Yoshi Wada
Encyclopedia
Yoshimasa "Yoshi" Wada (born November 11, 1943), is a Japanese sound installation artist and musician living in the United States
. He lived in New York
for many years but now lives in San Francisco, California
.
Born in Japan
, Wada joined the Fluxus
movement in 1968 after meeting George Maciunas
.http://www.gracia-territori.com/lem/2004/index2004-english.htm He also studied with the great North Indian vocalist Pandit Pran Nath
. Wada's works often incorporate the use of drone
and are usually performed at very high volume, allowing for the music's overtones to be heard very clearly.
He frequently performs his own compositions, which feature much freedom of improvisation
, on Scottish highland bagpipe
and voice, and also employs a number of homemade instruments. These include "pipe horns" (very long horn-type instruments made from metal plumbing pipe) as well as large reed instruments involving multiple bagpipe-like pipes connected to a large air compressor; due to their appearance, Wada named these latter instruments "Alligator" and "the Elephantine Crocodile". His music has been scarcely released on recordings, having seen only two LP releases, on the India Navigation (1982) and FMP http://www.fmp-label.de/freemusicproduction/labelscatalog/saj49.html labels. Lament For The Rise and Fall of Elephantine Crocodile, The Appointed Cloud and Off the Wall were reissued by a Japanese label in 2008.http://www.emrecords.net/
Wada is also known for his mechanical and robotic installations. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
in the mid-1990s, he performed a whimsically entitled piece, Lament for the Rise and Fall of Handy-Horn, in which several compressed-air "auditory flare" signals used for nautical emergencies (the "Handy Horn" brand named in the title) were sounded for the duration of their usefulness, giving rise to an alarmingly high-decibel air-pressure environment and charged psychoacoustic
environment.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He lived in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
for many years but now lives in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
Born in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Wada joined the Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
movement in 1968 after meeting George Maciunas
George Maciunas
George Maciunas was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He was a founding member of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers, and designers...
.http://www.gracia-territori.com/lem/2004/index2004-english.htm He also studied with the great North Indian vocalist Pandit Pran Nath
Pandit Pran Nath
Pandit Pran Nath was a Hindustani classical singer and teacher of the Kirana gharana , with a successful American career.-Early life:...
. Wada's works often incorporate the use of drone
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
and are usually performed at very high volume, allowing for the music's overtones to be heard very clearly.
He frequently performs his own compositions, which feature much freedom of improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
, on Scottish highland bagpipe
Great Highland Bagpipe
The Great Highland Bagpipe is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland. It has achieved widespread recognition through its usage in the British military and in pipe bands throughout the world. It is closely related to the Great Irish Warpipes....
and voice, and also employs a number of homemade instruments. These include "pipe horns" (very long horn-type instruments made from metal plumbing pipe) as well as large reed instruments involving multiple bagpipe-like pipes connected to a large air compressor; due to their appearance, Wada named these latter instruments "Alligator" and "the Elephantine Crocodile". His music has been scarcely released on recordings, having seen only two LP releases, on the India Navigation (1982) and FMP http://www.fmp-label.de/freemusicproduction/labelscatalog/saj49.html labels. Lament For The Rise and Fall of Elephantine Crocodile, The Appointed Cloud and Off the Wall were reissued by a Japanese label in 2008.http://www.emrecords.net/
Wada is also known for his mechanical and robotic installations. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
in the mid-1990s, he performed a whimsically entitled piece, Lament for the Rise and Fall of Handy-Horn, in which several compressed-air "auditory flare" signals used for nautical emergencies (the "Handy Horn" brand named in the title) were sounded for the duration of their usefulness, giving rise to an alarmingly high-decibel air-pressure environment and charged psychoacoustic
Psychoacoustics
Psychoacoustics is the scientific study of sound perception. More specifically, it is the branch of science studying the psychological and physiological responses associated with sound...
environment.
Discography
- 1981 : Lament For The Rise And Fall Of The Elephantine Crocodile (India NavigationIndia NavigationIndia Navigation was an American independent record label that was active from the 1970s to the early 1990s. Founded by corporate lawyer Bob Cummins, the label specialized in jazz music, particularly avant-garde jazz.-Discography:...
) - 1985 : Off the Wall (Free Music Production)