Shinobu Nemoto: Improvisations #1
TobiasWhy would you like to live with monkeys sometimes?
(laughs) I'm human. And I sometimes despair of myself. With all likelihood, I hate human beings. The most important thing for an Orangutan is to learn how to survive in the forest. In that respect, we're not all that different: Like everyone else, we are learning to survive. Little Orangutans and Chimpanzees, however, spend a lot of their time eating solid nuts and this was something that moved me. A human being, in comparison, is both great and stupid: If we do not create anything, we can't live. And natural regression is impossible for us.
Are animals a source of inspiration for your music?
I wouldn't say that my music is concerned with animals. I am simply very interested in them. When I am spending time with animals, I can feel how small my music really is. There are so many sounds around us that existed long before there was music. My question is: Why are we making music?
Your new album on Experimedia explicitely carries the word „improvisation“ in its title. Does that mean it was created differently from your previous works in any way?
A friend of mine prepared a show for me. But, it is usually difficult to play my work alone on stage. In cases like this one, I chose improvisation. I don't drive a car. The devices which therefore can be used for the show are limited. Simply because I was planing to go to the venue by foot and by train. I took an electric guitar and some devices with me – my choice of equipment was restricted by what I can carry. So this album was created with a particular show in mind, but then that show didn't happen. So, in the end, only the recordings were made.
All titles on „Improvisations #1“ were recorded during just five days. Was it an important aspect of the album to keep the pieces closely aligned in terms of mood?
MOOD! I hate that word!! But I would say that I am completely immersed in a particular sound while I am playing. Like a spur-mark on a sandy beach. That's more important to me. Recording is something of a physical phenomenon for me. I am doing a part-time job of caring for an old man. That part-time job is an irregular service. Sometimes, I will be able to record in the daytime and then again at night, while, in theory, I could have recorded the album on one day. I used only a single setup for the entire album and the equipment I used for this album is simple. As I mentioned, it was important to be able to actually carry gear to the venue. Therefore I used small and light-weight equipments.
It sounds as though there are also some field recordings in there somewhere ...
This album was made only with a guitar and some stomp boxes. I didn't use any other sounds. But I do like field recordings very much. It's a great pleasure to hear you suspected them in the music.
Did you discard some material for the release or is everything you played documented on this album?
This album was temporarily released for free on my label MOUFU - ROKUON. You could actually call the current version a „fake“, because it is a little shorter than the actual performance. But an edit was required to put this album on one CD, something Experimedia thought important. But, I appreciate Experimedia greatly. Thank you JEREMY! (he's referring to label-co-founder Jeremy Bible - tokafi) The question about documenting everything is important to me, however. The title of each tune shows the date when my improvisation was finished. The last lyric or just epic. AH! OH! That's very important in my improvisations. This release is incomplete. And your question is very smart. It shows me that I must work more.
Homepage: Shinobu Nemoto
Homepage: Experimedia Records
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