisitakun
Asian Meeting Festival 2019
After successful editions in Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan, one of Asia's foremost underground music festival Asian Meeting Festival (AMF) returns to Tokyo. Artists from India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, representing the ever-expanding AMF artist network will gather and play a series of concerts at unique venues around the city.
Since its first concerts in 2005, AMF's legacy has been built around strong connections forged between participating artists. My first was 10 years ago - Asian Meeting Festival 2009 in Asahi Art Square Tokyo. There I met artists of different generations and regions and played intensively in various combinations throughout the three day program. This experience left a strong impression on me that influenced my future practice and I continue to have a relationship with these artists till this day. When Yuen Chee Wai and myself took on the role of curating the festival in 2014, we both intuitively knew from our own experience that "playing together" was at the core of this festival.
However, as we extended our programming to include a more diverse range of artists coming from different musical traditions and practices, we started to realize that the notion of "playing together" varied, and that establishing a common understanding was a central factor to the success of the festival. We wanted AMF to be more than just a one time gig for the artists, so we began planning concerts in unconventional locations where they had to discuss how to set up and structure the program. We also organized sound tours through natural and urban environments to facilitate time to spend together off stage but still focussed on sound. Although language is often a problem between the participants, during these activities they communicate through body language and humor, and more importantly they make an effort to listen and try to understand each other. It was in these moments where it became clear that what we were trying to achieve through "playing together" was actually built upon an act of "listening together." As a result, the improvised concerts we played took on a more organic form with fluent exchanges of sound and a musical playfulness from each artist.
The question of "how to listen together" became central to how we reach out to our audiences as well. For the last several years we have organized hands-on workshops and lectures on experimental practices of sound for public members and students. The process of building one's own instrument and playing sounds is not only empowering but also encourages a more inclusive listening and to an appreciation to all sounds in the environment. More than just showcasing unique artists, AMF has become a platform to experience how playing and listening are fundamentally connected and how we can arrive at shared values about music and beyond.
For this edition of AMF in Tokyo, we have gathered cross-disciplinary artists, whom many have already played at editions outside of Japan and others for the first time coming from India and various cities in Japan. While they spend a concentrated time together at unique venues around the city, we look forward to the music that will emerge from their collective listening.
dj sniff
concert
Concert #1
| Date | July 2, 2019 session1 14:30open 15:00start session2 17:30open 18:00start |
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| Location | Denchu Hirakushi House and Atelier 2-20-3 Ueno Sakuragi, Taito-ku, Tokyo 10 minutes walk from JR "Uguisudani Station" North Exit 10 minutes walk from JR "Nippori Station "South Exit 13 minutes walk from Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line "Nezu Station"Exit 1 * Denchu Hirakushi (1872-1979) was a sculptor known for merging traditional Japanese carving and modern realism. The Denchu Hirakushi House and Atelier, where he lived and created work for more than 50 years, is a traditional Japanese-style house that remains almost unchanged since it was built in 1919. We hope you can enjoy the concert while giving consideration to this precious building , which is under cultural property protection. |
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| Entrance Fee | Free : Reservation required, Each session limited 30 people | |
| Ticket | Apply for Session 1 Apply for Session 2 |
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| Line up | Pisitakun KUANTALAENG ［Bangkok］, NGO Tra My ［Hanoi］, Senyawa ［Yogyakarta］, Dharma ［Singapore］, Sheryl CHEUNG ［Taipei］, Seljuk RUSTUM ［Kochi］, dj sniff ［Tokyo］, YUEN Chee Wai ［Singapore］, Otomo Yoshihide ［Tokyo］ |
