Kosugi Takehisa

Kosugi Takehisa is possibly the most important and influential figure of the Japanese avant-garde still performing into the 21st century. Beginning in 1958 while studying musicology at the Tokyo University of Arts Kosugi co-founded Group Ongaku, claimed to be the first collective improvisational music group in Japan. Rejecting the European concept of music where compositions are regulated and fixed by written scores, Group Ongaku instead focused on the simultaneous creation and performance of sounds across time. For the group, changes of sound across time and space, chance actions and spontaneous responses to musical and non-musical events determined their "anti-music", a philosophy Kosugi developed throughout his career.

Although Group Ongaku only lasted into 1962, Kosugi worked with several of the other members throughout the 1960s staging live performances and event pieces. During this time he became part of the Fluxus Movement and contributed to the soundtrack of the Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy) animated TV series.

In 1969 Kosugi co-founded Taj Mahal Travellers, the legendary collective improvisation "intermedia" unit. As well as recording two sought-after LPs and contributing one side to the Oz Days Live double LP, The Taj Mahal Travellers performed extensively throughout Asia and Europe playing everywhere from beaches and at outdoor concerts to TV appearences.

Meanwhile Kosugi was also involved with other projects including his contribution of environmental sound events at the Osaka Expo 70 and playing with Stomu Yamash'ta and the Horizons, documented on their out-of-print 1971 LP Sunrise From the West Sea. 1975 saw the release of Kosugi's best solo recording, Catch Wave. This features on one side "an excerpt from a meta-media solo improvisation" utilising heavily-processed violin, voice, radio and oscillators (the latter modified via wind and light) to create a massive drone piece. Side two is "a triple performance by a solo vocalist" where a vocal phrase is taken and electronically modified until it loses any meaning other than as part of the wave form. This LP represented a continuation of his interest in the heterodyne phenomenon, where alternating currents of different frequencies combined to produce new frequencies, the sum and difference of the original frequencies. This was something he had worked with on earlier recordings and continued to be important through later works.

The Taj Mahal Travellers lasted until the mid-70s; following their disbanding Kosugi became involved with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company as composer and performer, contributing both solo pieces and in collaboration with John Cage, David Tudor and David Behrman, composers he had long shared a common philosophy with. A number of recordings relating his involvement here can be heard on the Mode and Lovely Music labels, all documenting various electro-acoustic sound improvisations. Kosugi was appointed musical director of the company in 1995, a position he continues to hold today.

While Kosugi is still active musically - he can be heard on Sonic Youth's Goodbye Twentieth Century release from early 2000, for example - little of his work is currently available. Of the two available recordings from the 90s Rainforest features a beautiful atmospheric piece for live electronics by Kosugi and Tudor for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Angels Have Passed, a 1991 live recording with master free jazz bassist Yoshizawa Motoharu and pianist Miyake Haruna is avant-jazz of the highest order and closest in spirit to the two solo violin CDs recorded in 1980 (the P-Vine release, featuring two tracks from the out-of-print Bellows LP) and 1989 (Violin Improvisations).

Although available recordings may be few in number there have been many live performances and sound installations at various international festivals, exhibitions and locations throughout Europe, the U.S. and Asia. These have continued up to the end of the 90s making for forty years of acoustic exploration from this remarkable performer.

Discography

Solo Compositions

  • Shinozaki, Hiroko: Haapu no Koten (Music Now For Harp) (Japan, LP, Columbia Japan OP-7064-N, 1974. Reissued: LP 1980; CD 1990) B1: Heterodyne or Surfing
  • Kosugi, Takehisa: Catch-Wave (Japan, LP, CBS Sony SOCM-88, 1975)
  • V.A.: Gasshou Ongaku No Ryouiki (Japan , 7xLP, Victor SJX-1067~73, 1976) H2: South No. 5
  • Kosugi, Takehisa: Violin Solo by Takehisa Kosugi (US, LP, Bellows Records Bellows-003, 1981)
  • Kosugi, Takehisa: Melodien (Germany, cass, Kunstverein Giannozzo, 1984)
  • Kosugi, Takehisa: Violin Music (Germany, cass, Kunstverein Giannozzo, 1986)
  • V.A.: Flux Tellus - Tellus The Audio Cassette Magazine #24 (U.S., Cass, Tellus Tellus-#24, 1990) B8: Micro1
  • Kosugi, Takehisa: Violin Improvisations, New York, September 1989 (US, CD, Lovely Music LCD 2071, 1990)
  • V.A.: Absolut CD #3 - Improvisation/Composition (US, CD, Ear Magazine - Absolute CD-#3, 1990) T7: Violin Improvisation
  • V.A.: Echo. The Images of Sound II (Holland, CD, Apollo Records ACD-019209, 1992) T6: (untitled)
  • V.A.: 1962-1992 Fluxus 30th Anniversary Sound Anthology (Holland, 8xcass, Slowscan, 1993) cass: August 14, 1991
  • V.A.: A Chance Operation - The Cage Tribute (U.S., 2xCD, Koch International 3-7238-2 Y6x2, 1993) CD2, T11-18: 75 Letters and Improvisation
  • V.A.: Mini-Mall - Tellus 27 (U.S., CD, Harvestworks, Tellus-#27, 1994) T8: Paraphrases (excerpt)
  • Kosugi, Takehisa: Performance (Japan, VHS, Ashiya Municipal Art Gallery, 1996)
  • Violin Solo 1980, N.Y.C. (Japan, CD, Blues Interactions/P-Vine PCD-5765, 1998)

