Brian Tairaku Ritchie & Stuart Tanner – PERFORMING MOBILITIES http://performingmobilities.mickdouglas.net Tue, 05 Jul 2016 11:29:05 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.7.2 http://performingmobilities.mickdouglas.net/wp-content/uploads/webFiles/cropped-PM_ico_02-32x32.jpg Brian Tairaku Ritchie & Stuart Tanner – PERFORMING MOBILITIES http://performingmobilities.mickdouglas.net 32 32 PORTABLE KOMUSO TEMPLE COMPOSITIONS http://performingmobilities.mickdouglas.net/symposium/passages_mobile/portable-komuso-temple-compositions/ Mon, 13 Jul 2015 23:09:44 +0000 http://2015.performingmobilities.net/?post_type=passages_mobile&p=866 In the Japanese Komuso (mendicant monks) tradition of Shakuhachi (bamboo flute), the Komuso would roam between temples and gain alms along the way, whilst seeking to experience enlightenment through performing the Shakuhachi, as conveyed in the Komuso saying: ‘Ichion Jobutsu: become a Buddha in one sound’.1

The collaborative project of musician Brian Ritchie and architect Stuart Tanner acknowledges this Zen monk tradition of transitory wandering, whilst exploring contemporary instances of how space, sound, movement, and experience might poignantly intersect. Ritchie and Tanner share an interest in clarity and simplicity. Ritchie’s sonic pursuits are underscored by both the active directness that first propelled and continues to sustain his punk-acoustic group the Violent Femmes, and his traditional training and ongoing practice in the Shakuhachi, for which he is a licensed teacher/performer granted the name ‘Tairaku’, translating as ‘big music’.

Traditional Honkyoku (Zen compositions) of Shakuhachi are expressed in three forms: Shin, Gyo and So. ‘Shin’ is the basic form learned from the teacher; ‘Gyo’ are variations retaining the basic form; and ‘So’ improvise new interpretations expressing the basic sentiments of the piece, but with a great deal of flexibility allowed to the performer. Ritchie and Tanner extend the improvising potential of ‘So’ expressive form to create compositions interplaying space and sound. Each particular temporary installation in different public environments composes a performance zone that is distinguishable from that of everyday busking. This affords Ritchie an opportunity for the live composition of new Shakuhachi performances in relationship to the material consistency of the ‘temple’ space, and in concert with the contingencies of its present environmental conditions and social circumstances. The compositions that emerge are the aesthetic gifts of ephemeral moments, lightly extending an ancient wisdom practice to encounter the ‘real now’ of a live urban condition.

]]> In the Japanese Komuso (mendicant monks) tradition of Shakuhachi (bamboo flute), the Komuso would roam between temples and gain alms along the way, whilst seeking to experience enlightenment through performing the Shakuhachi, as conveyed in the Komuso saying: ‘Ichion Jobutsu: become a Buddha in one sound’.1

The collaborative project of musician Brian Ritchie and architect Stuart Tanner acknowledges this Zen monk tradition of transitory wandering, whilst exploring contemporary instances of how space, sound, movement, and experience might poignantly intersect. Ritchie and Tanner share an interest in clarity and simplicity. Ritchie’s sonic pursuits are underscored by both the active directness that first propelled and continues to sustain his punk-acoustic group the Violent Femmes, and his traditional training and ongoing practice in the Shakuhachi, for which he is a licensed teacher/performer granted the name ‘Tairaku’, translating as ‘big music’.

Traditional Honkyoku (Zen compositions) of Shakuhachi are expressed in three forms: Shin, Gyo and So. ‘Shin’ is the basic form learned from the teacher; ‘Gyo’ are variations retaining the basic form; and ‘So’ improvise new interpretations expressing the basic sentiments of the piece, but with a great deal of flexibility allowed to the performer. Ritchie and Tanner extend the improvising potential of ‘So’ expressive form to create compositions interplaying space and sound. Each particular temporary installation in different public environments composes a performance zone that is distinguishable from that of everyday busking. This affords Ritchie an opportunity for the live composition of new Shakuhachi performances in relationship to the material consistency of the ‘temple’ space, and in concert with the contingencies of its present environmental conditions and social circumstances. The compositions that emerge are the aesthetic gifts of ephemeral moments, lightly extending an ancient wisdom practice to encounter the ‘real now’ of a live urban condition.

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