Junji Hirose
HMT
*2023 stock* "A critical point of explosive hardcore improv! A relentless mass of sound! The long-awaited first album of this hardcore trio, which has been steadily increasing its fan base by always running at full speed and radiating sound to the limits of their physical and mental strength, has finally made its debut! This group was formed based on Hirose's concept of packing condensed sounds to the limit, and there are no gaps between sounds, no interplay, and no formulaic improvisational ele…
Be Quiet!!!
Sax player Junji Hirose and guitarist Kazuo Imai, both Tokyo residents born in 1955, are renowned Japanese improvisers who have long propelled the country’s improvised music scene. Australian drummer Darren Moore, who is currently based in Singapore, carries on his performance activity while also teaching at Lasalle College of the Arts.
Darren Moore lived in Tokyo for several years in the mid-2010s. Since then he has often visited the country and performed with Japanese musicians. In 2022 he cam…
Duo-1
*2023 stock. 400 copies limited edition* Improviser Junji Hirose is not just a sax player; in the 1980s he started playing the SSI (self-made sound instrument), which he created by combining numerous devices and everyday objects from which noise sounds are produced in a scattered way. In 1989, Hirose recorded the SSI/turntables duo album "Silanganan Ingay" with Otomo Yoshihide and released it independently as an LP. Three decades later, in 2022, a new SSI/turntables duo album by Hirose and Otomo…
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is a 2019 release for Malaysian experimental label LaoBan Records featuring legendary Tokyo saxophonist Hirose Junji, no-input mixing board pioneer Toshimaru Nakamura and Australian master percussionist Darren Moore. The album was recorded live at Ftarri which is the undisputed centre for improvised music in Tokyo. Recorded over two live performances in 2017, the playing represents the trio's disdain for conforming; gliding seamlessly from minimalist Onkyo to maximalist free jazz …
No-Instrument Air Noise
As a sax player, Junji Hirose has been a prominent figure on the free jazz/improvised music scene since the late 1970s. But he has another side: he performs on non-electronic noise instruments called SSI (self-made sound instruments), which he creates by putting together odds and ends and everyday objects. Hirose has released (on the Hitorri label) the CDs SSI-4, SSI-5 and SSI-6, which respectively document performances on the instruments of the same names. No-Instrument Air Noise, compris…
Ssi-6
As a sax player, Junji Hirose has been a prominent figure on the free jazz/improvised music scene since the late 1970s. But he has another side: he collects odds and ends and everyday objects and puts them together to create instruments which he uses in noise performance. Hirose calls these noise instruments SSI (self-made sound instruments). He released the CD SSI-4 (hitorri-997) in 2013, and SSI-5 (hitorri-993) in 2015. This is Hirose's new release, SSI-6. In contrast to the roaring sounds of …
saxophonedaxophone
Duo of Kazuhisa Uchihashi (daxophone) and Junji Hirose (tenor saxophone) excerpt from two live performances in 2014 and 2015.Kazuhisa Uchihashi is a japanese guitarist involved in free improvisation music. Born in 1959 in Osaka, Uchihashi began to play the guitar at age 12, playing in various rock bands, though he later studied jazz music. In 1988 he joined the band the First Edition, and in 1990 formed the band Altered States. He was also a member of Otomo Yoshihide's Ground Zero from 1994 to …
Ssi-5
As a sax player, Junji Hirose has been a prominent figure on the free jazz-improvised music scene since the 1970's. But he has another side: he collects everyday odds and ends and puts them together to create instruments which he uses in noise performance. Hirose calls these noise instruments SSI (self-made sound instruments). In 2013, he released the CD SSI-4 (hitorri-997). This is his new release, SSI-5. To make the SSI No. 5 instrument, he put together about 30 vinyl chloride pipes and, using…