Concert #2
| Date | July 5, 2019｜18:30open 19:00start |
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| Location | BUoY 49-11 Senju Nakacho, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 6 minutes walk from Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line and Hibiya Line "Kitasenju Station"Exit 1 8 minutes walk from JR · Tobu · Tsukuba Express "Kitasenju Station"West Exit |
| Entrance Fee | [Advance] 3,000 yen, Students 1,800 yen [Door] 3,500 yen |
| Tickets | Apply from here |
| Line Up | Pisitakun KUANTALAENG ［Bangkok］, NGO Tra My ［Hanoi］, Senyawa ［Yogyakarta］, Dharma ［Singapore］, Sheryl CHEUNG ［Taipei］, Seljuk RUSTUM ［Kochi］, dj sniff ［Tokyo］, YUEN Chee Wai ［Singapore］, Otomo Yoshihide ［Tokyo］ |
| Guest Artists | Killer Bong ［Tokyo］, Mitsuhisa SAKAGUCHI ［Tokyo］, Shokuhin Matsuri a.k.a foodman ［Nagoya］ |
Concert #3
| Date | July 6, 2019｜16:30open 17:00start |
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| Location | OAG-Haus 7-5-56 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 8 minutes walk from Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Hanzomon Line "Aoyama Itchome Station" Exit 4 |
| Entrance Fee | [Advance] 3,000 yen, Students 1,800 yen [Door] 3,500 yen |
| Tickets | Apply from here |
| Line Up | NGO Tra My ［Hanoi］、Senyawa ［Yogyakarta］、Dharma ［Singapore］、Sheryl CHEUNG ［Taipei］、dj sniff ［Tokyo］、Pisitakun ［Bangkok］、YUEN Chee Wai ［Singapore］、Seljuk RUSTUM ［Kochi］ |
| Guest Artists | ANTIBODIES Collective ［Kyoto］、Eiko ISHIBASHI ［Tokyo］、Otomo Yoshihide ［Tokyo］、Manami KAKUDO ［Tokyo］ |
Workshop
Workshop Cari Padu
No voice is better than others. Cari Padu is a performative improvised choir workshop devised by Rully Shabara to create a seamless relation between chaos and harmony.
| Date | July 4, 2019.｜19:00~21:00（18:30open） |
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| Location | BUoY 49-11 Senju Nakacho, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 6 minutes walk from Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line and Hibiya Line "Kitasenju Station"Exit 1 8 minutes walk from JR · Tobu · Tsukuba Express "Kitasenju Station"West Exit |
| Entrance Fee | Free : Reservation required, Limited 30 people, Reservation acceptance start from June |
| Reservation for participation | Start from June |
Profile
- Pisitakun KUANTALAENG ［Bangkok］
Pisitakun KUANTALAENG started making visual arts in 2009, and started playing music sometime later with an interest in how expressions shape under different media environments. Historical events, synthetic sounds, and musical instruments inspire his songs. Pisitakun's practice represents a decisive break from many of his Thai peers in time when the country's history unfolds under an ongoing martial law since the military coup d'état on 22 May 2014-- he questions fundamental and increasingly universal values without merely decrying the fact of corruption or offering neat palliatives. His works are based on political speculation and the external and internal frustrations artists are subject to.- NGO Tra My ［Hanoi］
Ngo Tra My is one of Vietnam's leading dan bau soloists. Her field of musical activities range from not only performing traditional, contemporary and experimental music but also in its research and education. She is currently a dan bau lecturer at the Vietnam National Academy of Music and is a member of The Six Tones Experimental Group, The MMTM Contemporary Music Group, The Thang Long Traditional Music Group, and Vietnam Traditional Orchestra. She is a delegate of the Asian Traditional Orchestra and a member of One Asia Joint Concert Project. Since 2015, Tra My has been a music advisor of the C asean Consonant Project.- Senyawa (Rully SHABARA & Wukir SURYADI) ［Yogyakarta］
Yogyakarta's Senyawa embodies the aural elements of traditional Indonesian music whilst exploring the framework of experimental music practice, pushing the boundaries of both traditions. Their music strikes a perfect balance between their avant-garde influences and cultural heritage to create a truly contemporary Indonesian new music. Their sound is comprised of Rully Shabara's deft extended vocal techniques punctuating the frenetic sounds of instrument builder, Wukir Suryadi's modern-primitive instrumentation. Inventions like his handcrafted "Bamboo Spear" is sonically dynamic and amplify elements of traditional Indonesian instrumentation with garage guitar distortion.
