AM20: The Japan Journals

Day 49

May 19th

My time in Ogi is coming to a close, but the intensity of this leg is only increasing. Since we visited the Kodo village, the timbers of those drums have resonated in my ears. The powerful echoes of those tones reverberate from the memory banks. Their performance tonight should be nothing short of spectacular.

Before we head to the center of Ogi for their performance, I'm locking myself in the studio and imposing a 3 song minimum before leaving these quarters. To begin my day of creative work, I retrieved the semi-hollowbody guitar I referred to earlier this week and began my maiden strums of the session.

The ethereal, earthy tones emerge from the roots of this instrument. The melody that was written on this guitar blossomed in this session, as the notes bore fruit through the monitors. The process for this piece was seamless, only taking minutes to finish the track.

What followed was a more tedious, precautious practice for the next two tunes. Amongst the collection of guitars that Rizumu has, I couldn't help but notice an ax that's reminiscent of home. This thick, single cutaway electric with humbucker pickups drove me home as it's nearly identical to the one I have. The heavy, solid-body guitar provides a familiar tone that I needed to carry on with my session.

In a time of self-confinement, I feel a flow of creative energy bounce from the speakers. Chords that shouldn't go together suddenly feel cohesive. Melodies that I couldn't finish beforehand are now flowing like chocolate fondu. I don't know if forcing myself into this situation enables the creativity to escape, but the irony of the process is not lost on me.

To differentiate the songs, I'm choosing a different instrument for each. For example, the ground-ridden tones from the Semi-hollowbody conjure up moments of arriving in the snow-capped hills of Hokkaido. On the flip side, the Solidbody allows the hard-packed, open terrain of Tohoku to be unearthed. Each instrument should help tell a story, as it would be a waste not to use such a collection of instruments for my artistic pallet.

I began working on the 4th song as Rizumu politely interrupted my flow-state. Hours had passed and it was time to get ready for Kodo's performance. My persistence towards the songcraft neglected my hygiene, as I didn't bother getting cleaned up this morning. While the notion wasn't intentional, I'm sure Rizumu thinks I'm a complete dirtbag after this week. All I asked for was an additional 200 yen, the other day...

Anyways, we proceeded to put on our best attire (with me setting that bar very low) and found our way into the crowd for Kodo's performance. What followed was a thunderous roar of slams on the Taiko drums. In a moment of pure expression, the group emerges from a dark stage and breathes life into the area with their pounding, percussive grooves.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, but the group was relentless in their performance. There wasn't a motion wasted, as the techniques they taught me earlier in the week were on full display. One after another, each segment of their performance was regimented and perfected, down to the second. Perhaps the most impressive part about their performance was the ability to build tension, with each song.

There weren't any peaks or valleys in their performance, as they intentionally structured their setlist to climax with their finishing song. Yes, this is a common practice amongst performing acts, but Kodo does it in a way that I've never seen before. Their shows are lean, efficient methods of channeling unparalleled art. As their name implies, they play as one, harmonious beat.

Throughout their show, they demonstrate a handful of instruments seen in the village. Everything weaved together as their transitions were seamless. Lost in the spectacle of the performance is the sheer stamina that they need, to achieve these kinds of performances. You can see where the morning runs come into play, as no ordinary musical group could match the physicality of Kodo.

Quite frankly, EVERYTHING this group does during the day culminates in their performances. The chores, the monotonous routines. The slices in the group's life all serve the sum of their goal, which is to provide the world with the best Taiko performance possible. I'm just in awe at the men and women chosen to be a part of this legendary group. Witnessing their performance in the flesh is nothing short of magical, and influential.

After the performance, we were able to speak with the members that hosted our tour earlier in the week. Amid our conversation, I couldn't help but feel an urge to leave. There I was, in the middle of a golden opportunity. A chance to pick the member's brain, moments after receiving the high of their performance. A muse's chance to soak the creative energy and knowledge off another.

Despite that, I couldn't help but bottle my energy from attending their performance and return to the studio to finish my masterpieces. Rizumu must have sensed my urge to stray, as we soon parted from the group and returned to her place. Energized and rejuvenated, I finish my "lock-in" day of music with four tunes to join the three from the morning session.

In keeping with my self-imposed tradition, I made an earnest effort to use a different instrument for each song. This helped my creative process, as it allowed me to channel different memories from each leg of the trip through the strings of these different guitars. You can bet your ass that Tokyo has the most adrenaline-tinged, high-gain tone of the bunch. That city is nothing but pure energy, to me, so there couldn't have been a better way to channel that into the performance.

With the songs recorded, I put the finishing touches on each with a necessary mix and mastering process. Like any recording musician knows, it helps to have a professional master your music, as it's important to give your song the final "polish" that it needs. Because of the time constraints with this project, I was not afforded that luxury. Fortunately, Rizumu lent me an ear and gave me her input on the final mixes.

With everything sounding good and the final bits of FX added to the signal chains, I sent the final renderings of each recording to you. Seven songs, each representing a leg of this trip and what they've done to change my life. It's hard to quantify what these songs represent, as each one carries dozens of memories within the fret-laced tones. I began to ponder this concept further at a nearby beach, as I wanted to take in my remaining hours on this island to myself.

Like the long-lost, exiled ancestors of Sado's past, I wanted to reflect on this week in the dark solitude of this beach and gaze into the ongoing abyss of the Sea. This week pushed my creative boundaries to a place I didn't think it could go before. The overwhelming presence of the Kodo group influenced me into being a better artist and really, a better person.

They reminded me that everything in my life is intertwined and that I have to strive for a harmonious balance in my life if I want to achieve my goals. There were moments of stress and anguish, but the necessary action on my part put any fraught energy to bed.

As this week comes to a close, I appreciate the faith you have in me and the lengths you've gone to make this experience unforgettable. I don't know what lies ahead, but I promise, we will fulfill this trip by meeting in Okinawa. No budget, bike issues, or other rising problems will prevent that.

Thank you, keep believing in me, and I'll see you very soon!

-Ayden