Japan Society Presents OTOMO YOSHIHIDE & CHRISTIAN MARCLAY

Japan Society has announced a one-night-only concert featuring the acclaimed Japanese multi-instrumentalist and composer Otomo Yoshihide taking the stage with internationally-recognized visual and audio artist Christian Marclay for a rare live, improvisational jam session played with vinyl records, turntables, mixers and guitar.

For fans of avant-garde music, students of turntablism and anyone curious about the use of sound in contemporary art, this show promises to be one of the year's most revelatory events.

Otomo Yoshihide boasts a groundbreaking résumé. The Japanese native has spent the past thirty years stretching the limits of free jazz, improvisation and noise music with an array of approaches and styles. Otomo has released dozens of experimental recordings, including a full-length album collaboration with Marclay, Moving Parts, in 2000. Most recently, Otomo Yoshihide collaborated with the Japanese poet Ryoichi Wago and musician/activist Michiro Endo to create Project Fukushima!, an ongoing performance festival staged to support those affected by The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster of 2011. In addition to his live performance with Marclay on November 19th, Otomo is introducing a new installation artwork entitled "Without Records," shown exclusively at Japan Society between November 17 and November 20. A lengthy interview with Otomo Yoshihide is available online at furious.com.

Christian Marclay is one of the acknowledged inventors of turntablism, the art of creating experimental sound using nothing but pre-recorded records, multiple turntables and a mixer. Roughly concurrent with the birth of hip-hop break-beat DJ-ing pioneered by DJ Kool Herc, Marclay's late-1970's experiments in turntablism drew largely from the light-hearted, found-art style of the 1960's Fluxus movement. For multiple decades, Marclay has utilized vinyl records as a creative tool to explore sound in new and exciting fashion. His recent experimental video, The Clock, won Marclay the prestigious Golden Lion for Best Artist at the 2011 Venice Biennial and caused a sensation when it was exhibited at NYC's Paula Cooper Gallery earlier this year, leading to round-the-block lines to enter the gallery.

Prior to the concert, Japan Society hosts an open conversation between Otomo Yoshihide, Christian Marclay, and the writer/musician Alan Licht moderated by ethnomusicologist David Novak. This one-of a kind discussion begins at 5:00pm on November 19 and is available to attend for the general public, either as a separate event or as a combination talk-and-performance ticket.

Founded in 1907, Japan Society is a world-class, multidisciplinary hub for both English and Japanese-speaking artists and audiences. Since the inception of the Performing Arts Program in 1953, Japan Society has produced more than 600 showings of Japan's finest performing arts to an extensive American audience in and out of New York City. Program topics range from the traditional to the avant-garde. Japan Society commissions new works, administrates national tours, organizes residency programs for American and Japanese artists and develops and distributes educational programs. The Society is responsible for hosting more than 100 events each year. An American nonprofit, nonpolitical organization, the Society's overarching goal is to cultivate a constructive, resonant and dynamic relationship between the people of the U.S. and Japan.

To view a complete preview of the entire Japan Society season, hosted by the artistic director of Japan Society, Yoko Shioya, please visit http://vimeo.com/27450623 and enter the password JSPA2011.

Tickets for this performance may be reserved now by calling the Japan Society box office at 212-715-1258 or by visiting www.japansociety.org.

For press interested in attending this show to review or photograph: please be aware that we have a very limited number of house seats available. Please contact John Seroff, the press manager for Japan Society's music events at GreenHousePublicity@gmail.com to request press tickets or will-call holds, to contact these artists for interview by phone, email or in person (either in Japanese or in English) or to discuss working with us further.

COMPLETE SHOW INFORMATION FOLLOWS:

Saturday, November 19
OTOMO YOSHIHIDE and CHRISTIAN MARCLAY: Turntable Duo
File under: Experimental, Turntablism, Improvisational Jazz
Discussion with the Artists at 5:00 PM
Doors/Bar Open at 6:30 PM
Show at 8:30 PM
Discussion Ticket Price: $10 ($8 for Japan Society Members)
Concert Ticket Price: $25 ($20 for Japan Society Members)
Discussion/Concert Combo Ticket Price: $30
($24 for Japan Society Members)
Advance, reserved seat tickets available by calling 212-715-1258
or by clicking this link

