[Column] Can sound become an exhibition? The intersection of Yoshihide Otomo and spatial art
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The moment when sound turns into an exhibition
Text: mmr｜Theme: Interpreting the practice of continuously transforming music into space through anecdotes and representative works
From improvisational musician to spatial artist
Although Yoshihide Otomo’s career began in the context of Japanese free jazz/improvisational music, he departed from that framework at an early stage. Although he had a guitar and a turntable in his hands, they functioned more as ““devices for arranging sound in space’’ than musical instruments.
In particular, his activities at Ground Zero in the 1990s symbolized a turning point. The method of fragmenting and rearranging a huge amount of records and existing sound sources was not just sampling, but close to ““architecture of sound.” His masterpiece ““Consume Red” is an extreme example of this, where the listener is thrown into an overwhelming amount of information that makes it impossible to follow the song.
It is said that at live concerts at the time, it was not uncommon for audience members to leave the venue midway through due to the excessive volume and density of noise. However, this was not a failure; it was also an intentional structure that exposed the limits of the act of “listening.”
Music has changed from being something to be understood to something to be experienced as a space.
Anecdote: A concert where the sound disappeared
Extreme with Sachiko M
Collaborating with Sachiko M occupies a unique position in Yoshihide Otomo’s career. The sine wave oscillator she uses is a device that sustains a single frequency with little variation.
At one performance, the volume was so low that many in the audience felt as if nothing was happening. However, at the back of the venue, the vibrations of the air conditioners, the creaking of chairs, and the sound of the audience’s breathing began to become noticeable.
This incident is one of the often told anecdotes, and is understood not as ““the performance being defeated by the ambient sounds,” but as a moment when ““the environment itself was transformed into a work.”
There is also a story that at another performance, a member of the audience thought there was a problem with the equipment and complained to the staff. However, that was actually the intention of the piece, and even the ““state of no sound’’ was incorporated as a component.
Silence is not an absence, but the most powerful means of exposing space.
Sound as installation
Intrusion into exhibition space
Otomo’s performances at museums and galleries are definitely different from traditional live music performances. Audience members are not fixed to their seats, but can freely move around and experience the sound.
In one exhibition, multiple speakers were scattered throughout the space, creating a completely different sound experience depending on the audience’s position. There is no concept of front, and the work changes depending on where you stand.
This form corresponds to the logic of installation in visual art. Although sound is not an object, it functions as an ““exhibit’’ by changing the conditions of the space.
What is even more interesting is that the performers themselves are treated as part of the space. The performance is not an ““object to be seen,” but an ““element of spatial change.”
Sound invades the space and rewrites the exhibition format itself.
Specific image of spatial art seen from representative works
Back-and-forth movement between excess and lack
Ground Zero’s ““Consume Red” is a work that pushes sonic excess to the extreme. On the other hand, in ““Revolutionary Pekinese Opera ver. 1.28,” cultural fragments collide and the dissolution of meaning progresses.
In contrast, on ““Filament” and ““Sine Wave Solo” with Sachiko M, the sound is reduced to the bare minimum. The subject here is not ““what is making the sound,” but ““how does the space change?”
Furthermore, Otomo Yoshihide”s New Jazz Ensemble”s ““Dreams’’ features a large ensemble of improvisations, but the structure is perceived as an overall flow rather than individual performances.
In this way, his works continue to update spatial awareness, moving back and forth between the extremes of “excess” and “lack.”
Too much sound and too little sound are not contradictory; both are means of creating space.
Film music and on-site performance
Is it possible to improvise in the video?
Yoshihide Otomo’s attitude is consistent when it comes to film music as well. Even if the sound is recorded, it is important to maintain the sense that it is generated on the spot.
In the movie ““Dr. Akagi,’’ the music does not guide the emotion of the scene, but rather creates a unique tension by existing in parallel with the images.
An even more interesting anecdote is the production policy of not strictly synchronizing the music with the video, but intentionally leaving some “discrepancies” to maintain the on-site feel. This discrepancy gives the audience an unconscious sense of discomfort and makes the video experience more three-dimensional.
