For three years now the Senju Flying Orchestra has continued its journey, bringing sounds down from out of the sky. This year Otomo Yoshihide produces a new type of festival in the Adachi fish market, jam-packed with unique stalls, from fried noodle stands to something now one has ever seen, and of course the Senju Flying Orchestra “musical kites.” We are aiming at a festival like none other, one that is both in the good ol’ style, and one that is brand-new.

“Immigration Museum TOKYO” (IMM) is a project to introduce and share through the medium of modern art the culture rooted in the daily life of non-Japanese residents of this country. This year the event will take place in the Senju area of Adachi City, with participants drawn from those who responded to a call for applications from the public.

The third in the “Senju Music Hall” series of shows in Tokyo’s Senju district, a mere 50 steps from the east exit of Kita Senju station, one of Tokyo’s main northern gateways. The Sun Roser coffee shop is a large space redolent of the 1960s and 70s, a perfect setting for an event titled “Music Show” with talk and some good old songs.

The second in a series of live performances in various venues throughout the Senju area. The “ADACHI HIPHOP PROJECT,” which started up with Artist Sputniko in 2012, returns to Senju after a year away, bringing its unique brand of hip-hop to the Noguchi Boxing Gym that has produced a number of boxing champions.

The Senju Music Hall Pure Music program presents the debut performance of a band comprising Kenji Endo, whose creed is that “any sound can be reproduced on the guitar,” the two members of the duo “Charlie Williams,” whose combined age is more than 100, and the brilliant young artist Ichiro Endo at Kita-Senju live house “Knock,” long a breeding-ground for local musicians.
Kenji Endo is a musician whose creative fervor continues undiminished even though he turned 60 in 2007. “Charlie Williams” is a duo comprising “Charlie” Takahashi, who in his songwriting/arrangement mingles Chinese and Mongolian influences with traditional Japanese court music and chants, and “the man of a thousand voices,” vocalist “William” Tokuhisa. Rounding out the group is Ichiro Endo, whose credits include shows and performances at such venues as the Mori Art Museum, Art Tower Mito, and Roppongi Art Night.

Ganbaru (“Do your best”/”Go for it”), arama (“Oh, dear!”), akan, ikan (“Oh, no!”) and otaku (“nerd”). All these Japanese expressions have something in common: they are words that exist in Indonesian, although in that language they have different meanings. The first of a regular series of Senju Dajare (“Pun”) Music Festivals in March was a great success, bringing a large number of groups together. And this fall the event will change direction, taking an in-depth look at the relationship between Japanese and Indonesian, two languages said to resemble each other, rethinking the technique and the making of puns, and moving “pun music” ahead with elements of Indonesia’s gamelan and traditional Japanese music. Come out and experience this intermingling of Indonesian and Japanese language and music.

The “Senju Flying Orchestra” is a project of the Senju area of Adachi City centered around musician Otomo Yoshihide. Since 2011 together with “team ensembles” drawn from the public ,it has aimed to bring about “Music fall down out of the Sky” concerts. “Musical Kites” and “Musical Lamps” are just two of the different approaches the program has taken.

Marking the third anniversary of this program, an event at the Adachi location of the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market is planned for March 2014.“Senju Flying Orchestra Public Rehearsal”will be held as a warm-up to the event. Looking back on the activities of the Program in the past, Otomo Yoshihide will announce the new structure of the “Senju Flying Orchestra”at the Tokyo University of the Arts campus. Following this, participants will proceed to the Adachi Market for a demonstration of “musical kites” and “musical lamps”.

There is no tofu on sale at “Otofuya,” the heart of the “Downtown Senju” – Connecting through Sound Art project in Senju’s Yanagihara district, where the public is invited to drop in and enjoy a hands-on experience of music with the instruments on display there, the “Future Musical Instruments” created by musicians and artists.

“Memorial Rebirth” is a performance art piece by contemporary artist Ohmaki Shinji that transforms the scenery around into the world of light with the countless soap bubbles. This year it is the first time the performance will take place at night. You can not only enjoy the atmosphere itself but also dance “Shabon Odori” (soap bubbles dance) which is a fusion of soap bubbles “shabondama” and Japanese traditional dance “bon odori”. The lyrics of the “Shabon Odori” is also worth hearing – it is full of town’s memory.

“Immigration Museum Tokyo” (IMM) is a project for introducing and sharing culture that is rooted in the daily lives of non-Japanese resident in Japan. The project kicks off with a public meeting Oct. 3, held in Senju this year.
We are now in the process of bringing members together. Come and be part of this marvellous process that seeks to take the different experiences and questions that foreigners encounter in Japan, and from them create art.

The “Otomachi” (or “Sound Town”) Talk series brings different guests together, this year under the rubric of the “Nora-zukuri Project,” or “Nora-pro”. These talks serve as a venue for discussions with representatives of local organizations and residents active in the community, along with specialists and artists working on different art projects or with the town, and “nora” workers who serve to connect them, on such subjects as what kind of places should be set up to help make the area a more fulfilling place in which to live. The contribution of different views serves to spotlight the different activities going on in the area, and helps with the creation of a new type of community.

Venues
Senju area, Adachi City

Dates
Aug, 2013 – Mar, 2014

Contact
Art Access Adachi: Downtown Senju-Connecting through Sound Art Office
Tel: 03-6806-1740 /13:00 – 18:00 (except Tue and Thu)
E-Mail: info@aaa-senju.com

Organizers:
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Tokyo Culture Creation Project Office (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Music
YARUNE (NPO)
Adachi City