War-p, the duo co-led by Garth Stevenson (bassist) and myself, recently produced a few tracks for Argentinean installation artist Lucia Warck Meister.  Well, one of the tracks called "I Walk into the Water" (it's the fourth one on my MySpace music player) was broadcast in Japan today (yesterday in Tokyo time) on J-Wave's Radio Sakamoto.  Once again, much thanks to Mr. Ryuichi Sakamoto and the radio program staff. 

We were in the Fourth Annual Rhythm in the Kitchen Festival and had a grand time performing our 'audience participation' piece, as well as jamming with the great pianist Connie Crothers and one of my favorite bass player Ken Filiano.  Added bonus: we were in the New York Post!

Click here to see the New York Post article

Richard Kamins Review of "Eating Mantis" from the Hartford Courant


CD Review: 21st Century Music
By
Richard Kamins
on December 14, 2008

Eating Mantis - OK/OK (RKM Music) - How to describe the indescribable? Readers expect reviewers to be able to pinpoint genres, to give them reference points so that the CD in question can be put into a box (for example, file B.B King under "Blues", John Coltrane under "Jazz.")

So, give it a try. OK/OK plays jazz? Yes. Experimental music? Yes. Still, it's more advisable to approach this music with open ears and without prejudice. Put away the pen and paper and just listen. The group features Kyoko Kitamura (vocals, laptop), Michael McGinnis (clarinets, percussion, voice),, Khabu Doug Young (guitar) and Tony Moreno (drums.) Kitamura works with trumpeter- composer Taylor Ho Bynum and McGinnis plays with The Four Bags.

This music skitters and floats, rocks, rolls, bumps; it's highly theatrical and makes one lean into the speakers to catch the words. Kitamura's voice is an amazing instrument, with great range. On "Kocchisthis", she enunciates, then goes into a slur-filled scat, then a yowl, a yelp, and back around to understandable words. The effect is off-putting yet exciting. "Parasite" seems to be about disease but just as easily could be a love song. "It moves/it flows/it stops/it grows/precious thing so fickle and sweet" sung sweetly without irony while McGinniss's clarinet moans and swoops quietly over Young's tolling guitar chords. "Blazen" is a rocker, with lyrics about clearing a trail chanted over Moreno's slippery beat and chunky guitar chords. McGinnis rises out of the fray on bass clarinet and kicks it into high gear.

There are what seem to be several fully improvised pieces, such as "Underworld" with its pounding drums, rattling percussion and harsh vocalizations. "Unstoppable" opens with what sounds like a leaky steam pipe, opening up to allow Young's finger-picked guitar figures and McGinnis's buzzing clarinet. Kitamura comes in and tells her story above the fray.

After many listenings, I still find previously unheard musical phrases or poem fragments that suddenly fall into place. If you're a music fan who really craves order and sense, OK/OK is not for you. If you're someone who likes to be challenged, who has to go back and listen until what you hear makes sense (or begins to make sense), look no further. "Eating Mantis" is "new" music that should be heard. For more information, go to www.myspace.com/okokmusic.

Turns out that Eating Mantis' first track, "enter here ->" was aired in Japan on November 2nd 2008, during J-Wave's "Radio Sakamoto" program hosted by none other than the legendary Japanese Renaissance Man Ryuichi Sakamoto himself. ok|ok of course did not know about this; I found out later when I happened to look on their website and found Ryuichi Sakamoto's comments saying that ok|ok was fantastic and that he was actually going to order a CD online. I contacted his management in New York and offered to send some copies over but too late; apparently Mr.Sakamoto had already bought the CD. Wow. I sure wish I could have given him a copy... but what can I do now. Thank you, Mr.Sakamoto, for your wonderful comments, and I hope you enjoy the CD!

Review from Allmusic Guide

Eating Mantis
OK OK

by Alex Henderson

Although vocalists ranging from Betty Carter to Ann Dyer to Kitty Brazelton have made exciting contributions to avant-garde jazz, the vast majority of avant-garde jazz recordings have been totally instrumental. So when a vocal-oriented CD that is relevant to avant-garde jazz comes along, one tends to take notice. Avant-garde jazz isn't the only ingredient on OK OK's vocal-oriented Eating Mantis; most of the material combines avant-garde jazz with avant-garde rock, and some fans of art rock and alternative rock are likely to take notice of this experimental recording. But avant-garde jazz is certainly a major part of the equation for OK OK, who have a major asset in lead singer Kyoko Kitamura. Singing primarily in English but occasionally detouring into Japanese, Kitamura is an expressive vocalist who knows how to be quirky and eccentric but is also quite musical. In fact, that is true of everyone in OK OK--not only Kitamura, but also, clarinetist Michael McGinnis, guitarist Khabu Doug Young and drummer Tony Moreno. For all its eccentricity and oddball experimentation, Eating Mantis is a highly musical album. An inside/outside perspective defines this 2006 session, which chooses melody and harmony over atonal chaos and is a long way from the type of harshness and claustrophobic density that some free jazz is known for. Anyone who expects this 45-minute CD to be a blistering vocal equivalent of Charles Gayle or post-1965 John Coltrane will be disappointed, but those who are looking for something along the lines of Dyer or Brazelton will find a lot to appreciate on Eating Mantis--which is a promising and engaging effort from this New York City-based foursome.
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From Downtown Music Gallery's May 30th 2008 Newsletter:

