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 | Katsuya Hironaka: "Exhibitions" Interview (AmbiEntrance© - 1998) Katsuya Hironaka and his BLT label are based in Tokyo, but his ideas are based in the universality of electronic music. We appreciate his taking the time to speak about BLT's newest compilation, Exhibitions. |
| Link: What can you tell us about your musical history (before BLT)? I'm guessing that you were trained as a pianist before you went "electronic".
Hironaka: I was great fan of British progressive rock, such as King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Vangelis and Kate Bush in high school, late 70's. I started to learn Jazz piano at the age of 19 for 1 year and bought electric piano (KAWAI KP608 and ROLAND JUNO6 SYNTHESIZER). I had copied standard jazz works and studied technique of Joe Sample by myself and also played rock music with local players in college. Those days I listened to a lot of jazz music. After I graduated from college, in the daytime I worked for a company and had listened to different kind of music. Early 90's I began to get serious to compose original track after I realized 90's techno music is the thing I can create with my gears. One by one I bought equipments and the number of works was increased. In 1995 First release was CD project, called "Techno tribe only ver.2.0" , with two works for techno label "Zenon" in Tokyo, and also composed works for exhibition of friend like "Music for Airports". In 1996 I established BLT Records and had prepared for solo album "GOLDEN DAYS", which was released in 1997. Looking back, it seems to me I have a lot of listening experience rather than creating. Link: When you are creating, where do you find your inspirations and ideas? Hironaka: I have two types of creation, the one is creation in mind and the other is creation in my studio. Regarding the first, creation in mind, everything I watch, read and listen is material. I think I try to extract the essence of those materials in mind as a fragment of idea, sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously, when I find them. Some essence remains in mind and I don't mind if I forget them, because if the essence is really important to me, I am confident to pick up those pieces of idea from my memory, like finding data from hard disk. After the completion of project like album, I will wait until my mind is filled with new ideas or I will go to my studio if the idea has impulse to move me to create now. I find some basic concept from Japanese classical ideas like Zeami, Master of tea ceremony in Azuchi Momoyama era, 1573-1603, and literature. My musical expression has nothing to do with typical Japanese traditional music style. But some friend of mine, about 70 years old man, master of traditional flower arrangement, pointed out and said "You don't realize your music has an influence of culture in Azuchi Momoyama era". It was amazing. My taste of music is based on mixed idea, inspired by Peter Hamil, my favorite British musician, especially his song and album title, "In foreign town" and John Lennon's "Imagine". In other words, when I leave home, I am in foreign town, when I open the window in my room, I can watch or feel foreign town. For local people Tokyo is our town, but foreign people think Tokyo is foreign town. And this thought is important to extract essence from things. Regarding the second, creation in my studio, is the arrangement and practice of ideas, I collected in the first process. I have many different method to create music, but it is only the continuation of construction and reconstruction. Link: How and why did you come to create your own label? And why the name "BLT"? Hironaka: First I had a good reputaion from people about works for the exhibition in 1995. I decided to release my solo works and establish my own label after I got influence from book, called "FUSIKADEN", a kind of bible written by NOU (Japanese Traditional musical) Master "Zeami". From the book I realized around the age of 30, I have to concentrate on my own creation. And I think techno artists have spirits to adopt newer method to create works with cheap gears, while ordinary people have preconceived idea to techno, which causes techno music market to only limited kind of listeners. I am aiming at new market in the 21st century, comprising of both techno creator/listener and ordinary people who are fed up with boring environmental music. I would like to release techno/ambient music,which satisfy above both kinds of people along BLT Records with efforts to find excellent artists on the Web. ECM Records is my favorite label and I tried to find 3 letters words like BLT during day time job, with my idea that words implicitly expressing particular genre or category would keep many potential listeners apart from the music. So BLT named after sandwich, and also my favorite song, Bizzare Love Triangle (New Order). Link: "Exhibitions" features both Japanese and American artists. How did you become involved with these other musicians? Hironaka: I posted to ambient mailing list to find musicians, then they replied, except Mike Griffin, of Hypnos Recordings, whom Saul Stokes introduced to me. Regarding Japanese musicians, O-din's track on GROOVE magazine's CD is very cool and I asked editor to get in contact with them. Mr. Kawabata was same member of private BBS, which was