Ma Festival

間 MA JAPAN FESTIVAL CLOSING TIME:
FEAST FOR THE IMPRO’ EARS  

ZONDAG / DIMANCHE / SUNDAY • 6 NOV • 20:00 • 8€

text written by Pak Yan Lau, co-organisator with Giovanni Di Domenico of this festival in les ateliers claus, de pianofabriek, de beursschouwburg, recyclart & zaal belgië. there's also an eclectic movie picnic for ears, eyes & stomach on 3 november.

To end the MA Japan Festival, les ateliers claus is hosting a giant improv fest with no less than 21 musicians, actors and dancer - all highly involved in the international improv’ scene. We don’t know exactly how we can fit them in one room, but there’s no doubt this will be amazing.

Free flow music will be played in the most unexpected line ups and combinations.  If you are curious about what 5 of the best drummers around the globe can do together for instance, or what beautiful surprises could be created by pure musical/performance chemistry by some of the most interesting experimental artists around… then don't miss this evening.

Chris Corsano and Darin Gray will be joining the FEAST FOR THE IMPRO’ EARS, with their Japanese counterparts: Daysuke Takaoka, Yuko Oshima, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Marron , Nanami, and also their European side kicks: Nico Roig , Sanne Van Heck, Mathieu Calleja , Joao Lobo,  Giovanni Di Domenico  and Pak Yan Lau. The group of Kodomo Kyojin will be painting with their surrealistic touch.

Line up info:

Chris Corsano | always welcome in Les Ateliers Claus, this impressive drummer seems to turn into an octopus behind the kit.        
http://www.cor-sano.com/

Darin Gray | Coming from the Chicago improv scene, being the right bassist for Dazzling Killmen, noise, impro or math rock, he can handle it all!      
http://www.fvrec.com/daringray/

Daysuke Takaoka | Incredible tuba traveler produces sounds you didn't imagine a tuba could produce.            
http://www.myspace.com/takaokadaysuke

Yuko Oshima | Japanese lady treats the drums in many different ways, with influences from tradition, but also electronics and free noise.
http://www.myspace.com/yukooshima

Tatsuhisa Yamamoto | Grooving, polyrhythmic, always with a beautiful sound. Currently he’s one of the most demanded drummers in Japan.
http://www.cafeoto.co.uk/tatsuhisayamamoto.shtm

Marron | Delay ninja from Kyoto on electric guitar, brings layers of trippy sounds.
http://www.myspace.com/dubmarronics

Nanami | Butoh dancer, deep organic and naturalistic.
http://www.dansesauvage.com/

Nico Roig | Mostly losing his head, this dreamy guitarist knows how to make incredibly beautiful melodies, crazy incoherent grooves and has a special feel for electronics!
http://nicoroig.wordpress.com/

Sanne Van Heck | Multi instrumentalist Sanne brings her trumpet, navigating through free jazz, noise, rock and impro.
http://www.draaiomjeoren.com/taketen/taketenvanhek.html

Mathieu Calleja | Sound sculpture drummer, who does wondrous things with his cymbals and his deep sounding bassdrum.
http://www.par4chemins.com/cymbows_english_version.html

Joao Lobo | Portugal’s favorite drummer, knows how to move in every direction, he was born to improvise.
http://www.myspace.com/joaolobo

Giovanni Di Domenico | multi talented Italian pianist, shared musical views with Arve Henriksen and Jim O’Rourke, bringing colorful harmonies, edgy electronics and open ears.
http://soundcloud.com/giovannididomenico

Pak Yan Lau | Dreamy, toy obsessed pianist, always developing different moods and ambiences.
http://www.myspace.com/pakyanlau

Kodomo Kyojin | Theatre group straight from Osaka. Hilarious, mysterious, strange, absurd and thrilling.
http://kodomokyojin.com/about/english/

Wim Lots | Soundscapes

Ma Festival

間 MA JAPAN FESTIVAL
“Eclectic Movie PicNic for Ears, Eyes & Stomach”

DONDERDAG / JEUDI / THURSDAY • 3 NOV • 18:00 • 8€

text written by Pak Yan Lau, co-organisator with Giovanni Di Domenico of this festival in les ateliers claus, de pianofabriek, de beursschouwburg, recyclart & zaal belgië. and don't miss the ma festival closing performance either!

