CD
ftarri-998
Numbered limited edition of 500
Out on August 23, 2009
Purchase price in Japan: 1,800 yen (tax not included)
(For purchase outside of Japan, prices vary.)
Seijiro Murayama: snare drum, cymbal, objects
Soundworm: sound engineering, suggestions
All compositions by Seijiro Murayama
Tracks 1 and 6 recorded live by Vincent Rioux at the Monastery of Sainte-Marie de La Tourette, France, October 2008
Tracks 2-5 recorded by Soundworm in Koganei, Japan, February 2008
Mastered by Hiromits Shoji at Sara Disc
Design by Elico Suzuki (Suzueri)
Since relocating from Japan to France in 1999, percussionist Seijiro Murayama has been performing both as a soloist and with musicians like Jean-Luc Guionnet, Eric La Casa and Eric Cordier. Soundworm is the pseudonym of sound engineer/musician Hiromits Shoji.
In all six tracks of this CD, Murayama uses a cymbal, a snare drum and small objects (as well as his voice on track 6). Four of the pieces (2-5), recorded in Tokyo, were composed by Murayama based on collaborations with Soundworm (Shoji). Several clusters of two or three mikes were deployed in different areas of the studio, with one of the mikes of one cluster placed outdoors. (In addition, there were two contact mikes attached to the snare.) While Soundworm switched the groups of mikes on and off at certain intervals according to instructions in the score, Murayama listened through headphones to the sound being recorded, and improvised without looking at the score. In the works thus realized, Murayama's sounds seem to subtly shift from place to place at regular intervals. The special character of both his sound and his compositional structures are showcased in these pieces. The two other tracks (1, 6) are from a performance at the Monastery of Ste. Marie de La Tourette near Lyon, France (which is well known for its Le Corbusier-designed structure). The monastery's echoing acoustics feature prominently in the majestic, awe-inspiring sound.
