Hailing from the seaside communities surrounding Enoshima, a small island located 50 km southwest of Tokyo, Maya Ongaku is a ragtag collective of local musicians whose brand of earthy psychedelia transcends widely beyond the roots of their inner souls. The name derives not from any kind of ancient civilization, but rather a neologism defined as the imagined view outside one’s field of vision. The band—currently a trio of Tsutomu Sonoda, Ryota Takano, and Shoei Ikeda—finds sanctuary at the Ace General Store, a beachy vintage shop and salon-like space just hidden from sight from the bustling, touristy riverside Subana Street. Between discussions on music and art, curating the vinyl section and manning the register, and chatting up with locals young and old, the members find time to jam and record their spontaneous ideas in the studio tucked away in the back. It’s in this unlikely setting where Maya Ongaku finds its origins, the culmination of what Sonoda describes as 然発生 (shizen hassei), meaning spontaneous generation, or the supposed production of living organisms from nonliving matter.
https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/2dYBechVJjAf6bTo5se1N5?si=rqJRiEIRSw26N5aEs3OUDQ
https://youtu.be/ope4Cvd7-u8
https://youtu.be/TIUlGjNppa8
https://www.instagram.com/maya_ongaku/
Passepartout Duo (IT/US) is formed by two nomadic musicians, pianist Nicoletta Favari and percussionist Christopher Salvito.
They have quietly planted roots in music and art scenes in every corner of the world through the use of musical instruments of their own design. Their work is defined by a focused exploration of sound, rhythm, and melody, exposing process-driven music that lives in between composition and improvisation, electronics and acoustic sound. The two musicians cultivate a quiet intensity that draws listeners into the inner mechanics of sound itself.
In 2024 they teamed up with the Berlin-based company KOMA Elektronik to start producing their instrument called ‘Chromaplane’.
‘Passepartout Duo Live’ showcases a multiyear journey of sound experimentation and a unique ecosystem of original musical instruments.
Carefully balancing acoustic and electronic sounds, the duo’s virtuosic performance of complex rhythms couples with a refined craft of simple melodic gestures, positioning the music close to Minimalism as much as popular music traditions.
It is a journey that covers much ground between lyrical depths and saturated noise, between crystalline medieval polyphonies and futuristic synthesized voices. The choreographic interplay between the performers on stage, a dizzying dance of instrument-sharing and secret cues, becomes an essential ingredient of hypnotic charm.
http://passepartoutduo.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/passepartoutduo/
https://www.youtube.com/c/passepartoutduo