Group Performances

  • Taj Mahal Travellers: July 15 1972 (Japan, LP, CBS Sony SOLM-1, 1972. Reissued: LP, 1975)
  • V.A.: Oz Days Live (Japan, 2xLP, Oz, 1973) Taj Mahal Travellers: Untitled
  • Taj Mahal Travellers: August 1974 (Japan, 2xLP, Columbia Japan OP-7147~8-N, 1975. Reissued: LP, 1983; CD, 1998)
  • Ishiyanagi, Toshi; Ranta, Michael; Kosugi, Takehisa: Improvisation (Japan, LP, Iskra Records 002, 1975)
  • Lacy, Steve; Takahashi, Yuji; Kosugi, Takehisa: Distant Voices (Japan, LP, Columbia Japan YX-7085-N, 1976. Reissued: CD, 1991)
  • Kosugi, Takehisa; Suzuki, Akio: New Sense of Hearing (Japan, LP, Kojima Recording/ALM Uranoia UR-3, 1980)
  • Shimada, Riri; Kosugi, Takehisa: Perspective (Japan, LP, Flowerdogs Records FDR-001, 1980)
  • Kosugi, Takehisa; Kazamaki, Takashi Enban: Live at the Strange Fruit (Japan, LP, Fukyosha FOOL-002, 1983)
  • Davis, Danny; Kosugi, Takehisa; Kowald, Peter: Global Village Suite - Improvised (Germany, LP, FMP SAJ-60, 1988)
  • Cage, John: Music for Merce Cunningham (U.S., CD, Mode Records MODE 24, 1991) T1: Five Stone Winds
  • Kowald, Peter: Duos Japan (Germany, LP, Free Music Production FMP-1280, 1991) B4: Extension of Not Much
  • V.A.: Musiques Submergides (Spain, CD, Nova Era/Department de Cultura NECD-2002, 1992) T3: Takehisa, Kosugi; Fast Forward: Parabola (the recordings)
  • Yoshizawa, Motoharu; Kosugi, Takehisa; Miyake, Haruna: Angels Have Passed (Japan, CD, PSF PSFD-22, 1992)
  • Group Ongaku Music of Group Ongaku (Japan, CD, Hear sound Art Library HEAR-002, 1996)
  • Taj Mahal Travellers: August 1974 (Japan, 2xCD, Blues Interactions/P-Vine PCD-1463~4, 1998)
  • Taj Mahal Travellers: Live Stockholm July 1971(2xCD, Drone Syndicate DS-01/2, 2000)
  • Taj Mahal Travellers: July 15, 1972(CD, Show Boat SWAX-501, 2002)

