Nobukazu Takemura’s music is singular in its ability to create a musical sense of childlike wonder and curiosity, with gracefully executed yet complex compositions. His pieces embody an innocence and the intricacies of self-discovery that every human is faced with as their worlds become more complex.
An acclaimed artist and composer, Takemura is known for his idiosyncratic music and video artistry as well as his prolific collaborations including those with Tortoise, Yo La Tengo, DJ Spooky and Steve Reich. knot of meanings, Takemura’s first proper album in a decade, finds the Japanese artist wrestling with the rise of technological influence on art and culture in the modern era, in tandem with his own relationship to religion, and where those struggles meet. Like the colorful, irregularly shaped glasses on the cover, the album is a mosaic of technicolor elements that come together to form a complete picture, a dense portrait of interconnected struggles and triumphs.
Questions and Answers
11 QUESTIONS
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
Various everyday occurrences serve as triggers for inspiration. And I believe God is the foundation that fundamentally supports these realizations.
2. How and when did you get into making music?
At age 12, I began composing by placing a keyboard and two radio cassette players facing each other and recording through the air.
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time? (yes we know it is difficult).
Philip Glass “Music in 12 Parts”
Steve Reich “Four sections”
Henryk Górecki “Symphony No.3”
Tortoise “Tortoise”
Eric B and Rakim “Paid in Full”
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Freedom, Der Himmel über Berlin, Weimarer Republik, Kreuzberg….Spree.
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
Philosopher’s Path
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
painter
7. What was the last record/music you bought or listen?
It’s an old one, but I bought a used The Durutti Column`s ”Circuses and Bread” again.
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Robert Wyatt
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
Among the concerts I performed in, the one at Union Church in London in 2004 was the best.
As an audience member, the best was Kraftwerk’s concert at Osaka Festival Hall on September 11, 1981, which was the first concert I ever attended as a preteen.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
It depends on the song, but it’s fundamentally important.
When starting a piece, it’s crucial to have a synthesizer that you can physically touch for the initial inspiration. I also prefer older models without memory functions and analogue effects units with limited control. I use computers extensively, too, but mainly for organising materials rather than for the actual creation process.
11. Please tell us more about the development of your new album “knot of meanings”?
This is a compilation of songs I’ve created over the past few years, much like keeping a diary.
Since they reflect my mood at the time, the collection includes many different kinds of songs.
I dislike being confined to a fixed style, so I am always trying new directions.
Some songs emerged spontaneously while I was playing instruments; others began with words and poetry, while some started from a theme or concept that I gradually developed. It also includes soundtracks for commissioned animations.
Yet in every work, the process of bringing it to life involved discovering some form of “meaning,” which I nurtured and carried through to completion. Having spent the past decade constantly contemplating God, that influence is indirectly woven throughout.