Two experimental music giants, Otomo Yoshihide and Christian Marclay, perform together in New York for the first time in over a decade. Multi-media composer and visual artist, Christian Marclay, one of the world's leading artists and winner of the 54th Venice Biennale Golden Lion Award, pushed the boundaries of musical creation when he pioneered the use of the turntable as a musical instrument. Otomo Yoshihide, electroacoustic improvisation musician, free jazz guitarist and one of the most influential figures in Japan's experimental music scene, earned an international reputation as a central figure amongst Japan's avant-garde. Together, these unconventional "turntablists" will again push to the extreme what is possible with turntables and records. Turntable Duo is presented as part of the Performa 11 biennial.

PRIOR TO THE SHOW (Beginning at 5:00pm):
A Discussion with Christian Marclay, Otomo Yoshihide and Alan Licht
In an exploration of their artistic careers, Christian Marclay and Otomo Yoshihide are joined by musician, writer and curator Alan Licht. Together, they examine the past, present and future of avant-garde music movements in Japan, America and across the globe. This discussion will be moderated by David Novak, Assistant Professor of Music at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

RELATED EVENTS:
Otomo Yoshihide's Installation: Without Records
Open Thursday, November 17 through Sunday, November 20
FREE and open to the public
Otomo's computer operated installation - a series of empty turntables set up to produce a variety of sounds - created as an homage to Christian Marclay's album "Record Without Cover" (1985) and exhibited at museums and galleries throughout Japan in recent years, will be on view in Japan Society's public space for New Yorkers to see and hear.

GENERAL VENUE INFORMATION:
Tickets for this show may be purchased by calling the Japan Society box office at 212-715-1258 or in person at the Japan Society box office, open Monday through Friday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM and on Saturday or Sunday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, between First and Second Avenues. The venue is easily accessible by the 4 / 5 / 6 trains via the 42nd Street-Grand Central Station or the E / V at Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street.

Wine and beer is served prior to, at intermission and following this show at our on-site cash bar.

For more information about this show, the venue or to learn more about the entire Performing Arts season at Japan Society, please call 212-832-1155 or visit us on the web at http://www.japansociety.org/performingarts

Turntable Duo is supported by grants from The Japan Foundation through the Performing Arts JAPAN program and The Asahi Shimbun Foundation.

The installation Without Records is made possible through the cooperation of Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM), and the technical support provided by YCAM InterLab.

Special thanks to TOKYU HOTEL for artist accommodations.

Turntable Duo is part of Performa 11. Performa 11, the fourth edition of the internationally acclaimed biennial of new visual performance presented by Performa, will be held in New York City from November 1-21, 2011. The three-week biennial will showcase new work by more than 100 of the most exciting artists working today, in an innovative program breaking down the boundaries between visual art, music, dance, poetry, fashion, architecture, graphic design, and the culinary arts. Presented in collaboration with a consortium of more than 40 arts institutions and 25 curators, as well as a network of public spaces and private venues across the city, Performa 11 will ignite New York City with energy and ideas, acting as a vital "think tank" linking minds across the five boroughs and bringing audiences together for brilliant new performances in all disciplines. Performa is the leading organization dedicated to exploring the critical role of live performance in the history of twentieth-century art and to encourage new directions in performance for the twenty-first century. Performa launched New York's first performance biennial, Performa 05, in 2005, followed by Performa 07 (2007), and Performa 09 (2009). www.performa-arts.org

Major support for Japan Society 2011-2012 Performing Arts Programs is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund and the Endowment for the Performing Arts, established with leadership gifts from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Globus Family, Kyocera Corporation, The Starr Foundation and Toyota Motor Corporation.

Additional major support is provided by the Odawara Art Foundation.
MetLife Foundation is a Corporate Partner of Japan Society's 2011-2012 Performing Arts season.

Japan Society is also grateful to the following individuals, foundations, and government agencies for their generous support: Dr. John K. Gillespie; The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.; Dr. and Mrs. Carl F. Taeusch II; Mr. Norton Belknap; Mr. Terry Brykczynski and Ms. Andrea Miller; Howard and Sarah Solomon, Mr. and Mrs. Dean R. Thacker; Mr. Alex York; Paula S. Lawrence; The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council and The New York State Council on the Arts.
Transportation assistance is provided by All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.