FOOD 18:00
SHORT MOVIES 20h30-20h50
SKETCH BREAK (20h50-21h10)
MISHIO MAI 21h10-21h40
SKETCH BREAK  (21h40-22h)
KURUTTA IPPEIJI 22h-23h

We are very proud to present the 1st edition of Ma Japan Festival in Belgium. Our goal is to bring together contemporary artists from Japan with their European and Belgium counterparts (musicians, actors, filmmakers, performers…). To celebrate the beauty of creation, to connect artistic perspectives from both Japan and Europe, to connect cultures. And for this evening even… food! Not only for your belly, but also for your brain.

Line up:
JAPANESE FOOD (by Miku Enomoto and Loïc Sturani) will be served with, as a side-dish: 

TRANSPLANTATION (Creation: Denis Robert, Miku Enomoto, Saiko Maeda)
A living installation around and with the textile creations of Miku and Saiko. Something moving, presenting its own universe, will bring our daily banalities to a bizarre level.
Choreography: Denis Robert
Creation sounds of the stomach: Madame Dame       
Music: Hikari Kiyama, Kentaro Noda (piano)
http://photo.ikesu.org/galleries/art_events/trans_plant_ation/

SHORT MOVIES BY LOÏC STURANI
An Italian video artist who lived many years in Japan, is fascinated by vegetables. His work is strongly based on the lives and strives of daikons and cucumbers, including vegetable thrillers and creations for curious stomachs.
http://www.organic-video.com/

MISHIO MAI (Japanese folk/pop)
This young singer songwriter is coming alone with her guitar.
Her voice, sometimes eerie, sometimes warm, tells short stories.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYqE_JgZfTg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX6XWxg8mGM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUzzm5SP6AE&feature=related
http://www.myspace.com/maimishio

SILENT FILM ‘KURUTTA IPPEIJI’  (‘A Page Of Madness’),
An incredible movie by Teinosuke Kinugasa, with live music by Tatsuhisa Yamamoto (drums), Audrey Lauro (sax), Jean-Philippe Feiss (cello) and benshi (live narration) by Masuyama Takashi. ‘Kuruta Ippeiji’ (A Page Of Madness) is a silent film by Japanese film director Teinosuke Kinugasa, made in 1926. It was lost for fifty years until being rediscovered by Kinugasa in his storehouse in 1971. The film is the product of an avant garde group of artists in Japan known as the Shinkankaku-ha (or School of New Perceptions) who tried to overcome naturalistic representation. The film takes place in an asylum. Although cut together in an ever maddening maelstrom, the film loosely tells the story of the janitor of the asylum. His wife is one of the patients. One day their daughter shows up at the asylum to tell her mother about her engagement. This sets off a number of subplots and flashbacks which stitch together the family history (for instance, why the mother is a patient and why the daughter is unaware of her father's job as a janitor).

For the hungry ones, after the film, food can be served again, and in between tea and surprise snacks are served by KODOMO KYOJIN, a surreal theatre from Osaka.

BAINS CONNECTIVE

BAINS CONNECTIVE & LES ATELIERS CLAUS PRESENT
ResSounds Lab #0
ANJA KOWALSKI, PAK YAN LAU, GIOVANNI DI DOMENICO, JEAN-PHILIPPE FEISS, JOOP PAREYN, SILVANO MAGNONE
+ AYMERIC HAINAUX

VRIJDAG / VENDREDI / FRIDAY • 3 JUNE • 20:30 • 8€

ResSounds Lab #0
May 23 2011 - June 03 2011

EN / The Brussels based artistic laboratory Bains Connective launches ResSounds Lab, a new residency project with the focus on music and sound: during a 2 weeks research and practice residency, musicians from different backgrounds are invited to work together. For the first lab BC invites musicians Anja Kowalski, Pak Yan Lau, Giovanni Di Domenico and Jean-Philippe Feiss to work with video artists Joop Pareyn and Silvano Magnone, around the theme “Encounters/Missed encounters”. The results of their journey across the maze of the urban space will be presented on Friday June 3 2011 during a special compilation evening, realized in collaboration with Les Ateliers Claus.
With Giovanni Di Domenico, Jean-Philippe Feiss, Anja Kowalski, Pak Yan Lau, Silvano Magnone and Joop Pareyn.

