Without Records - MOT ver. 2015 Without Records – MOT ver. 2015

As its title without records - mot ver. 2015 suggests, records are absent from this work, whose sound source is the richly distinctive sounds emitted by the record players themselves, which turn on and off under computer control. The players have been enhanced by having volunteers apply metal, plastic, rubber, and other materials to their turntables during a previously held workshop. The resulting complexly layered sound engenders a forest-like soundscape in the gallery space. OTOMO Yoshihide (1959-), a performer and composer active in the underground music scene since the 1980s, is currently giving play to his talents in cinema and drama music as well. This artwork-a composition valuing the sound produced by each record player-is recomposed each time it is performed, and hence, the same “song” is never played twice. Thus, it is truly “music of now” created by Otomo and co-creators AOYAMA Yasutomo (artist) and ITO Takayuki (programmer) on the basis of their concept, “noise/improvisation/ensemble.” Although without records has already been exhibited in various regions, the version presented this time was newly created for this museum’s collection.