I saw the promo video, I listened to the album and was blown away, can’t wait to see the 30th anniversary Kodo performance once it comes to Indianapolis at Clowes Memorial Hall the 27th of February, but best of all I got the chance to have a phone interview with one of the organisers/staff members, Jun Akimoto, of the Kodo group on Thursday.

Having this interview gave me the chance to ask a few questions for a little more insight on the background, process and nature of Kodo…and a few insights into Jun himself!

Amanda: So how long have you been with the Kodo group?

Jun: I have been with Kodo for 10 years, this is my 11th.

Amanda: Was Kodo something you had always been interested in?

Jun: Actually at first I didn’t know anything about Kodo or Japanese drumming. I have always played music my entire life, mainly western music. I studied the violin from 3, I also played guitar and drums with the percussion set and everything and I also studied musicology. During my studies I was doing research and I encountered Japanese Drumming and I found Kodo. I saw that they held workshops and I joined for the 5 days. I really didn’t expect anything from it but it turned out that drum was an icebreaker with meeting people and so that was the way I met Kodo. One year later I contacted them again and they gave me a job.

Amanda: Do you play an instrument in the group now?

Jun: No, I mainly concentrate on management for Kodo and booking activities.

Amanda: Have you ever played an instrument within the Kodo group in the 10/11 years you have been with them or contributed to the music?

Jun: I did compose one of the songs for the Kodo album in 2004/2005 “Prism Rhythm” called Floor.

Amanda: And what was the process involved in making a song for Kodo?

Jun: For me I was interested in the Japanese drum, but just the drums means there is a lot of space to create new field. Like when you go to a Kodo performance it is interesting to see how the performers move and how they play the drums, it is very vivid. But for a CD it is only sound so you have to be very careful with the drumming, because it is very loud you don’t want it to sound like noise. So I just wanted to create a song where the melody is appealing to the listener and I wanted to try new styles and incorporate many different styles of drums and drumming. I wanted each drum to have a certain type of role and a certain type of drumming. See Japanese drumming is about the power of collectiveness but I wanted to try and stand out each drums characteristics and try to add as much melodic instruments as I could.

Amanda: Is Kodo focused on traditional values for you and the group as a performance?

Jun: Traditional values are always very important but we also try and balance tradition with the contemporary culture too. We always refresh each time for each performance/tour because tradition has to keep changing in order to survive. Like the founders of the group in 1971 they had a mission to explore performance arts unknown to outside Japan and when we join Kodo and go to Sado Island, to the village, we not only learn about drumming but also about how they live and think; we learn how and what the communal life is all about on Sado Island. See Kodo is not just people from Sado Island it is kind of a collective of people from all over Japan. So it is not 100% traditional, we try to learn from performances over time and incorporate contemporary culture.

Amanda: What kinds of adaptations have been made to Kodo and the tradition?

Jun: Kodo is performing arts centred on drumming but we have incorporated singing, dancing, strings, the fue; we have even incorporated other cultures like the Chinese.

The Kodo performance is not only drumming but also dancers and singers and what needs to be understood is that drumming is always attached to a specific dance and song. So when you first join you are required to learn the dance before the drumming, because you can’t understand the drumming without the dance. In the end Kodo is a beautiful arrangement of dance and drum.

We have also tried to add more new elements in this tour by bringing five new performers with us who have composed some of the songs for the new CD; that we are also bringing along and debuting at our performances. We also try to reach different kinds of artists in our travel and try to invite musicians to Sado Island, because it is a very important connection so that we can make new music and compositions together. In the end there are a lot of songs and melodic performances so that you can enjoy new elements and still stick to tradition.

Amanda: The CD that you mentioned is the Akatsuki album correct? Will we be hearing tracks from that in the performance at Clowes Memorial Hall?

Jun: Yes it is, and there will be tracks from it played during the performance.

Amanda: I downloaded the CD off your webpage and listened to the 11 tracks on there. The ones that have lyrics like “Tamayura No Michi”, is there any story being told there, any meaning behind the lyrics?

Jun: No the lyrics for that song don’t mean anything, unlike “Yoshino no Yama”. Quite often you find that traditional folk song lyrics don’t have specific meaning. Like “Tamayura No Michi” is meant to be more of a feeling, it’s hard to translate into english but the title means “the road of nature”, as in you can feel the nature of Japan and you are surrounded by the sacredness of the nature; again the song is about the feeling. The lyrics themselves are just a way to exhibit the voice, in traditional Japanese folk songs this is a typical way of making your voice. So in this song it is the typical voice of Japan incorporated in the composition without losing sense of the roots for folk songs.

Amanda: You mentioned that “Yoshino no Yama” has a story and meaning behind it, would you be able to tell us what it is?

