Improtech Paris-Tokyo 2024 Workshop – Festival in Tokyo — july 29 to august 2, 2024
https://improtech.ircam.fr/ikparistokyo
Improtech is both a musical festival and an interdisciplinary workshop bringing together actors of research and creation from all over the world fostering musical improvisation in interaction with digital intelligences, in an assumed approach of human-machine co-creativity. After praised editions in New York, Philadelphia, Athens and Uzeste, Improtech Paris-Tokyo (ikTokyo’24) lands down in Tokyo, the sizzling japanese metropolis on july 29.
In addition to the regular programme, a truly exceptional event will enlight this year’s Improtech with a a performance at Konnoh Hachimangu Shrine in Shibuya, a one thousand year old cultural milestone linked to the Shibuya clan and Japan’s tumultuous medieval history, also known as one of Tokyo’s rarest early Edo architectural jewels. The shrine is also associated with the life of the great writer Yukio Mishima who was a regular here. This crazy adventure was made possible thanks to Joni Waka (Johnny Walker), a character in Murakami’s novel Kafka on the shore who happens to be very real and part of Tokyo’s living legends. Composer Georges Bloch performs in the shrine with the Butoh dancer Taketeru Kudo who renews the Butoh genre and opens it to contemporary music, along with the bass player Takashi Seo who unleashes all the power of free impro on his instrument.
This edition of IMPROTECH in Tokyo welcomes a number of truly exceptional personalities, including celebrated multi-award jazzman Steve Lehman, Jim O’Rourke from the legendary Sonic Youth group and avant-garde beacon, Joëlle Léandre, the double-bass diva with life time achievement award, contemporary classical composer Lara Morciano exploring the limits of hybrid acoustic/digital composition with composer and computer music designer Jose-Miguel Fernandez, the immense Malagasy zither virtuoso Justin Vali with Marc Chemillier on Djazz generative electronics, Jean-marc Montera, avant-garde guitarist specializing in free improvisation and sound experimentation, Turner Williams Jr the the spirited musician playing the syncretic orient-occident instrument shahibaaja, Anaïs del Sordo an amazing singer.
Miller Puckette, Inventor of the Max software system and Venice Silver Lion for his life in computer music, also graces us with a keynote lecture and a musical performance in duo with the celebrated electronic musician Irwin.
The Who/Men from Ircam (Marco Fiorini, Mikhail Malt, Gérard Assayag) along with Marc Chemillier create a sonic space thanks to the cocreative AI tools from the REACH project.
As usual in Improtech series, the floor is wide open to major artists from the host country. This year we welcome composer Nicolas Brochec , Michiyo Yagi, renewing the art of the Koto in the electronic esthetic, Mari Kimura, visionary virtuoso violinist creating her own gestural interaction systems, Akira Sakata, a cherished veteran of the japanese free scene, Tamami Tono celebrated Shō player, Gagaku and computer music composer, Nao Tokui both musician and researcher exploring AI potentialities in electronic music and live coding, and many others remarkable musicians and researchers.