suspended last year. Link: Besides contributing two of your own solo tracks to "Exhibitions", you also worked with Ryuta Kawabata as "Aft Noon"? Hironaka: I recieved a videotape from Ryuta Kawabata, his ambient works. It was very dark material and different from BLT's taste, but I thought I can create interesting work with his material, sample collection. Link: On "Golden Days", I mistakenly thought I'd hear more of a "Japanese" sound, but instead it sounds very cosmopolitan. What influences your composing? Hironaka: Key idea is UNIVERSALITY. I always ask myself whether future listeners from both fields like techno and ordinary music feel good to the work. Another point is "music like furniture", in other words 21st century's interpretaion of Eric Satie with cheap computer and gears. Maybe I don't want to use Japanese traditional musical style,which may imply particular race or nation, as race and/or nation has tend to become the cause of war. Link: Why the two different versions of "Pause" on "Golden Days"? Hironaka: Short version is a kind of single version, the second was arranged for Toshiya Fujita's exhibition in 1996 as BGM. He wanted long version. Link: "Passing" appears on both BLT CDs; is it a favorite of yours? Hironaka: Saul Stocks likes it too. I like every pieces of my own works, for "EXHIBITIONS", I thought Passing" is needed like the last piece of jigsaw puzzle. Link: You also contributed "Entrance" to the Hypnos Other World compilation; what can you tell us about that track (especially in reference to the "meditation/dream" theme)? Hironaka: Mike Griffin wanted dream-like style, and I sent 2 tracks, one of them was "Entrance" . To express originality, I thought I needed to use original material. I was looking for material from my TOKYO NOISE digital audio tapes. Sound effect on the track is noise data at the entrance of building, Tokyo International Forum. I lke the building, because it is beautiful and reflects memory of bubble days. The noise sample was a motif and I made efforts to change 'til the noise sounds like instrumental. I just want listener to feel free. Link: How would you describe the ambient/electronic music scene in Tokyo? Hironaka: Among electronic music, ambient is not mainstream techno music. Basically ambient music is recognized as genre for techno creators and listeners who have listened techno music for several years. Ordinary people tend to regard ambient as new age, thus position in record shop is ambiguous. But ambient is regarded as one category in town like Shibuya, where many people come to find good music in so many different types of record shops, ranging from mega shops to rare shops.
Link: On the Hyperreal's ambient mailing list you commented: "As long as the ambient music is instrumental, It does not get mass attention in the country where KARAOKE still dominates music business." What is your opinion of the Karaoke phenomenon? Hironaka: Karaoke is means to put away stress. I envy when I find foreign people enjoying singing with fellows with Karaoke. Major music business' mass market is teenagers who are said to be stressfull. It is said that everyone is tired to keep up with up-to-date karaoke songs, because pop song's life is getting very short. There are too many Karaoke rooms and the number is decreasing. Link: What does the future hold for BLT and yourself? Hironaka: BLT Records is the label to release "21st century's music as furniture". This is a kind of music, which entertains both techno creator/listeners and ordinary listeners. I don't like categorization because it loses listeners who try to find music from category. The point is ambient music's perception is ambiguous like the music itself. BLT Records is always looking for good music with universality which lose release opportunity due to categorization. I want many readers to buy and listen to EXHIBITIONS and find what universality that BLT insists is. I will accept USD.17.00 or equivalent postal money order for one copy of BLT disks. As an artist, I will continue to create works and would like to collaborate with other artists with different genre. EXHIBITIONS was played at my friend painter Toshiya Fujita's exhibition at gallery in GINZA, where is like 5th avenue in N.Y., I was glad to see many artists gathered and bought CD. I found very favorable review on the latest issue of monthly techno magazine, "GROOVE" which contains audio track excerpts on attached CD. I will continue to make efforts to introduce good music. Link: Do you ever play "live"? Hironaka: In university a little bit, but basically, no. Link: I like your universality ideas and hope many others will also. I'll try to send them to your BLT website if they want to know more. Hironaka: Welcome your link. My site contains not enough text contents like this interview but hope visitor could feel it. I would like to link this interview page with my own. |
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Link: Thanks for taking the time to interview with us. Good luck, Katsuya. Any closing thoughts?
Hironaka: I am glad to have an opprtunity to clarify what I think. I will continue to release EXHIBITIONS II, III... While I can't comment on every demo tape, I have listened to every work I accepted. Please feel free to contact. Katsuya Hironaka |  |
This interview posted May 16, 1998
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