Contributions

  • Stomu Yamash'ta and the Horizon: Sunrise from West Sea 'Live' (Japan, LP, King Records SLC(J)-359, 1971)
  • Tetsuwan Atomu: Ongaku no Sekai (Japan, LP, Kojima Recordings/ALM Records ALP-204, 1975)
  • TOKK-Ensemble Tokyo: Gendai Shitsunai Gakusen (Japan, LP, Victor SJX-7539, 1976) A1: Ishiyanagi, Toshi: Music for Living Process
  • East Bionic Symphonia: East Bionic Symphonia (Japan, LP/cass, Kojima Recording/ALM Records AL-3001/CAL-3001, 1976) Kosugi, Takehisa: Supervision
  • Beckaert, Jacques: (Belgium, LP, Igloo IGL-008, 1974) A2: Mon Petit Album
  • Agata, Morigyo: Akashia no Ame ga Yamutoki (Japan, 7Åh, Kita Records KT-0001, 1979)
  • Shimada, Riri: The Other World of Erik Satie (Japan LP, Vap 30028-25, 1982) B1: Gnossiennnes No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; B2: Gymnopedies No. 1, 2, 3
  • Tudor, David: Pulsers/Untitled (U.S., LP, Lovely Music VR-1601, 1984)
  • Takahashi, Ayuo: Silent Film (Japan, LP/Cass, Midi MIT-1003, 1985) B5: Birds of Paradise
  • Agata, Morigyo: Bandoneon No Hyou (Japan, LP, Cass, CD, Columbia Japan AF-7438, CAR-1466, 33CA-1351, 1987. Reissued: CD, 1992; CD, 1993) A6, T6 Hakuai
  • Behrman, David: Leapday Night (U.S., LP, Lovely Music VR-1042, 1987) A1: Interspecies Smalltalk Part 1; A2: Interspecies Smalltalk Part 2
  • Shimada, Masahiro: Himiko (Japan, VHS, Toho Video TG-1795, 1988. Reissued: Laserdisc, 1998)
  • Yoshida, Yoshishige: Kaigensei (Japan, VHS, Toho Video TG-1938, 1989. Reissued: Laserdisc, 1998)
  • Austin, Larry: Beachcombers (U.S., 6xCass, Deep Listening Publications, 1989) Cass. 5: Cue-Tape
  • V.A.: Flux Tellus - Tellus The Audio Cassette Magazine #24 (U.S., Cass, Tellus Tellus-#24, 1990) A3: Voice Piece For La Monte Young; B4: Anagram for Strings
  • Behrman, David: Leapday Night (U.S., CD, Lovely Music LCD--1042, 1991) T4: A Traveller's Dream Journal Berlin - NY, Setting A; T5: A Traveller's Dream Journal Berlin - NY, Setting B; T6: Interspecies Smalltalk Scene 1; T7: Interspecies Smalltalk Scene 2
  • Cage, John: Music for Merce Cunningham (U.S., CD, Mode Records MODE 24, 1991) T2: Cartridge Music
  • V.A.: CDCM Computer Music Series Volume 9:...Musics, Metaphors, Machines... (U.S., CD, Centaur Records CRC-2078, 1991) T14: Beachcombers, for Four Musicians and Computer Music
  • Fast Forward: Same Same (U.S., CD, Experimental Intermedia Foundation XI-108, 1995) T1: Simultaneous Music
  • Iimura, Takahiko: Eizo Jikken no Tame ni (Japan, CD-ROM, Euphonic EPK-002, 1997)
  • Pitt, Suzan: Asparagus (Japan, VHS, Dagereo Publishing DAV-97051, 1997) T1: Asparagus
  • Tudor, David: Three Works for Live Electronics (U.S., CD, Lovely Music LCD-1601, 1996)
  • V.A.: Crayon - Festschrift for Jackson MacLow's 75th Birthday (U.S., CD, Crayon CRAYON-01, 1997) T8: Ocean 1-95/Soundings: Ocean Diary
  • Tudor, David: Rainforest (U.S., CD, Mode Records MODE-64, 1998) T1: Rainforest Version 1 for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company
  • Ishiyanagi, Toshi: 1960s & 1990s \ Ishiyanagi Toshi no Uchuu III (Japan, 2xCD, Camerata Tokyo 25CM-552~3, 1999) CD1, T4: Parallel Music
  • Sonic Youth: Goodbye 20th Century (U.S., 2xLP/2xCD, SYR SYR-4, 1999)
  • Iimura, Takahiko: New York Day and Night (Japan, VHS, Iimura Takahiko Eizo Kenkyusho)
  • Iimura, Takahiko: Kan Ryuanjisokiniwa no Toki Kukan (Japan, VHS, Iimura Takahiko Eizo Kenkyusho)
  • Miller, Alan: John Cage-I Have Nothing to Say and I am Saying it (U.S., VHS, Kultur International Films 0063)
  • Caplan, Eliot: Cage - Cunningham (U.S., VHS, Kultur International Films 1401)
  • Atlas, Charles: Squaregame Video (U.S., VHS, Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation)
  • Atlas, Charles: Locale (U.S., VHS, Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation)
  • Caplan, Eliot; Cunningham, Merce: Changing Steps (U.S., VHS, Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation 05996)
  • Merce Cunningham and Company (U.S., VHS, Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation)
  • Caplan, Eliot: Beach Birds for Camera (U.S., VHS, Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation 05997, 1995)
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