Jun: “Yoshino no Yama” is an original folk song from the Western part of Japan that means “Cherry blossom” or “mountain of Yoshino”. This part of Japan is very well known for its cherry blossoms and during the spring time it is the tourist peak. This place is also known for being a special place for Shintoism and Buddhism and is regarded as a sacred place where people often make a trip to so that they can refresh themselves; it is kind of like a pilgrimage. The lyrics in the song are appraising the beauty and holiness of the mountain.

Amanda: Is there a particular composition on the album that has a story you favour or find interesting?

Jun: One of the tracks I find to be very interesting is ‘Sora’, whose composer, Shogo Yoshii, is one of the youngest members of Kodo, so he is very keen to meet any and all new people in the world. He toured with other dancers and musicians in the world for a year away from Kodo and this allowed him to meet many different types of musicians and artists internationally. These connections show in his composition ‘Sora’ which has a little bit of flavour from north eastern influences, like Indian Punjab, without losing the core of the Japanese folk music.

Another typical example of our younger members in Kodo, who is also very active in learning international music is the composer of ‘Kachi’, Yoshie Sunahata. She joined a contemporary dance project called the Akram Khan Company and also went away for one year from Kodo. Joining this project she became known as a very good dancer and singer which got her nominated for a dance award in the UK that is very well renowned. Her acknowledgment is very great for us and we are very proud of her achievements.

Amanda: Going to the tour itself, is there anything special that has been organised in the performances or the tour to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of Kodo?

Jun: The performances themselves there is not really a special thing that has been organised, but we do have a long relationship with the North American audience and we are always trying to build up stronger ties with them and the younger generation. So I think it is important to spend a little bit of a longer time in one place, which we are doing through our Kodo exhibitions, this is letting us make new and longer connections. We also have the Akatsuki CD release that is celebrating the 30^th anniversary and which we will be selling at our performances and we have five new performance members that we will be introducing. Lastly we also have one of our younger drummers, Kenta Nakagome, debuting to the bigger drum, the O-daiko. This is a very big thing for Kodo as the drummer has to have special skill to play the O-daiko; we have had only 4 members who have played it in the past, Kenta Nakagome will be our fifth, so we hope the audience enjoys his performance and welcome him.

Amanda: And how has the tour itslef been so far?

Jun: It has been very good! We arrived in the US on the 25^th of January, today will be our 8^th performance and we have been well received and so have the performances themselves; people have been enjoying them which is very good to hear. Our ticket sales have been selling well fortunately and we were happy to hear that our performance in LA today has sold out. We also had a reception yesterday for Kodo, there were about 250 people that showed up, which gave us the chance to meet new people and make stronger connections with older relationships.

Amanda: What has been your favourite stop so far on the tour?

Jun: Well we have been enjoying the warmer weather in California now and a little bit of it in Arizona as well, and in Texas which is our next stop. We feel though, that each stop has been different and each person in these places have different personalities and we enjoy meeting new people. So honestly, each spot we have been too has been a favourite; we love working around, talking to audience members after the show and media people, meeting the backstage people…it’s been great for us.

Amanda: Are there any interesting stories on the tour that have happened that you wouldn’t mind sharing?

Jun: Not really stories to share but we have been very happy to hear and see throughout the tour how famous Japanese drumming has become in the States. Did you know that there are now more than 300 Japanese drumming groups around the States, especially in California? And each time that we return we are always happy to see more and more people learning about Japanese drumming and it isn’t just Americans learning but all different international people. It’s beautiful to see it is becoming a more universal movement and not being limited to just the Japanese culture. And I think that the mission of Kodo gets people to understand what Japanese drumming is about.

Amanda: Now that I’ve asked about Kodo, I was hoping to ask 2 or 3 questions about you, just for the readers to get to know you a little better outside of Kodo. First question is, what do you like to do in your spare time when you are not rushing around getting things organised for Kodo?

Jun: When I do get spare time to myself I enjoy playing the guitar and drums. Like when I have a day off I try to find a place to jam and when I’m back home I play all the time, I get to enjoy both sides. Being able to do this makes me feel very comfortable in exploring pop music and the minor field of Japanese culture.

Amanda: Lastly, just to ask the obvious, what are your favourite songs that you listen to on your IPOD at the moment?

Jun: It’s very hard to say but I right now I listen to, and enjoy listening to, a lot of old blues and southern blues. For example some of my favourite bands are Hound Dog Taylor and Robert Johnson. I also enjoy listening to John Mayor and many younger musicians from Japan that are not well known outside Japan.

Amanda: Thank-you so much for everything, just before we finish this up, is there anything else you would like to add or say to our readers?

Jun: I just wanted to say that we are looking forward to returning to Indianapolis and introducing our new members of Kodo. We are also looking forward to meeting all the new people and hope to continue creating a longer relationship with the people.

So there it is guys, my phone interview with Jun Akimoto. I hope it was just as insightful to you as it was for me when I spoke to him.  Also just a friendly reminder that the Kodo performance will be at Clowes Memorial Hall, Sunday the 27^th of February; tickets can be found on the Clowes website, doors open at 3:30pm and the show begins at 4pm.