HIROTA VIDEO ON
HIROTA VIDEO ON
Stonedog's much-anticipated music video shoot is here at last. On Bank Holiday, May 25, at 4pm, the world famous Japanese Taiko percussionists, JOJI HIROTA and HITEN RYU DAIKO (formerly Joji Hirota and Taiko Drummers) take the stage at the amazing PROUD GALLERY for what promises to be a mind-blowing video shoot. The production will entail a free 75-minute concert for the gallery’s regular audiences and the general public, which will be shot in real-time, with no breaks. The repertoire will be purely acoustic, and will feature breathtaking Taiko drumming, intercut with Hirota’s virtuoso flute and vocal pieces. It is expected to be the ultimate testimony to the ensemble’s stamina, theatricality, and dazzling physicality. JOJI HIROTA hails from northern Japan, where he started his lifelong study of percussion at the age of eleven, becoming a composer at the tender age of thirteen. He studied classical music at the Kyoto City University of Arts, and was invited by STOMU YAMASHITA to be the musical director and percussionist of the RED BUDDHA THEATRE, in 1972. He subsequently became the musical director and percussionist for the LINDSAY KEMP DANCE COMPANY, in 1977, touring extensively throughout Europe, Mexico, Canada and the USA, South America and Japan. During a trip to Hokkaido, in 1992, Hirota encountered the formidable group, HOKKAI DAIKO, led by the great Taiko master, ITTO OHBA, who showed him a deeper route into the music of his ancestors. This encounter caused Hirota to undertake studies under the master and his son, KAZUOKI. He returned to England, armed with the words of his master: “Create music that only you can create”. A master percussionist, flautist, singer and composer, and prominent member of WOMAD since 1986, Hirota is widely recognised for raising the profile of Taiko music in Europe. He was honoured with the Japanese Ambassador’s Commendation, in 2004, in recognition of his distinguished service to the deepening of mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and other nations. The six-camera video will be directed by multi-award winning New Zealand director JEREMY MANSFORD, whose work is noted for dynamic cinematic aesthetics and sharp, organic effects. It will be produced by ISHMAEL ANNOBIL, who will also shoot the behind-the-scenes documentary, which will form the basis of a feature length documentary on Joji Hirota’s life and works. MERETHE ROSVOLD will line produce this segment. This video production will be the second collaboration between Stonedog and Joji Hirota, who recently scored the film collective’s major documentary about legendary Japanese artist KENJI YOSHIDA, who sadly passed away just before the completion of the film. EDITORS’ NOTES: OTHER CREW: Cinematographer/Lighting Design: MICHAL BARYLSKI; Other Cameras: DAMIAN KWASNIK, MATT OATEN, FIONN MCSHERRY and KEVIN ADAMSON; Sound: TONY SHENG, MARCO IAVARONE AND NIKOS NIKOLALAIOS, Art Direction: KRISTYNA SELLNEROVA CONTACTS (for interviews and photos): STONEDOG PRODUCTIONS: Ishmael Annobil (Producer/Director) PROUD GALLERY CAMDEN: Dorothy Power (PR & Hire Manager) Links: http://www.atproud.net/events.aspx
Commenting on the forthcoming video production, Proud Gallery’s Promotions Officer, Victoria Gibbins, said: “This is a fantastic, once in a lifetime opportunity for our audiences. It fits in perfectly with Proud’s aim to widen the musical landscape, and to capture it for posterity.”
T: +44 (0)207 3880025
M: +44 (0) 777 3898649
E: Ishmael.stonedog@gmail.com
T: +44 (0) 207 482 3867
M: +44 (0) 789 994 1557
F: +44 (0) 207 424 9778
E: dorothy@proud.co.uk
http://www.concert-diary.com/
https://www.gigjunkie.net/Blog/?tag=/joji+hirota+and+the+taiko+drummers