ima | lab No. 8

Junya Oikawa presents new Japanese tendencies in the area of music. In Japan there is no clear differentiation between popular and serious music. At the same time, many artists feel inspired by electroacoustic music. Most of the artists combine electroacoustic music with other media, for example, modern dance, installation, or video. Junya Oikawa presents the works of Japanese artists Hiroaki Umeda, Takagi Masakazu, Evala, and Tomonari Higaki.

Chikashi Miyama speaks about world tendencies in electronic instrument development. The trend among many inventors and musicians is to create their own music controller. Kinect, Wiimote, Beagleboard, Gumstix, Arduino and iPhone: the most diverse technologies are readily available, but what does that mean for artists and music? First, Chikashi Miyama will introduce various technologies and activities for developing instruments. Then, he categorizes and compares various approaches and discusses general problems regarding instrument development and musical application.