NL / De Brusselse artistieke werkplaats Bains Connective lanceert met het ResSounds Lab een nieuw residentieproject rond muziek en geluid, waarin muzikanten met verschillende achtergronden gedurende een 14-daagse onderzoeks- en praktijkresidentie worden samengebracht. Voor dit eerste lab nodigt BC de muzikanten Anja Kowalski, Pak Yan Lau, Giovanni Di Domenico en Jean-Philippe Feiss uit om, samen met video artiesten Joop Pareyn en Silvano Magnone, te werken rond het thema “Encounters/Missed encounters”. De resultaten van hun tocht doorheen het doolhof van de stedelijke ruimte, zullen worden gepresenteerd op vrijdag 3 juni 2011, tijdens een speciale compilatie avond, gerealiseerd in samenwerking met Les Ateliers Claus.
Met Giovanni Di Domenico, Jean-Philippe Feiss, Anja Kowalski, Pak Yan Lau, Silvano Magnone en Joop Pareyn.

FR / Le laboratoire artistique Bruxellois Bains Connective lance ResSounds Lab, un nouveau projet de résidence autour de la musique et du son: pendant 2 semaines de recherche et pratique des musiciens de différents milieux sont invités à travailler ensemble. Pour ce premier laboratoire BC invite Anja Kowalski, Pak Yan Lau, Giovanni Di Domenico et Jean-Philippe Feiss à travailler avec les artistes video Joop Pareyn et Silvano Magnone, autour du thème «Encounters/Missed encounters». Les résultats de leur voyage à travers le labyrinthe de l'espace urbain seront présentés le vendredi 3 juin 2011 pendant une soirée compilation spéciale, réalisée en collaboration avec Les Ateliers Claus. 
Avec Giovanni Di Domenico, Jean-Philippe Feiss, Anja Kowalski, Pak Yan Lau, Silvano Magnone en Joop Pareyn.

AYMERIC HAINAUX /
EN Aymeric Hainaux is a visual, comic and performance artist, a musician and a hitchhiking traveller. For his intense corporeal performances, he uses a kind of beatboxing style, but ends up with sound signatures that relate much more to abstract electronic music, drone, glitch and noise than to hiphop. Besides his own body, breath and voice, the only extras he uses are a microphone,  some harmonicas, bells and delay pedal. He has collaborated with all kinds of experimental and avant-garde artists, dancers, musicians, including Ogura, Christine Quoiraud, Kenzo Kusuda, Lexie Mountain Boys, Lucky Dragons, White / Lichens, Radikal Satan, Erik Minkinnen, Realicide, James Blackshaw, ... No loop. Live action ONLY. http://www.unpoisson.com/videos.htm

VIDEO /

LINKS /
http://www.myspace.com/anjakowalski
http://www.myspace.com/giovannididomenico
http://www.myspace.com/pakyanlau
http://www.jeanphilippefeiss.com
http://www.northfacecollective.com (Joop Pareyn)
http://silvanomagnone.com/

Outloud (day two)

OUTLOUD!
AL SOLO (Maps of unusual places)
LOLA MONTEZ
GOING
CLAUDIA IGNOTO (Installation)
SOUNDSCAPES BY MAD AP - CURATED BY PAK YAN LAU 

ZATERDAG / SAMEDI / SATURDAY • 16 APRIL • 20:30 • 8€

Day two of a two day festival of music in all its shapes, with international and national musicians from around the globe - as curated by PAK YAN LAU

LUCE INSTALLATION
Claudia Ignoto (It/Nl) is a visual artist living in Brussels, in this installation she will play with organic forms, glass , transparancies  and light, creating a dark shining space. 
Claudia Ignoto (installation) www.claudiaignoto.com 
Pak Yan Lau (music) www.myspace.com/pakyanlau

AL SOLO
'Maps Of Unusual Places'
Saxophone alto: AUDREY LAURO
Mise En Espace: Daniel Perez 

Cartographie sonore improvisée … on travaille dans ce solo/duo sur la notion de trajet, de chemin. .. Le son se déplace d’un point à un autre , stagne, occupe tout l’espace , se transforme mais ne s’arrête jamais. La respiration circulaire est à l’origine de la performance qui interroge les notions de cycles, de parcours et d’espaces sonores . Ce qui m’intéresse est l’espace d’écoute commun à l’auditeur et au performer, et plus encore les « unusual , emotional, fictional places » que la performance propose …

LOLA MONTEZ
Happy Punk quartet from Amsterdam, Utrecht & Hamburg
http://www.lolamontez.nl
http://www.flickr.com/photos/doppelmoppel/sets/72157626080602824/

