Jun
Ray Song Chang confronts the talent of self-taught
tabla-bongo artist Asa-Chang and traditionally trained
tabla master U-Zhaan, with additional input by programmer
Hidehiko Urayama and mixmaster Kiyoshi Kusaka. Once the
leader of Japanese cult act Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra,
Asa-Chang nowadays plays with as a session musician for
cheesy pop bands in Japan. In his spare time, he works
on his own project with U-Zhaan, Urayama and Kusaka, to
explore the potential of percussive music and break the
boundaries between instruments and voice.
Jun Ray Song Chang collects a mini-album released
on Hot Cha Records, and an EP, published by Cornelius’s
imprint Trattoria. Asa-Chang’s use of the small Indonesian
dandud bongo, which he plays mock-tabla style, contrasts
with the more academic style of U-Zhaan. The intricate
canvas of textured percussions and multi-layered voice
processing challenges all known conceptions of music by
assimilating every element and organising them in totally
new ways. The album opens with beautiful stings on which
sliced-up vocals and unsettling percussions slowly set
the mood. All the way through this album, conventional
elements are taken out of their context, deconstructed,
crushed and blended into a constantly shifting soundscape.
The heavily treated vocal components only add to the disconcerting
abstraction of these composition. Not only the use of
the Japanese language opens the door of the imagination
for anyone not able to speak or understand the language,
but the obvious cut’n’paste approach undoubtedly also
annexes new grounds for those who can. The conscious and
respectful attitude toward Indian percussive styles is
balanced by a more playful approach to their organisation
in the spectrum. The extreme complexity of the work presented
here means that Jun Ray Song Chang requires to
be listened to with a lot of attention a few times before
it reveals its enchanting and melodic nature. The varying
flow of information reaching the ear, combined with its
highly unusual structure, can lead the listener to switch
off at times, only to return to it later with a more open
mind.
Asa-Chang and his band offer with these recordings an
entirely new approach to music in general and percussions
in particular. As challenging a listening experience as
it is, Jun Ray Song Chang is ultimately a beautiful
and imaginative record, bringing an entire new dimension
to anyone who has the curiosity to open their mind enough.
5/5 |
