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MemoryStorm: FROM THE LABEL CREATED BY SHIBITTO OF ORIGAMI, A NEW KIND OF "DANCE" MADE BY TURNTABLE AND MPC
Conducted and written originally by Shin Futatsugi
If the early Massive Attack were to make positive dance music today, how do you think they would sound?
In my opinion, the sound of MemoryStorm wouldn't be that far off. Electronic music born out of the savage 2000's in Tokyo. Musical on many levels; emotional, but not dark.
Okay, let's stop with the plain expressions. This album is definitely smooth. Although there is an influence of hip hop, house, techno, disco, and almost anything else, musically there is no separation of the genres. A co-existence of infinite genres can be created, but on the technical side to make them blend together well is a difficult task; something that MemoryStorm has well accomplished. Here is the discussion I had with producer KOR-1 (MPC) and scratch musician Dj Psi Kick.
Shin Futatsugi: Seriously, this album is really cool. It makes me want to listen to Portishead or Massive Attack afterwards.
Dj Psi Kick: I'm really happy to hear you say that! Actually I consider Portishead one of my major influences.
SF: Really? First off, I would like to ask you Jeff (Dj Psi Kick) to give us some background information about yourself.
PK: I lived in San Diego from the time I was six. When I was in elementary school I can remember the first rap song I really liked was by MC Shy-D. Next was Ice-T...Ice Cube. In junior high I started listening to Public Enemy.
SF: That's really early!
KOR-1: Seriously.
PK: Then, in my high school days after I started DJ'ing, I began to gain interest in the battle scene. I started entering battles around '97 or '98. Until now I've been in at least 15, 16 battles.
SF: So you became serious with DJ'ing when you started entering battles?
PK: Yep.
SF: And when did you come to Japan?
PK: 2003.
SF: And then you met Kaori (KOR-1)?
PK: First off, I met Onimas and Shibitto. Then when Origami performed at Unit I met Kaori backstage.
SF: Then soon after you guys created MemoryStorm?
K1: It wasn't right away though. Around 2005 we first talked about having a little session at my place. I was on the MPC, Jeff was on the scratch, Shibitto on the keyboard. The sound that came out was pretty chaotic, but if you wanted to I guess you could say that's where it all started. In the beginning though I wasn't at peace with myself, 'cause I couldn't play sounds out on the MPC the way I wanted to. From that point on I practiced on the pads, particularly with this one jazz drum break. Then Jeff added this wave-sounding scratch to it. From there it eventually became the song "SpaceStorm", which is also on the album. After we completed that song, I knew we were at the level where with just an MPC and turntables we could make this happen.
SF: At this point Jeff, do you have any interest in battling?
PK: With a limit of just a few minutes and the use of only two turntables, I don't think there's much freedom. In order to do the music I really wanted, I decided not to stick with battling any longer.
SF: And on the other side Kaori, you were one of the producers making tracks for Origami. I think you were set out to change the stance of the track maker in the Hip Hop scene.
K1: I'll listen to anything, whether it be psy-trance or rock, but basically I'm a fan of "Black Music". All the records I have are either Jazz, Funk, or Hip Hop. When I would make tracks for MCs, I was often told that the "blackness" of the sound wasn't really to their liking. But to me, Origami was different. Without adhering themselves to the Hip Hop mentality, just putting themselves out as artists, I thought they were really dope. That's why I make tracks for them.
SF: But listening to the album, there is a feeling that Hip Hop is the foundation for the music. I think if you were to produce for a project with some rappers like Origami, you'd want to work with them; or are there no rappers around that you would like to work with?
K1: Are you asking me why I don't want to work with MCs in Japan?
SF: Well, I didn't say you didn't want to (laughs), just asking why haven't you?
K1: Basically, the kind of music I want to make is dance music, the kind of music that puts a groove in your hip and makes you want to move your whole body. But a lot of MCs in Japan don't make the kind of music that makes you want to dance. A lot of them rap to a rhythm not in syncopation with the beat, just rapping all fast. Often is the case that they don't even think about the fundamentals of music. A lot of MCs seem to lack knowledge of self, with respect to their use of Japanese. They focus too much on the rhyming aspect, and try to show off their rhyming skills in place of putting soul or passion in their rapping. I think poets and old folk singers are actually better in that aspect. Musically, I think there are some dope MCs out there. I just find it boring that so many MCs put on a fake image and try to act too hard. I think they should just relax and try to enjoy making music.
SF: I see what you're saying.
PK: But in Tokyo, there are people doing many styles of music in the same place. I think seeing that may have made my ways of thinking a lot more free compared with the days when I lived in San Diego.
