Cultural Translations

and members are such extraordinarily open, focused and responsive improvisers thatone often perceives seemingly ordered sequences in their music. The improvisationstypically combine European and Asian traditional instruments, vocal sounds, electronicsounds, and the sounds of homemade instruments and found objects. The model may beapplied to the Moscow Pan-Asian Ensemble as follows:38Pentagonal Analysis of Cultural Translation (PACT)Musical Example: Moscow Pan-Asian EnsembleCultural Origins: Japanese Traditional Music / Contemporary EuropeanAvant-Garde Free ImprovisationSalience ofSpecific Domain: Hybridity:Explanation/Evidence:[ Strong / Med / Weak ]A) Technological Adaptations StrongVery inclusive approach, embracing all kinds of instruments andvocal sounds.B) Idiomatic Conventions MediumFree improvisation offers little room for idiomatic conventions, yetsome tendencies cannot be entirely avoided.C) Aesthetic Notions StrongThis feature seems especially strong. The “Fence” metaphor seemsapplicable to the original “Wa-On” ensemble, yet Pan-AsianEnsemble offers a distinctive synthesis.D) Creative Practices StrongVery unusual sound in combination of European and Asian acousticand electronic instruments as well as self-made instruments andfound objects.E) Receptive Contexts Medium Performances in combination with visual artists, butoh dance, etc.Figure 9: PACT-Moscow Pan-Asian EnsembleFigure 9: PACT-Moscow Pan-Asian EnsembleSummary Overview of the Four CasesIt shouldSummarybe clearOverviewfrom theofprecedingthe FourdiscussionCasesthat cultural translation can be either consciousor unconscious, and deliberately highlighted or shunted in such music projects. TokyoBrass It Style, should for be example, clear from appears the preceding to have arisen discussion quite organically, that cultural relatively translation unconscious can be either of anystandard conscious notion or of unconscious, “Japaneseness,” and yet deliberately ironically, highlighted it may most or closely shunted represent in such the music spirit projects. of contemporaryJapanese youth culture for which Japanese traditional music has generally had mini-Tokyo Brass Style, for example, appears to have arisen quite organically, relativelyunconscious of any standard notion of “Japaneseness,” yet ironically, it may most closelymal relevance represent in the recent spirit decades. of contemporary 38 The Yoshida Japanese Brothers, youth on culture the other for which hand, Japanese seem to comfortably traditionalstraddle music both has traditional generally folk had and minimal popular relevance music fields. in recent The decades. approach 41 to The hybridity Yoshida evident Brothers, in the onHelsinki the Koto other Ensemble hand, seem and to the comfortably Moscow Pan-Asian straddle both Ensemble traditional appear folk to and be conceptually popular music similar,fields. The approach to hybridity evident in the Helsinki Koto Ensemble and the Moscowalthough their actual sounds are quite dissimilar, with the Finns offering intelligible beauteousPan-Asian Ensemble appear to be conceptually similar, although their actual sounds areand melodic quite dissimilar, music, while with the the Russians Finns offering produce intelligible an atonal, beauteous mysterious, and challenging, melodic music, and at while timeseven horrific the Russians improvised produce collage an atonal, of sounds mysterious, that would challenging, make an and ideal at backdrop times even for horrific a terrifyingsuspense improvised movie. collage of sounds that would make an ideal backdrop for a terrifying suspensemovie.These observations also present an opportunity to revisit the first part of the proposed modelthat compares various “culturalisms.” While hybridity has traditionally been avoided in institutionalized41 This phenomenon forms of music lends further instruction, support some to Shuhei radical Hosokawa’s approaches observation have that recently contemporary been proposed Japanesethat embrace musicians experimentation do not “limit themselves via hybridity. to an identity 39 It in remains opposition to to be non-Japanese. seen whether In addition, such innovationsthey can alsorecognize themselves as Other” (1999, p.526). It should also be noted, however, that there are somewill come indications to be of perceived a minor revival as merely of Japanese a curious traditional and music temporary in the first trend decade or the of the beginnings 21 st century. of a newmovement. I would suspect the latter is a more likely outcome, due to the effects of globalizationand the tendency of institutions to eventually respond when new opportunities are convincingly 20demonstrated.38 This phenomenon lends further support to Shuhei Hosokawa’s observation that contemporary Japanesemusicians do not “limit themselves to an identity in opposition to non-Japanese. In addition, they canalso recognize themselves as Other” (1999, p.526). It should also be noted, however, that there are someindications of a minor revival of Japanese traditional music in the first decade of the 21 st century.39 See the Master of Global Music program website (http://glomas.net), and proceedings from the EUsponsoredproject Orally Transmitted Music and Intercultural Education, http://www.music-orality-roots.eu/content/proceedings-symposium-paris.David G. Hebert