KODO! 'not your local matsuri's Taiko'

[Taro Toporific]

Kodo has gotta be my fav music in Japan (besides the FG's own musicians of course).
LIVE
Kodo
The Japan Times: Nov. 7, 2004
....Kodo are not your local matsuri's Taiko. Their performances are equal parts theater, ritual and block party, with 20-plus performers putting Broadway flair to black-belt precision (and not an ounce of body fat among them, I might add). The stage is in constant flux. Dancers, drummers, traditional instrumentalists and stagehands moving massive drums -- some weighing nearly 400 kg. -- alter the aural and visual landscape with almost superhuman alacrity. These guys are serious, but never betray how much fun they're having....
Kodo: Dec. 9, 10, 11, 12, Bunkyo Civic Hall, Tokyo; Dec. 15, 16, 18, Nagoya, Dec 19 Osaka. Tickets range from 4,000-6,000 yen.
http://kodo.or.jp/frame.html

[Mulboyne]

Bloke who used to work in finance in Tokyo quit and moved to Sado to join the Kodo staff. He later put out a great book
"Children of the Drum": Photo book by Mark Coutts-Smith

Englishman Mark Coutts-Smith, former Kodo staff member has published a superb photo book about Kodo. Mark's unique position working with Kodo on Sado and on the road during their globe trotting tours gave him a rare opportunity to capture both their public life and as a 'fly on the wall' for an intimate look behind the scenes. This collection of 145 black and white images, complete with English text, takes you into Kodo Village, the members' homes and includes some remarkable portraits of the four seasons on Sado Island. 4,200

[Taro Toporific]

Bloke who used to work in finance in Tokyo quit and moved to Sado to join the Kodo staff... remarkable portraits of the four seasons on Sado Island.

For years, I made the trek the Kodo's "Earth Celebration" concerts on the third weekend of August. Every year a couple thousand Japanese and Japanese-speaking henna FGs go to the concert weekend. Everybody ought to make the "Earth Celebration" trip once in their life: camp on the party beaches, eat raw fish from the surf, and beat the drum all night.
GET'S JOMON!

[Watcher]

Yes... Kodo is amazing. I've seen them perform 3 times and am considering going again. I never made it to the Earth Fest on Sado and bitterly regret that I couldn't convince anyone to go with me (why didn't I just got alone?). BTW Taro... have you listened to the stuff they did with Mickey Hart or Juno Reactor? Ya gotta dig a taiko ensemble that can branch out into "modern" taiko and mix it up with techno (one of their performances I caught was in the middle of a concert for The Orb).

Anyone who doesn't follow what i was saying above can just go searching in any decent record shop.

[Taro Toporific]

have you listened to the stuff they did with Mickey Hart or Juno Reactor? Ya gotta dig a taiko ensemble that can branch out into "modern" taiko

Just as Leonard Eto was thinking about branching off of Kodo, I got to play with him at the Sado workshops in 1990-1991. Years later, I was not surprised by Juno Reactor connection---it was already in his head early in 1990--- and notice how the Matrix soundtrack is influenced by Kodo.