Midori Takada ( ja, 高田みどり) (born December 21, 1951
) is a Japanese composer and percussionist. She has been described as a pioneer of
ambient
Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to:
Music and sound
* Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds
* Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere
* ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby
* ...
and
minimalist
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
music.
Early career and Mkwaju Ensemble
Takada graduated from
Tokyo University of the Arts
or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...
and began her musical career as a percussionist with the
Berlin RIAS Symphonie-Orchester in the mid-1970s.
She became dissatisfied with the Western classical musical tradition and returned to Japan to study African drumming and Indonesian
gamelan
Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...
, as well as the early
minimalism
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
of
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...
and
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...
.
She channeled these influences into the group
Mkwaju Ensemble which she formed with
Joe Hisaishi
, known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. He is also known for his piano scores.
Hisaishi's music has been known to explor ...
,
Yoji Sadanari,
Junko Arase and
Hideki Matsutake
Hideki Matsutake (born August 12, 1951 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese composer, arranger, and computer programmer. He is known for his pioneering work in electronic music and particularly Programming (music), music progr ...
. Mkwaju Ensemble released two albums in 1981, ''Mkwaju'' and ''Ki-Motion'',
and she also performed on recordings by
Toru Takemitsu TORU or Toru may refer to:
*TORU, spacecraft system
*Toru (given name), Japanese male given name
*Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
*Tõru
Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western Est ...
and
Satoshi Ashikawa around this time.
''Through The Looking Glass''
Takada recorded her first solo LP ''Through The Looking Glass'' in three days in early 1983. She performs all parts on the album, with diverse instrumentation including
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
,
marimba
The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...
,
gong
A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
,
reed organ
The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...
,
bells,
ocarina
The ocarina is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from c ...
,
vibraphone
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...
,
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
and glass
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
bottles.
The album was not commercially popular upon release, but became a collector's item in the late 2010s thanks to online sharing through
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
and other sites.
The album was reissued on vinyl and CD in 2017 and has been hailed as "mesmerizing"
and an "ambient minimalist masterpiece".
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
awarded the album 'Best new reissue'
and it became the second best-selling release of 2017 on
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
.
Further collaborations, ''Tree of Life'' and recent career
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Takada performed in various ensembles, composed for theater director
Tadashi Suzuki
is a Japanese avant-garde theatre director, writer, and philosopher.
He is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT), and organizer of Japan’s first international theatre festival (Toga Festival). With American director An ...
and taught at various universities in Tokyo.
She also performed with the
improvisational
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
group
Ton-Klami and collaborated with pianist
Masahiko Satoh
is a Japanese jazz pianist, composer and arranger.
Early life
Satoh was born in Tokyo on 6 October 1941. His mother was Setsu and his father, who owned small businesses, was Yoshiaki Satoh. The house that his family moved into in 1944 contained ...
(''Lunar Cruise'') and Ghanese percussionist
Kakraba Lobi (''African Percussion Meeting''), but did not record another solo album until ''Tree of Life'' in 1999.
There was a resurgence of interest in Takada's work following the reissue of ''Through The Looking Glass'' and she has since performed extensively across Europe, the United States, Australia, Israel and Japan. She also recorded two new collaborative releases, ''Le Renard Bleu'' with electronic artist
Lafawndah
Yasmine Dubois, known professionally as Lafawndah, is a singer, songwriter, producer and director.
Early life
Lafawndah was raised in Paris, France, and is of Egyptian, Iranian, and English descent. She has lived across the world in various cit ...
and ''An Eternal Moment'' with saxophonist
Kang Tae Hwan.
In 2020, Takada was approached by filmmaker
Otto Bell
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded fr ...
who wanted to use ''Through The Looking Glass'' as the soundtrack for his documentary, ''
The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima''. Takada instead decided to compose a new original score which she performs for the film.
Discography
* ''Through The Looking Glass'' (1983)
* ''Nebula'' (1987), with
Mayumi Miyata
is a Japanese player of the '' shō'', a traditional Japanese mouth organ.
Miyata was born on April 1, 1954, in Tokyo and graduated from the Kunitachi College of Music, where she majored in piano. While in school, she began studying '' gagaku ...
* ''Lunar Cruise '' (1990), with
Masahiko Satoh
is a Japanese jazz pianist, composer and arranger.
Early life
Satoh was born in Tokyo on 6 October 1941. His mother was Setsu and his father, who owned small businesses, was Yoshiaki Satoh. The house that his family moved into in 1944 contained ...
* ''Tree of Life'' (1999)
* ''Le Renard Bleu'' (2018), with
Lafawndah
Yasmine Dubois, known professionally as Lafawndah, is a singer, songwriter, producer and director.
Early life
Lafawndah was raised in Paris, France, and is of Egyptian, Iranian, and English descent. She has lived across the world in various cit ...
* ''An Eternal Moment'' (2019), with
Kang Tae Hwan
Theatrical work
* Musical performance in ''
Electra
Electra (; grc, Ήλέκτρα) is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, '' Electra'' by Sophocles and '' Electra'' by Euripides. She is also the centra ...
'', directed by
Tadashi Suzuki
is a Japanese avant-garde theatre director, writer, and philosopher.
He is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT), and organizer of Japan’s first international theatre festival (Toga Festival). With American director An ...
and
Satoshi Miyagi
is a Japanese Theatre Director, in Kanda, Tokyo. Miyagi studied aesthetics at Tokyo University. He had a strong interest in Rakugo Japanese comic talk since his teens. He was awarded the Theatre Pasta Theatre Awards in 2007 for his excellent work ...
, first performed in 1996, ACM Theatre,
Art Tower Mito
is an arts complex in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan. It opened in 1990 as part of the centennial celebrations of the municipality of Mito. There is a concert hall that seats 680, a theater for up to 636, a contemporary art gallery, and a landmark tower. ...
, Japan
* Musical performance in ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'', directed by Tadashi Suzuki.
Film Score
* ''
The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima'', 2020
References
External links
Midori Takada profileat Ground Control Touring
Midori Takada profileat Qu Junktions
Midori Takadaat
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takada, Midori
Japanese percussionists
Classical percussionists
Japanese women composers
Musicians from Tokyo
Living people
1951 births
NoBusiness Records artists