Chihei Hatakeyama w/ Wild Card, {arsonist} – 21+

Chihei Hatakeyama is a sound artist, an organizer and mastering engineer who was born in 1978, and lives in Tokyo. He has performed for years under his given name and also as one half of the electroacoustic duo Opitope, along with Tomoyoshi Date. Hatakeyama got involved in playing music through strumming a electric guitar in a few rock-oriented bands in his teenage years. Subsequently a laptop computer superseded his bands as his main platform. Hatakeyama polychromes memory-evoking soundscapes with various recorded materials of acoustic instruments such as guitars, vibraphone, and piano; mostly played by hand and processed time and time again via laptop. His first album Minima Moralia was commissioned for release by the Chicago-based label kranky in early 2006.

Since then his many albums have been released by Room 40, Under The Spire, Hibernate Records, Magic Book Records, Home Nomal, OwnRecords, Spekk, Dronarivm, Constellation Tatsu, Glacial Movements Records and his own label White Paddy Mountain. In 2013 Hatakeyama founded the record label White Paddy Montain, which has since released over 40 recordings by some of the most accomplished musicians and modern ambient musicians, Shoegazer and folk musicians in Japan.

Recent years Hatakeyama continues to evolve his sound by analog synthesizer, modular synthesizer and compact guitar effector. Hatakeyama approaches some modular synthesizer and electric guitar drone projects with an expectation of new directions.

Wild Card of Cascadia is a trio from Portland whose immersive, spontaneous music emerges from omnivorous, adaptable, inquisitive working methods. In search of unexpected discoveries they deploy conceptual prompts, unexpected instrumentation, and game-like challenges. Their emphasis on electro-acoustic sound means they draw from a large array of instruments and techniques, from free improvisation to concrete composition. Wild Card’s membership includes established artists William Selman (Mysteries of the Deep, Critique of Everyday Life), Marcus Fischer (12k), and Paul Dickow (who records as Strategy), but the group’s sound is distinct from their individual projects.