Artist: OK|OK [KYOKO KITAMURA/MICHAEL McGINNIS/KHABU DOUG/TONY MORENO]
Title: Eating Mantis

Description: Featuring Kyoko Kitamura on vocals & laptop, Michael McGinnis on clarinets & percussion, Khabu Doug Young on guitar and Tony Moreno on drums. Kyoko Kitamura is an extraordinary experimental/jazz vocalist who has played here at DMG on numerous occasions and has knocked me our every time. Whether playing with Ras Moshe in duos, trios or quartets, or working with Steve Coleman, Kyoko always surprises with the unique sounds that her voice and laptop come up with. This is the long-awaited debut from her band, OK-OK, as it was well worth the wait. Commencing with "Enter Here," Kyoko's eerie voice is bathed in echoes with somber cymbals surrounding. "Hide and Seek" is a lovely, jazz-like ballad with sublime clarinet, guitar & drums surrounding Kyoko's voice, that builds to a high flying joyous conclusion. I love the quick-moving scat-singing that she does on "Kocchisthis" while the guitar, clarinet & drums swirl tightly around her voice. Even when Kyoko does a spoken word piece, she tells a story that is most intriguing. On "Underworld," Kyoko twists her voice bizarre shapes while Khabu answers with some spooky guitar chords. Most effective and somewhat disturbing. In a world where most pop(ular) music singers consistently play it safe, it is great to hear someone taking chances by using and extending her voice in a variety of challenging and convincing ways. - BLG
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Review from JazzTimes about Jamie Baum's "Solace" (Sunnyside 2008)

Solace is a no-frills, 74-minute-long major statement by flutist, composer and arranger Jamie Baum. Its impressive centerpiece is her four-part "Ives Suite," [...] Part three, "Questions Unanswered," is particularly striking, where Kyoko Kitamura's atonal vocalizing and then her chanting of the words "misleading," "unintended," "blame" and "grey zone," in addition to recorded excerpts from speeches by President John F. Kennedy, all combine to form a powerful anti-war statement. [...] - Scott Albin --JazzTimes - August 2008

Vocalist Kyoko Kitamura was born in New York and raised partially in Tokyo. She studied piano at the Juilliard School of Music prep division with pianist Jane Carlson who was a premier Hindemith interpreter and who exposed Kitamura to contemporary composers at an early age. However, curious about the world, Kitamura chose to become a journalist, working out of Tokyo and Paris, and traveling around the world (including a stint as a Gulf War reporter). She came back to NY in 1997, worked for a while as a magazine writer, and, since 2001, slowly immersed herself in the music scene after a hiatus of close to 15 years.

Building upon the musicianship she had as a trained pianist, and adding to it her globe-trotting experiences, she developed a highly personal style of vocal improvisation which includes multi-lingual spoken words, electronics, as well as hints of different types of music she has heard in various countries. She quickly found work as a side-person vocalist, and honed her craft by performing and/or recording with bassist Reggie Workman, saxophonist Steve Coleman, Argentinean composer Laura Andel, vocalist Jay Clayton, and pianist Art Lande, among others. Her style has been described as "outrageous", "forward-looking", "fu*%ed up!", "nightmarish", "one of downtown's finest singers."

Most recently, she performed in Antwerp's deSingel Theater and in Amsterdam's Bimhuis with cornet player Taylor Ho Bynum's ensemble. In New York City, she frequently appears in downtown venues such as Roulette, the Downtown Music Gallery, the 55 Bar and the Stone. She co-leads the group ok|ok with Mike McGinnis on woodwind, and Khabu Doug Young on ukulele and guitar. ok|ok released its first CD "EATING MANTIS" in September 2008 from Ravi Coltrane's indie label, RKM Music.


Discography:

Aside from ok|ok's EATING MANTIS (RKM Music 2008), Kitamura is an in-demand sideperson and can be heard on such albums as Steve Coleman "Lucidarium" (Label Bleu 2004), Jamie Baum "Solace" (Sunnyside Records 2008), Laura Andel Orchestra "Somnambulist" (Red Toucan Records 2003), Laura Andel Electric Percussive Orchestra "In::tension:."(Rossbin Records October 2005), Ras Moshe "Live Spirits" 2 & 4 (Utech Records).


Performed and/or recorded with:

Laura Andel Orchestra, Jamie Baum, Taylor Ho Bynum, Daniel Carter, Jay Clayton, Steve Coleman, Shane Endsley, Angie Eng (video artist), Francois Grillot, Gerry Hemingway, Jeff Hirshfield, Jason Hwang, Khabu, Art Lande, Derek Layes, Mike McGinnis, Maria Mitchell (dancer), Tony Moreno, Ras Moshe, Kirk Nurock, Reuben Radding, Jane Rigler, Matana Roberts, Angie Sanchez, Ursel Schlicht, Ed Schuller, Judi Silvano's "Voices Together", Steve Swell, Take Toriyama, Bruce Williamson, Reggie Workman, and others.