Name: Shuta Hasunuma
Nationality: Japanese
Occupation: Composer, sound artist
Current release: Shuta Hasunuma's unpeople, featuring Jeff Parker, Cornelius, KOM_I, Fumiya Otonashi, Greg Fox, Shuta Ishizuka, Mutsumi Aragaki, and Keiji Haino, is out now.
Recommendations:
Book The Life of Plants -A Metaphysics of Mixture - by Emanuele Coccia
Art “Hyperart: Thomasson" by Genpei Akasegawa

If you enjoyed this Shuta Hasunuma interview and would like to stay up to date with his music and projects, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, twitter, and Soundcloud.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

We have synesthesia. When you listen to a certain sound, you can see colors.

I think you probably listen to music with your whole body, not just your ears. Open your eyes and feel in the sound environment.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

My career began with field recordings. Recording and listening to the sounds of the earth.

The most important part of this activity is listening.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

I used to rent a lot of CDs at a CD rental store. Regardless of genre, from classical music to hip-hop to punk, etc. However, I simply loved "sound" more than music.

The “sound'' that I particularly liked during this period was the sound of “thunder”. Now that I think about it, the sound of thunder sounds like electronic music.

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

Make music that I genuinely want to make. Make music that I want to listen to.

Composers create works for others. For example, films, theater works, dance performances, etc. Music is used in most art media. Since I have a lot of this kind of compositional work, I don't have many opportunities to create for myself.

The new album unpeople is music that I purely wanted to make. It's a work of which I can proudly say, "This is my music for 2023."

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

In my opinion, ideas are something to discover.

How do you create what you discover into a work of art? An important thing for an artist is how to give shape to the ideas they have discovered.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

It's totally the same for me. I don't put any particular meaning or message into my music itself.

Also, melody and rhythm are important parts, but the most important thing is the resonance and texture of the sound.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

This summer, I visited a small Japanese island called Sado Island to create new works for KODO Japanese traditional drums ensemble. I went to the sea early every morning in a shallow cove, not to swim, but just to float. During that time, the ears were submerged under the sea.

I heard a very delicate "bubbling" sound. Was it the sound of bubbles made by sea creatures? Was it a sound coming from the ocean floor? I floated in the sea for hours, listening to its interesting sounds.

The human hearing range and the animal hearing range are different. Therefore, I believe that all sounds that humans can hear can be considered "musical.”

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

Yes. I really like the extremely loud guitar sound of my friend Keiji Haino, as well as the delicate and dynamic guitar sound played by Jeff Parker. I also like the very soft touch of Bach piano played by György Kurtág, and I also like the mechanical piano by Duval Timothy.

I believe that by overlapping various sound elements, a new expression of music will be born.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

When recording, the first note is very important. The core of the track is the first note. I change the way I first create it every time. I never create it from the keyboard and instruments I play easily.

For example, the sound you made while touching your house key, the sound of the forest you recorded yesterday, or the sound of birds coming from outside my window.

I like the creative process of constantly betraying myself. By doing so, I myself can enjoy creating things that I don't know the outcome of.

Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

I don't make "experimental" music, but I always make music while experimenting.

There is a song called "Lunar Mare" that is included on the new album unpeople.



The base of this track is the environmental sound of a completely frozen lake, and on top of that, the environmental parameter numbers on the moon's surface are used to control the output of electronic sounds to generate the sound.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

For example, when a work is completed, the next purpose is born. Creating work always motivates me.

I don't create works with a clear blueprint. This is the same in life as well.

There is no blueprint for my life; by taking one step at a time, a new path will open up.

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?

As music creators I compose music as a daily activity. But I'm happy when the finished work reaches listeners and becomes an extraordinary thing.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

I've just started playing Vangelis' "Albedo 0.39". The synthesizer sound of the periodic sequence feels good.

For me, Toru Takemitsu's GAGAKU ‘Japanese traditional music’ track "In an autumn garden, for gagaku orchestra" corresponds to yours.



If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

John Cage said, “Music, as I conceive it, is ecological. You could go further and say that it IS ecology.” (For the birds)

Humans have been working against the ways of nature. I believe that through exposure to music and art, we can create art that is more environmental.