Photo by Helambang Jaluardi
http://senyawa.tumblr.com/- Dharma ［Singapore］
Dharma is best known in Singapore as guitarist of avant-rock group The Observatory. His initial experimentations with the electric guitar were with effects and later on incorporating objects to bring it to a grittier level, often transcending to a mystical and industrial-esque dimension. Intergranular Space was his debut album as a solo performer and since 2015 he has been pursuing solo performances more actively. In 2018 he appeared at the AngelicA 28 in Bologna, Italy and also toured actively in Europe. His latest album Electric Animism was released in April 2019.
Photo by Josh Wells- Sheryl CHEUNG ［Taipei］
Sheryl Cheung works between experimental sound compositions, abstract scoring and performances to explore a material concept of life. She experiments with the idea of the body as an instrument that is continually played by affects. Growing up emotionally affiliated with many cultures, locations and communities, active listening became a way to deepen her awareness of the multi-worlds. She is also the co-founder of lololol.net, an art project that is currently exploring Taoist-informed mind and body technologies. Cheung currently lives and works in Taipei, where she is an independent artist and writer.- Seljuk RUSTUM ［Kochi］
Seljuk Rustum is a Kochi based arts practitioner originally from Kannur, Kerala. He is a painter, musician, curator, producer, recording engineer and the founder and current Creative Director of performance space Forplay and audio recording studio 3:1 Audiostation. As a musician he plays alto saxophone, guitar, percussion and synthesizer with several bands and an expanding collective of like minded artists. Being a self taught musician, his sound work is an extension of his visual work and his music is a mixture of joyful noise and simple naive melodies. His work has elements of folk, classical Indian, Arab music and free jazz. - YUEN Chee Wai ［Singapore］
Yuen Chee Wai is a musician, artist, designer based in Singapore. Often inspired by ideas drawn from philosophical and literary texts, and perspectives glimpsed through the filmic eye and photographic lens, Yuen's stylistic oeuvre in music is marked by internalized reflections on memory and loss, invisibility and indeterminacy. He is a member of the improvised music quartet FEN (Far East Network) and co-directs the AMF. He is also a member of the avant-rock band The Observatory. With twelve albums to date, the band has also conceived a vanguard of initiatives such as BlackKaji and the annual festival Playfreely.
Photo by Udo Siegfreidt
http://www.theobservatory.com.sg/- dj sniff ［Tokyo］
dj sniff (Takuro Mizuta Lippit) is a musician and curator in the field of experimental electronic arts and improvised music. His musical work builds upon a distinct practice that combines DJing, instrument design, and free improvisation. His collaborations include Evan Parker, Otomo Yoshihide, Martin Tetreault, Paul Hubweber, and Tarek Atoui. He was Artistic Director of STEIM in Amsterdam between 2007-2012 and Visiting Assistant Professor at the School of Creative Media City University Hong Kong between 2012-2017. He is now based in Tokyo where he acts as Co-Director of the AMF.
http://djsniff.com/- Otomo Yoshihide ［Tokyo］
Otomo Yoshihide was born in 1959 in Yokohama, and spent his teenage years in Fukushima, Japan. Over the years, he has insisted on being independent, composing a wide range of music from improvisation to noise music and pop, that has been internationally recognized. He has also produced and scored more than 70 movie soundtracks. In recent years, he has initiated a variety of musical collaborations that take place in unconventional settings and groupings of people titled "ensembles." He has awarded by the Ministry of Education for his work "PROJECT FUKUSHIMA!" and won the Japan Record Award for composing the theme music for TV drama "Amachan." AMF is his brainchild, first organized in 2005.
http://otomoyoshihide.com/
Guest Artists
- Killer Bong ［Tokyo］
Concert #2 
The blackest of them all.- Mitsuhisa SAKAGUCHI ［Tokyo］
Concert #2 
Mitsuhisa Sakaguchi is a keyboardist and synth player based in Tokyo since 2008. With his unique style of playing the keyboard through effects while at the same time also operating on multiple synths, a piano, and various oscillators, he actively performs in various settings such as solo improvisations, experimental projects, and supporting hardcore and pop bands. He has released three solo albums and various other projects including Stand Alone-404, Guru Host, Teneleven, and Wormhole.