Furthermore, in live screenings, different sounds may be added each time even for the same movie, and the work is not fixed.
Film music is not a finished product, but has a structure that is updated each time it is performed again.
Chronology: The intersection of anecdotes and masterpieces
An anecdote is not just an episode; it shows the essence of an expression.
Diagram: Structure of excess and lack
The extremeness of sound becomes a device for shaking spatial perception
Diagram: Spatial structure including audience
The presence of the audience itself becomes a component of the work.
Music connected to the masses
The turning point of “Ama-chan”
The 2013 NHK TV drama series ““Ama-chan”’ was a decisive turning point in Yoshihide Otomo”s career.
His music, which until then had often been talked about in underground and experimental contexts, suddenly entered the ““everyday life’’ of Japan. Although the opening theme has a light and familiar melody, it incorporates a jazz and minimalist musical structure. (Apple Music - Web Player)
Even more important was the live performance that followed. ““Ama-chan Special Big Band’’ not only reproduces the accompanying music, but has also been reconstructed as a large ensemble. At national tours and performances at NHK Hall, enthusiastic reactions have been recorded, with the audience standing on their feet. (Tower Records Online)
What was happening here was more than just a hit.
- Experimental musicians enter the center of popular culture
- Improvisation is connected to the form of pop music
- Music expands as a “shared experience”
In other words, ““Ama-chan” was a symbolic event in which Otomo’s music shifted from a ““closed avant-garde” to an ““open public space.’’
The avant-garde first gains social space by being translated to the masses.
Ensembles Tokyo and “Music for Everyone”
A device called a hand sign
Ensembles Tokyo, for which Yoshihide Otomo served as artistic director, is the project in which his ideas are most clearly socialized.
At the core of this project is a performance system using “hand signals.” Music is created by the conductor giving improvisational instructions through hand movements, and the participants responding to them.
The importance of this method is clear:
- No sheet music required
- Regardless of whether you have music education or not
- Establish improvisation and control at the same time
In fact, this project has been ongoing since 2015, functioning as a ““participatory festival’’ where general participants and professional musicians perform in the same venue.
Furthermore, during the coronavirus pandemic, the hand sign method was released as a video and shared as a mechanism for establishing an ensemble even remotely.
This idea is extremely radical.
Music will be redefined not as something to listen to, but as a social process in which anyone can participate.
Music is liberated from a technical skill to a sharable act
Video: Hand signs and group improvisation
Ensembles Tokyo Hand Sign Teaching Video
International expansion
Acoustic space expanding to Vienna, Korea
In recent years, Yoshihide Otomo’s activities have expanded beyond Japan to Asia and Europe. In performances in South Korea and live shows in Europe such as Vienna, he continues to cross the boundaries between improvised music and sound art.
The point is that his music is perceived as a ““methodology” rather than a ““genre.”
- Improvisation = structure of communication
- Acoustics = means of spatial design
- Ensemble = social model
Because these elements can be shared across countries and cultures, they are being transformed and developed in different forms in each region.
Music is not exported as a work, but spread as a method.
Anecdote: The moment when the audience becomes the performer
Disappearance of boundaries
At Ensembles Tokyo, moments often occur where the boundary between audience and performer disappears.
In one session, the workshop participants played a central role in the performance, with professional musicians responding to the performance. This is a reversed relationship in normal musical structure.
In other cases, Bon dance and improvisation merged, making music and physical movement inseparable.
These events are not a coincidence, but a result of the design philosophy that ““everyone can participate.’’
Music is no longer an object of appreciation, but a place that is created through participation.
Conclusion: Music as society
Where does the sound go?
What runs through Yoshihide Otomo’s activities is the consistent idea of ”“creating a place through sound.’’
- “Ama-chan” is aimed at the masses. *Ensembles Tokyo for society
- Cross-cultural activities in international activities
Music is no longer a complete work of art, but has begun to function as an infrastructure that connects people.
At the heart of this is a very simple question.
“Who makes the music?”
Otomo’s answer is clear.
It’s not just the performers.
Music is a space created by everyone in it