K1: Are you saying that there's more freedom in Tokyo?
PK: Yeah. I've DJ'ed at places in Tokyo focusing on various genres, and wherever the place I got a good reaction whenever I'd cut. I'm glad I came to Tokyo, 'cause I gained interest in different kinds of music.
SF: By the way, who are the turntablists out there that you look up to?
PK: When it comes to making music with scratching, I really respect Ricci Rucker and D-Styles.
K1: Ricci Rucker's "Sketchbook" was made primarily with scratching, wasn't it?
PK: Yeah. Hearing what those two were doing, I felt that music could be seriously made with scratching.
K1: Just like jazz pianists, not just doing straight solos all the way through, but playing the background as well. Jeff can do that sort of thing with scratching too.
SF: And Jeff you were saying that you like Miles Davis, didn't you?
PK: The initial reason I started listening to Miles Davis was because Q-Bert used to say in interviews that he liked Miles' playing. From that point on I started paying attention to jazz. During the Bebop era he didn't want to follow the rise of the complicated, aggressive patterns. He played it "cool", and made his own style. He looked at where he was in the jazz scene and made a place for himself. When scratch DJs get together and have a jam session, a lot of times they just try to show off their skills. I think that gets boring after a while. I want to do something more musical with scratching, that people who aren't scratch fanatics can understand.
K1: To us the jazz mentality takes a big part in our methodology. Something we are applying to the use of turntables and an MPC.
SF: Earlier, when I mentioned that you guys reminded me of Massive Attack, Kaori you said that one of the things you wanted to do with MemoryStorm is put out electronic music with street sensibility. I'd like to hear more on that.
K1: Well, what I'm going to say now is from my knowledge, but the genre we call "Popular Music" I think reached a peak in the 70's. People performed with instruments, and the way of making music was pretty much laid out. There was definitely a heavy Jazz and Blues influence. Stevie took it ridiculously to another level, for example. Then when the 80's came around synthesizers, rhythm machines, and MIDI came about, and sequencing became possible. From that point on music with attention being paid to the dynamic structure of the sound came into play. Like when Marvin Gaye took the TR-808, and with a mellow sounding synth created "Sexual Healing". At the time though, that type of equipment was expensive, and was accessible to mainly just major artists. Then little by little, they made their way towards the street scene via hip hop, house, and techno right. Then electronic music started getting funkier. I don't really know why, but then it started to become cool. But these days, the equipment is becoming more and more sophisticated, and everyone's making music with laptops now, right? These days, bluntly speaking even a novice high school student could make music. But out of that, not much of it I feel has much intensity coming out of it. When it comes to MemoryStorm, the process can be chaotic at times, but as long as it cames out sounding dope I'm totally happy with it. That's the standpoint from where I want to make music.
SF: Other than the MPC and turntable, are you using anything else to create the sound?
K1: The only other sound created without the MPC or turntable would be the voice of Chiyori on the track "Shooting Stars". Other than that it's just turntables and MPC.
SF: That's without a doubt rare, compared with how a lot of music is made nowadays. You guys are going against the flow of the times. (laughs)
K1: But that's the kind of thing that I want to do. With an MPC, you can loop the sounds at will, but on a lot of the songs I take the time to play the sounds out on the pads. Like on "Sunset Cliffs", I play the keyboard sound all the way through. Playing it out live puts out more emotion, and I get more into the groove. The timing of Jeff's cuts on the crossfader and my keypad strokes on the MPC at the same time creates syncopation, and slight poly-rhythms. We get to play around in many different ways and have fun. I mean, isn't that what music's about?
SF: The sound is definitely cool, but in a way, with the music it seems like you guys are on a straight path to victory. But I kind of laughed at the simplicity of the track titles though. I mean "Ghetto House"? That's awful. (laughs)
K1: Haha. Yeah, but that's what it sounds like, right?
MemoryStorm: A live unit consisting of Origami producer KOR-1 and San Diego turntablist Dj Psi Kick. In 2006, from TempleATS, KOR-1 and Dj Psi Kick released mix CDs entitled "Standing on the Moon", and "Kouten", respectively. Currently you can catch MemoryStorm breaking it down at an upcoming live performance.
This album expresses the musical experience of Tokyo's multi-faceted underground scene. Hip hop, house, techno, chillout, disco, it has the full spectrum. With a four beat pattern in the back and breakbeat fashion in the front, the compositions of the songs clearly express the methods of the DJ. The dynamics and overall sound of the album is extremely high quality. Chiyori, who guest appears on "Shooting Stars" will also appear on a track on Shing02's forthcoming new album, set for release later this year.