http://enjyaqu.main.jp/- Shokuhin Matsuri a.k.a foodman ［Nagoya］
Concert #2 
Takahide Higuchi, better known as Shokuhin Matsuri a.k.a foodman is a DJ, trackmaker and painter originally from Nagoya, Japan. His music defies categorizations with an ever-evolving and mutating musical vocabulary that take inspirations from Chicago footwork to Okinawan folk music, ambient, and even J-pop. These influences are playfully twisting into titillating and enchanted sonic collages. His music has been released from international labels such as Orange Milk and Diplo's Mad Decent, and he has played at renowned events such as Unsound, Boiler Room, Low End Theory. He also hosts a monthly program at NTS Radio, London.
https://soundcloud.com/shokuhin-maturi- ANTIBODIES Collective ［Kyoto］
Concert #3 
ANTIBODIES is a collective of specialists with the idea of developing new interdisciplinary models for dynamic collaboration across spectrum of disciplines and boundaries. They examine how varied disciplines might relate, intersect and interact through series of experiments and researches that are designed to culminate into performance events, community workshops and other practices that contributes to larger social and educational structures. ANTIBODIES was established in 2015 by Kyoto-based performance artists Yoko Higashino and Toshio Kajiwara as a reincarnation of Dance Company Baby-Q - a genre-bending dance theatre group established in 2000 that have presented performance events and workshops worldwide.
http://www.antibo.org/- Toshio KAJIWARA (BING) ［Kyoto］
ANTIBODIES Collective 
In the early 1990s, Toshio Kajiwara started his unique improvised performances using turntables and tape players. He later formed an experimental music trio with Christian Marclay and extensively toured and played at international venues. Today, he is based in Kyoto where he formed the ANTIBODIES Collective composed of performance artists, visual artists, and engineers. With this group he explores distinct methods of sound and staging and is creating multifacet artworks through collaborations around Japan. Kajiwara continues to improvise and DJ, and in 2016 he opened Hitozoku Record, a record shop that specializes in second-hand records.
Photo by Yoshikazu Inoue- Yoko HIGASHINO ［Kyoto］
ANTIBODIES Collective 
Yoko Higashino is the choreographer and dancer for ANTIBODIES Collective. She has won numerous awards with her cutting-edge theater performances and has shown her work in theaters and festivals in in more than 55 cities in and outside of Japan. She organized Dance Company BABY-Q until 2014, and relocated to Kyoto where she founded ANTIBODIES Collective in 2015. Higashino collaborates with a wide range of artists to produce large scale theater works, performances, and installations.
Photo by Yoshikazu Inoue- Kenjiru÷Bien ［Kyoto］
ANTIBODIES Collective 
Kenjiru÷Bien is dancer who exposes his body in various situations to obtain the unknown. He was a member of Dance Company BABY-Q since 2005, and continues to play a significant role in all of ANTIBODIES Collective performances. He has collaborated with other groups such as Tonde Kara Shizuka and Kiro Pipe, and has made many perverse improvised sessions with musicians from different genres.
Photo by Yoshikazu Inoue- Eiko ISHIBASHI ［Tokyo］
Concert #3 
Eiko Ishibashi is a musician and singer songwriter based in Japan. Her works spans across improvisation, dance, theater, film, fashion, and she also produces for other musicians. She has released seven albums till this date with three released from Drag City. She is a multi-instrumentalist that plays the piano, synth, drums, flute, and vibraphone. She performs regularly with Jim O'Rourke and Tatsuhisa Yamamoto as Kafka's Ibiki and has released works with Merzbow and Darin Gray. In 2019, with an invitation by Ina-GRM in Paris, Ishibashi conducted an extensive European tour through Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Denmark, and Belgium.
http://eikoishibashi.net/- Manami KAKUDO ［Tokyo］
Concert #3 
Born in Nagasaki, Japan, Manami Kakudo is a musician and percussionist based in Tokyo. She uses her voice, various percussion instruments including the marimba, and anything around that catches her attention to create music and mischief. In recent years, while releasing two solo albums, her work has expanded to supporting popular bands, songwriting for others, providing music for TV and film, and collaborating on contemporary art projects that were shown at the Krolikarnia National Museum in Warsaw and the Serpentine Gallery in London.
https://manamikakudo.wordpress.com/
organised by：Japan Foundation Asia Center, Asian Meeting Festival Management Office