GOING 
Psychedelic grooving drum/keys quartet with:
Pak Yan Lau (pianet, electronics)
Giovanni Di Domenico (rhodes, electronics)
Mathieu Calleja (drums/percussion, electronics)
Joao Lobo (drums)

Untitled by Going

Soundscapes by MAD-AP

PAK YAN LAU
Born in Belgium, with origins from Hong Kong, Pak Yan started playing the piano at the age of 9. She studied in Belgium (Royal Conservatory of Antwerp) and Portugal (ESMAE, O Porto) for classical piano. Where after she took jazz workshops in Belgium and Italy with among others; Christoph Erbstosser, Mark Levine, Stefano Battaglia, Franco d’Andrea, Marilyn Crispell, etc… She makes music for dance-theatre productions ('Gadgetland', Lazara Rosell Albear), shadow theatre (Dala Dala) and documentary ('News From Nowhere', Christophe Van Collie).

Within the discovery of the world of sounds and transformation of sounds, she started a toy band 'The Crappy Mini Band' , where all small instruments and objects are used to their maximum. Her growing interest in electronics made her on a journey of discovery with analog synths and electronics. She currently also plays for dancers, gives workshops in free improvised music and plays/played with musicians such as Joao Lobo, Mathieu Ha, Daysuke Takaoka, Gregoire Tirtiaux, Mori-Shige and many more.
http://ww.myspace.com/pakyanlau

by Wim Lots 

Causing A Tiger

CAUSING A TIGER
TAPE
STRANDED HORSE
BRU-TO (TATSUHISA YAMAMOTO + GIOVANNI DI DOMENICO)

ZATERDAG / SAMEDI / SATURDAY • 12 MAR • 20:30 • 8€

TIME SCHEDULE / 
21:00 TAPE
21:45 STRANDED HORSE
22:30 BRU-TO
23:15 CAUSING A TIGER

CAUSING A TIGER 
Dreams are fantastical (re)creations collaged and cobbled together from our collected images, thoughts and experiences, and exploded and reassembled with no regard for rectitude or precedent. Using field recordings made from various tours in Europe and the U.S. as both anchors and points of departure - fractured details like the drunk crooner in a circus tent in Italy, the triumvirate of barking dogs outside of Warsaw, a bicycle-mounted calliope in Holland - Causing A Tiger creates a sort of musical dreamscape-travelogue. 

MATTHIAS BOSSI (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Cosa Brava) - Keys, Percussion, Drums, Voice
SHAHZAD ISMAILY (Ceramic Dogs, Good For Cows, ...) - Bass, Gtr, Electronics, Voice
CARLA KIHLSTEDT (Fred Frith's Cosa Brava, Sleepytime ...) - Violin, Voice
http://www.carlakihlstedt.com/carla.html#
http://www.facebook.com/causingatiger

TAPE
“Tape organically blend balsa-light acoustic textures (guitars, percussion, winds and brass) with a range of organs and a gentle yet firm digital pressure.” – WIRE

“The only really useful comparisons to make would be to other Tape albums, and Luminarum finds this unique Swedish troupe at least equalling, if not bettering the genre-defying work they’ve made their name with. Amazing stuff.” – Boomkat

“Hearing a new Tape record feels like coming home. Their warm blend of acoustic instrumentation (piano, guitar, harmonium, etc.) and electronics never dissapoints.” – Foxy Digitalis

http://www.myspace.com/tapesthlm
http://soundcloud.com/tapesweden 

STRANDED HORSE
After a unforgettable gig at the Schip in April 2009, Yann Tambour is back in Brussels  will present his brand new second album. Written largely during a spell living in Bristol, UK, and recorded in the serene coastal environs of Normandy in North-West France, "Humbling Tides" continue along the path embarked upon with "Churning Strides" (released as Thee, Stranded Horse in 2007), effecting sublte but significant changes to a musical formula that finds Tambour melting disparate musical modes and cultures - shades of the mandinka tradition of West Africa, medevial folksong, Fahey-esque fingerpicking, French chanson and more can be discerned - into one bold, fluid and gradeful new form.
http://www.myspace.com/theestrandedhorse 

BRU-TO
= Giovanni di Domenico (http://www.myspace.com/giovannididomenico)
= Tatsuhisa Yamamoto (played w/ Otomo Yoshihide, Jim O'Rourke, RUINS, Keiji Haino, ...)
= incredible Japanese drummer meets multitalented Belgo/Italian keyboard player.
watch this video where they play together with Jim O'Rourke. 

VIDEO /