Every city has its own soundtrack and Tokyo’s is truly unique. Some noises are specific to times of the day, such as cawing crows at dawn; others come from a specific location, such as the jingle of a certain electronics store.
Tokyo’s soundtrack can be seasonal, like the deafening cicada chirping in summer and the sweet potato vendor peddling his snacks in winter.
At other times, the soundtrack is plain infuriating, such as the incessantly beeping pedestrian crossings and loud “danger” message of reversing trucks on a quiet street.
Sound designer Yasuharu Ohkouchi.
Talented sound designer Yasuharu Ohkouchi was the one who turned our concept into reality.
After we recorded around 100 unique urban sounds (birdsongs in Yoyogi Park, the 5pm music telling children to go home, trains on the Yamanote Line, etc.), Yasuharu (Hal), layered these sounds to create a story of his own.
“The music starts with a young man arriving from Narita, riding the mainline train into Shibuya station, as the cherry blossom petals fall onto windows,” explains Hal.
Utilizing the skills of co-collaborating musician Jeff Wichmann, who sent samples original koto compositions from his base in Chicago, Hal added a classical element to the urban soundscape.
Musician Jeff Wichmann
Jeff is an experimental composer and musician who blends koto with trumpet and other instruments to form new sonic sculptures for use in performance, theater, advertising and design.
Jeff has collaborated with junkyard automobile shredders, dancers, electronics wizards, string telephone artists, Bavarian zither players, actors, rock bands and poets.
“For this project with Hal, using the Japanese koto and a certain surreal/wabisabi /Issa haiku perception, I attempted to express the figurative sounds of spring and fall in Tokyo. I tried to create sonic vignettes to mirror cascading sakura petals in the wind; rain drops on one’s umbrella and the sidewalk; fading leaves and echoes of summer memories. Within these audible sculptures are the emotions of hope in spring and beautiful sadness in fall,” explains Jeff.
Armed with a Mac, Pro Tools, KORG MTR and KORG Kaoss Pad, Hal manipulated and blended all the sounds together to create our Tokyo Soundtrack.
Hear the piece at: