Kitaro, a Japanese music master, likes to close his eyes when performing, because he knows that music is an invisible energy, and at that moment, only by emptying his eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body can he make the music flow more freely. At one point, he deliberately opened his eyes and found... I made a mistake.
This was told to reporters as a joke during the interview, but it was true. Kitaro, who regards himself as a "child of nature," believes that people rely too much on their eyes to see the world in all its forms, and it is easy to lose their hearts, "In fact, if you close your eyes, you can feel more clearly." ”
On February 26, Kitaro appeared at the Delta Center in Beijing to build momentum for the official launch of his first solo tour in China, a musical tour called "Ancient Events and the Universe" that will be launched in six cities, including Xi'an, Wuhan and Beijing, starting from May 1.
Many fans felt that Kitaro's tour had come too late. In 1980, when Kitaro created the amazing Silk Road, he was still a newcomer to music who was not yet 27 years old, and at that time he composed music entirely based on his imagination of Dunhuang in China. Now, nearly 40 years after playing the song, he has embarked on his first solo tour of China.
As a young man, Kitaro had long black hair and a thin face, and he was as uninhibited and free on stage as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest in China, releasing the long whistle in his chest to the sound of music and drums.
Kitaro, who is now in front of reporters, his loose hair and delicate beard have turned white, is humble and calm, admitting that he has grown old. However, his philosophy of nature has not changed, he will still listen to the sound of wind and snowflakes in the valley in the silent winter day; he will still ask the heart of heaven and earth in the city and the desert, he knows that the concert tells him the answer to the universe, and the message from nature is never interrupted, whether he is awake or asleep.
Initially I couldn't understand the staves
Record the music with "Drawing"
Kitaro was born on February 4, 1953, and was originally named Masanori Takahashi. Because he had long hair in high school, his friends gave him the manga character name "Kitaro" (Kitaro is pronounced the same as Kitaro in Japanese), and Later, Kitaro became his stage name.
Kitaro's works are rooted in eastern civilization and exude the meaning and profundity of the Orient everywhere. It is with this unique style that he has won many awards and honors. During his musical career, Kitaro has been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Best New Century Album in 2001 for Thinking of You, and he has also won several awards including the Golden Globe Award, the Taiwan Golden Horse Award, and the Hong Kong Film Award.
For Chinese audiences, in addition to "Silk Road", the most famous are the prelude to "The Great Wall" performed by him for beyond, and the music he composed for the movies "Heaven and Earth" and "Song Dynasty".
Although he did not have a professional musical education, Kitaro used guitar, bass, keyboard, flute and many other instruments. In 1980, he released the collections Silk Road 1 and Silk Road 2 for NHK Radio in Japan, and his first concert was held in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward that year. At this concert, Kitaro was the first composer in the world to use a reverberator to imitate more than 40 instruments.
One of the legends about Kitaro is that this music master can't read the staves, and when it comes to this, Kitaro laughs: "Indeed, I recorded the earlier music like a painting, this is the mountain, that is the water, there is the cloud, and the tune is completed so high and low." I looked at it very clearly myself, but everyone else was like reading the 'Book of Heaven', and when they heard the song, they looked at my 'special stave' and said, 'Oh, this'. However, Kitaro then did not forget to add: "I have learned staves now, because I have to work with a symphony orchestra, and I can't help but read music." ”
Kitaro, who likes to draw, also uses painting for other aspects, such as his home is his own drawing design, which is a great enjoyment for him: "Painting and designing drawings feels like creating music, feeling like working with a symphony orchestra, one after another, nailing something, also like singing 123, staggered, very interesting." ”
Nature gives him room for imagination
Kitaro loves winter the most
Kitaro is a representative figure of Oriental New Age (New Age) music, he is good at synthesizing Japanese instruments, violins, flutes, guitars, Tibetan horns, drums, Southeast Asian folk percussion and other synthesis, with electronic synthesis sound effects, reproducing mountains, forests, sea and other natural landscapes. In his music, the sound of wind, rain, camel bells can be heard, and his music conveys the harmonious coexistence of all things on the planet and the reverence and worship of nature.
Kitaro also often refers to himself as a "child of nature", in his own words: "My soul comes from nature, and for me, a certain piece is a cloud, and a certain piece is water." ”
Kitaro is considered to be a musically gifted wizard, but Kitaro is not sure of this. But he affirms that his fascination with music is related to growing up in an environment with mountains and waters, and is related to being cared for and nourished by nature.
When he was a child, as long as he saw the landscape and water, Kitaro's mind would always form a picture composed with music, so he had his own unique way of composing. When writing the theme song for Oliver Stone's film "Heaven and Earth," Kitaro began to compose it after reading the script, "After reading the script, the picture naturally formed in his mind, and the music followed, and then Oliver Stone listened to it and said 'Congratulations'." Creating music relies heavily on imagination, just like when you read a book, there will also be scene construction in your mind, imagination is very important. ”
Kitaro is grateful to nature for giving him a lot of imagination space, so that he can build a musical world in his head from an early age. He laughed that he especially liked winter, liked when it snowed, because at that time, nature was cold and pure, he could feel the snow falling, he could feel the purity of nature, and he could receive more energy at that time, so this was the moment when he was inspired.
Kitaro believes that the energy of nature is everywhere, like air, and although it is not noticed, no one can deny it. Kitaro said: "Music is also a manifestation of the mysterious energy of nature, and the most beautiful and advanced music in Chinese culture is also described as 'the sound of nature'. ”
Kitaro said that he is just a messenger of nature, passing on the message of nature to people, "I agree with the concept of 'the unity of heaven and man', people should always fear nature."
However, it would be a mistake to think that Kitaro, the music master, is a lucky person who does not need to work hard. Kitaro's life has been very simple and hardworking for decades, and he says he works from morning to night, getting up and going to the studio to start working, "Although I don't stay up late, my brain is still working while I sleep." Sometimes there are rare melodies in my sleep, even my feet beat beat, I will write them down immediately after waking up, and sometimes I have a sudden inspiration at home, so I have to rush to the studio to make it. However, unlike others, other musicians write the score and then record it, while Kitaro plays and records it first, and then composes the music.
Asked if his power to receive natural energy is diminishing as he gets older, Kitaro laughs and denies, "I don't think so, but I'm older now, I sleep less, I get up at 5 a.m. every morning, and it seems that God wants me to work longer hours." ”
In recent years, a lot of effort has been put into education
Children are an important part of making the world a better place
As Kitaro's first tour of China, Ancient Events and the Universe will kick off in Xi'an on May 1. It will then arrive in Wuhan on May 5, Shanghai on May 11, Guangzhou and Hangzhou on May 17 and 19, and Beijing on May 25.
Kitaro said that the choice of these six cities was very careful – not only closely integrated with the "Silk Road", but also a city that he himself loved and remembered. He said: "The Silk Road will be the subject of my art for the rest of my life. And the cities of this China tour also allude to this piece of music - six cities, a Silk Road, stringing together culture and music, stringing together history and modernity, and also stringing together my indissoluble love affair with China. ”
Talking about why he has only come to China to hold his first solo tour, Kitaro said that although he has been to China many times, he does not have many opportunities to perform, mostly in university performances or government exchange activities. This year marks his 39th year of silk road, and his musical journey originated in China, so he is very much looking forward to coming to China to perform for the audience.
It is reported that the concert of "Ancient Events and the Universe" is divided into two chapters, the first half of which is based on the legend "Ancient Chronicles" and the second half is based on the extraordinary and wonderful changes in the "Universe". Kitaro said that because the theme is related to the universe, the concert will add a lot of visual factors, and the production will incorporate Kitaro's Grammy-nominated music - the album "Ancient Chronicles", as well as space-age cosmic photography scenes. Time-lapse images will also be featured, intertwined with real-time film majors offered in collaboration with Kazunari Shibata, an astronomy professor at Kyoto University, NASA, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Taiko taiko drums and butoth dances will enrich the concert.
Kitaro especially hopes that young Chinese audiences will come to listen, he revealed that he has invested a lot of effort in education in recent years, and is also helping some children to learn music, so that they can establish their own musical literacy and cultivate a close relationship with nature.
Kitaro tries to pass on his understanding of music over the years, the unspeakable mystery between music and nature, and jokes: "For an old man like me, there is no future, but children are the future, they are an important part of making the world a better place, so it is especially important to cultivate children's perception of good music." ”
For this era
New Age music is almost dead
As a representative of New Age music, Kitaro bluntly said, "For this era, New Age music is almost dead."
New Century music is a new style between electronic music and classical music, emerging in the late 1970s, which uses classical music as a way of composing, using electronic synthesizers and ethnic instruments as the carrier of arrangement.
New Century music soothes the hearts of the public with natural sounds, soothing rhythms, free melodies, and harmonious harmonies, helping people to return to their own spiritual exploration and return to the origin of human nature. Banderay, The Secret Garden, and Enya all fall under the category of New Age music. Asian New Age music is mainly concentrated in Japan, and Kitaro and Hisaishi are both New Age musicians with worldwide reputations. Because of its richness and transformation, it is different from any previous kind of music: it does not refer to a category alone, but to a category, and all the improved music that is different from the past, symbolizing the change of the times and interpreting the spiritual connotations can be included in this.
Why are there some pessimisms about the development of music in the new century? Kitaro said that first, the creators of the new century music are old; the second is that young people don't like this kind of music, they have new interests, they have favorite pop music, hip-hop. "In fact, I also listen to popular music, I can't say which music is good or bad, everyone feels differently, and the reaction to them is naturally different." Like some healing music that is popular now, some people can indeed be cured, and some people cannot. But in short, there is nothing wrong with loving music, I am a person who has changed my life by music, so I understand the influence of music on people. ”
Therefore, Kitaro said that no matter what, his heart to create music will not stop, and he will continue to create new century music, "In the past few decades, I have met many friends in the music industry, learned a lot, and in recent years, some very good friends have passed away. So, for me, all I have to do is to seize the time to continue my expression, as long as someone likes my music and can feel good from it, I am very satisfied. ”
Is there any other pastime in Kitaro's life besides music? After racking his brains for a long time, Kitaro came up with a hobby of "wine tasting": "I have lived in California for a long time, and sometimes if I feel bored, I will drive to the winery to drink a few glasses of red wine. I know the winery owners very well and have become friends who can help me out. ”
I haven't watched TV in almost 40 years
Lament that modern people use their eyes excessively
Although Kitaro has created a lot of film and television music and won heavyweight awards, but Kitaro does not have a TV at home, he laughs that he has not watched TV for almost 40 years, "So, sometimes when I see a TV set in a hotel, I feel very surprised, and the novelty is like a child seeing a toy." ”
Kitaro lamented that in modern society, people's eyes are used a little "overdraft". Almost 90% of the information people usually receive comes from the eyes, and the dependence on the eyes is too strong, so he suggests that everyone close their eyes at the right time, empty their bodies and minds to feel the world, or balance their senses with touch and smell. Kitaro said that his childhood memories are largely olfactory memories, "When it comes to childhood, my mind is full of all kinds of rice and flowers, and I have to say that the current video is too developed, and the functions of people's other senses have degenerated." ”
Technology is a double-edged sword, on the one hand, it brings great convenience to human beings, on the other hand, it makes people's spirituality degenerate. Kitaro himself never stared at the phone, "For me, the phone only has three functions: answering calls, receiving emails, and taking pictures." However, Kitaro still likes science and technology, after all, the development of science and technology has brought great progress to the world, "Of course, not all science and technology are advanced, you know? In fact, the sound quality of CD is not as good as that of tape, and its sound range is not as wide as tape. ”
As for why people still feel that the music of the past is more classic, it is difficult to produce epoch-making great works and musicians since this century? Kitaro believes that the development of digital technology may have caused the quality of music to be lost, "now people treat music more as a business, rather than pure music."
In Kitaro's view, the emotional and human factor of music is far more important than the technical and commercial level, "I have no intention of criticizing anything, and music is not good or bad, but for me, I will always insist on making pure music and making music that has nothing to do with business." ”
When he created "Silk Road"
I have never been to China at all
Kitaro was last visited China nine years ago, and this time he revisited his hometown, and he was obviously very happy and marveled at the great changes in Beijing. However, Kitaro is not worried about the loss of ancient culture, he said with confidence: "I believe that the inner spirit of Chinese will not change, and the cultural heritage and temperament will not change." ”
Kitaro loves China deeply, and his earliest understanding of China is because of Buddhism. Because his parents were people of faith and would chant and pray at home every day, Kitaro was deeply affected from an early age.
As for why he thinks "Chinese culture is the root of Asian culture," Kitaro asked, "Why not?" Asian countries have learned a lot from Chinese culture, including Japan. ”
Kitaro said that as far as he is concerned, his musical path is greatly influenced by Chinese culture. In 1978, kitaro, an independent musician, released his first album " Celestial Realm " . The record kicked off the New Age of the East. In 1979, he released The Land and OASIS. In 1980, Kitaro served as the music producer of the NHK program "Silk Road", with the spirituality of nature with the spiritual perception and magical reproduction of the dreamy silk journey, the song "Dunhuang" in his "Silk Road" was evaluated by Chinese Dunhuang scholars as "only those who have a deep understanding of Dunhuang culture can write this kind of heart-to-heart masterpiece".
Interestingly, Kitaro had never been to China at all, and said he had composed the song through video material and imagination, "At that time, NHK sent me a lot of iconic Chinese architectural materials, which were my creative materials. In fact, it may be right that I did not come to China at that time, because the materials I read were carefully selected by them, which is very representative. If I come to China, I may be disturbed because I see too much and will not be able to grasp the essence. ”
After creating "Silk Road", Kitaro had the opportunity to come to China, he went to Beijing, Xi'an, Dunhuang, Kitaro felt like Jia Baoyu first met Lin Sister: "These places are familiar to me, very familiar. ”
When it comes to the creation of "Silk Road", Kitaro said that what impressed him the most was the depth of the heart that Chinese formed in the long history, "In that depth, people live, which is deeply inspiring to me." ”
Therefore, this year's "Ancient Events and the Universe" concert is both the starting point and the end for Kitaro, which is both a complete circle for his 40-year musical career and a new starting point for his music. Perhaps from now on, Kitaro will also create more "fairy music" that "this song should only be in heaven, and can be smelled several times on earth".
Article/Reporter Zhang Jia
Courtesy of Photo/Often Drift