Title: LIVE IN TOKYO
Year: 2020
Category: AVANTGARDE
- 1. East Berimbau 08:00
- 2. The Growl 05:51
- 3. Shin-Juku Loops 07:32
- 4. Meadow and Valley 02:55
- 5. Lullaby Lilt 07:41
- 6. Cat Walk Jump 05:44
- 7. One Yen Phone 04:55
- 8. Texting on Shinkansen 09:01
- 9. Rambling 06:00
- 10. High and Low Frequency Statement 10:08
- 11. Snake Minor 04:52
- 12. Two-Step Authentication 05:25
- 13. Strolling 05:11
- 14. Seven-Family House 06:37
- 15. A Bunch of Nonsense 03:27
- 16. Back on Track 04:36
- 17. A Heartfelt Ballad 07:51
- Mika Pohjola - piano
Yusuke Yamamoto - percussion, loops, flute
LIVE IN TOKYO
by Mika Pohjola with Yusuke Yamamoto
The Sound of Village Duo, as pianist Mika Pohjola and multi-instrumentalist Yusuke Yamamoto calls it, is based in New York City. In addition to local gigs, the duo has toured Scandinavia and Japan, and completed five recordings, mostly in Pohjola's home studio in East Village.
The remarkable thing about this duo is that it does not play any composed repertoire. All recordings, most notably their self-titled Sound of Village, and concerts are all free improvisations. Yet, the style is not "free jazz", but rather tune-like attempts with singable melodies, harmony and rhythm. The trademark is a plethora of sound sources, where Yamamoto switches between various percussion, drumset, loops and - not the least - the flute.
The collaboration started in 1998, when Pohjola called Yamamoto to his East Village studio apartment to try out some new recording gear, which Pohjola purchased for his remote radio show which aired in Finland. While playing they noticed the musical result was something to develop. The following year, they started their multi-year residency at the Knitting Factory club in downtown Manhattan.
Live in Tokyo is Sound of Village Duo's complete, nearly two-hour concert at Shinjuku Pit Inn, here released in the same sequence as they played live.