Name: Junko Ueda

Nationality: Japanese
Occupation: Singer, satsuma-biwa player
Current release: Junko Ueda (on voice and Satsuma Biwa) teams up with French experimental outfit PoiL for the self-titled debut album of PoiL Ueda via Dur et Doux.
Recommendations: I recommend a book: The Shepherd’s Life - A Tale of the Lake District by James Rebanks; and a painting: ‘Paysage de campagne / Country Scene’, 1920, by Anne Savage (1896 - 1971)

If you enjoyed this interview with Junko Ueda and would like to find out more about her music, visit her official website.



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/ or sound that drew you to it?

From around the age of 6, I had a very motivating piano teacher. Besides, I practiced traditional Japanese dancing by which I could listen to a lot of traditional Japanese dance music. Also, my parents gave me a Japanese song score-book, which I loved very much.

Later, when I was a teenager, I was fascinated by the British rock band Emerson Lake and Palmer, who used classical music motifs to create avant-garde rock music, and I wondered what exactly is the "music" that moves people and I wanted to pursue a career in music. So I went to study piano and composition at the Tokyo College of Music.



From that time on, I started listening to and practicing all kinds of music styles like, Javanese Gamelan music; Indian music; Brecht songs with theatre groups; Japanese shômyô Buddhist chant; Japanese biwa story-telling music; Reigaku (ancient Gagaku music); contemporary music; improvised music; flamenco; etc.

Though I studied piano and composition at the conservatory, finally Japanese biwa story-telling music and shômyô Buddhist chant became my main occupation.

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?

When I listen to a nice music, I feel the energy of the performers and vibrations of the sound which first of all make me relaxed and happy.

When I feel moved by its beauty, colour of the voice, exquisite timing and so on, that’s indeed a treasurable moment.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

When I was young, I was playing music for myself to search a meaning in me and to achieve ‘something’. But now I feel that I ‘myself’ am not so important. The valuable things are the sound and the story which are produced at the very moment of the performance, how I go with it and I’m excited by the sound and story.

When the music reaches to the heart of the listeners, that is the most important moment.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

I am married to a Dutch flutist / composer and live in Europe, so I travel many times between Europe and Japan. I always strive to learn good customs of both Japanese and Western cultures and pick up some universal senses.

That’s very important for me, since I perform traditional Japanese music and it is my sincere passion to perform this traditional music for the contemporary audience all over the world to share a space and time to discover an essence of humanity.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

Being able to play music is an extraordinary luxury. Above all, there are many people who want to play music, but they can’t because of the situations, like many times by war and conflict in countries. If you can and have a situation to play music, that’s an enormous privilege and luck.

So let’s do it and make people’s heart warm and peaceful. Mmy main approach is to communicate with people, crossing cultural border lines.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

I perform traditional Japanese music. I think the succession of traditions is not something that takes place behind closed doors. It could be done when we go out into the world, struggling and confronting problems, with the desire to contribute to the society of the moment, predicting the gifts needed for a healthy future, and always encouraged by the universal strength of tradition.

Traditional music is a means of communication with the people of the planet. It is not just an introduction to a culture, but a challenge to share an emotion on the aesthetics of the profundity and the wisdom that traditions have nurtured.

The collaboration with PoiL is a big challenge for me to discover extended possibilities of traditional Japanese music. I learned a lot from their energy and creativity which goes ahead of the times. Surely I wanted to be there as a traditional music performer.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

I don’t know if it’s so interesting though, when I am at home all day long and don’t have much obligations, then in the morning I do body exercises

breakfast - cleaning house - practicing music - cooking lunch - work (emails, travel arrangement, writing texts, etc) - go walking in the mountains - work - cooking dinner - work or hobby ....

Email has become a big part of my life which takes up quite a time, but without it it’s impossible to work nowadays. How did we do that before? We can arrange two North American concert tours traveling to tens of venues from New York, east coast, going up to Canada, through Canada to the West, and going down on the West coast until San Diego ... In the past we'd arrange all of this by writing letters and visiting travel agencies. Now, I cannot imagine we could do it by letter.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

My main performance has always been solo music. However, I sincerely love to work and perform in groups.

I have beautiful memories of participating for five years in the Javanese Gamelan ensemble at my conservatory and for three years with Reigaku ensemble in the Tokyo National Theatre. Obviously this homogenous experience and creative process were very valuable to learn which was quite a different approach from my music.

The collaboration PoiL Ueda is one of the most exciting group creations for me. Obviously, it’s a totally different approach from the Gamelan music. Here, each player has his / her own strong character, culture and background, but without any compromise and fusion, we are all there and coexist.

Hundred percent of their music plus hundred percent of my music are together in one world. Through the composition process of PoiL Ueda (all compositions are done by PoiL members), the most important approach is that they could catch the essence of the traditional Japanese music, which is ‘Ma’ in Japanese (this can be translated like ‘timing and space’).

Their sharp sense to understand this musical timing makes the PoiL Ueda music so powerful and exquisite.

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

We all need nutrition to live. Music and art are indispensable nutrition for people’s mind. Without music, the world would be a devastated place.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

I believe music and art education for kids are so important, teaching them how to enjoy the music or to create a piece of art. Then later in their life, they will be able to deal with their emotions and big topics of life.

How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?

Science seems always ‘avant-garde’ and ahead of the time. That is very parallel to art and modern music.

With art, music and science, we can look forward into the future.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Well, I guess that to make a great cup of coffee isn’t just a mundane task ... I don’t know since I’m tea drinker.

Anyway, both are touching to the sense of people, so there might be some connections. Live action of performing, creating and sharing.

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

It’s human’s great privilege to have that sense for not only hearing but for reaching higher philosophies and beautiful messages to your
mind.

So we have to take care to protect that privilege and to make the world a better place to live for everybody.