Ei Wada: Difference between revisions

Ei Wada
和田永
Ei Wada 和田永
	Wada in 2011
Background information
Born	1987 (age 36–37); Tokyo, Japan
Instruments	Open-reel recordings; electric appliances; CRT television;
Years active	2009–present
Member of	Braun Tube Jazz Band; Open Reel Ensemble; Electronicos Fantasticos!;
Alma mater	Tama Art University

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 00:32, 17 May 2024

Ei Wada (Japanese: 和田永, Hepburn: Wada Ei, born 1987), also known as Crab Feet, is a Japanese programmer, artist and musician known for his work in repurposing old electronic appliances into musical instruments. He is the member and founder of projects such as Open Reel Ensemble, Braun Tube Jazz Band, and Electronicos Fantasticos!

Having been interested in music since childhood, Ei Wada began experimenting with unconventional ways of using electronics as instruments after an accident with a pair of tape recorders as a teenager. He formed the Open Reel Ensemble with university friends to explore the use tape recorders. Later, he created the Braun Tube Jazz Band to experiment with CRT televisions as percussion instruments. He eventually established Electronicos Fantasticos! to collaborate with other musicians across Japan, experimenting with various electronic devices. Open Reel Ensemble released their self-titled debut album in 2012, followed by two more albums: Tape and Cloth (2013) and Vocal Code (2015).

Besides his musical activities, he is also a visual artist, creating the work "Toki Ori Ori Nasu (Falling Records)" using open-reel tape recorders.

Early life and education

Ei Wada was born in Tokyo in 1987. From a young age, he had interest in music and actively engaged with it as a student. At the age of four, Wada's family went to a holiday vacation to Indonesia, where he witnessed a Gamelan music performance, which made him interested in music.^[1]^[2] He pursued his education at Wako Junior and Senior High School before enrolling at Keio University. Later, he transferred to Tama Art University, where he graduated from.

As a teenager, he received a pair of tape recorders from a friend of his father, who worked at a radio station. One day, while handling them, he accidentally tripped and attempted to fix the reels with his hands. He noticed a change in the sound, realizing that manipulating the reels could turn them into musical instruments.^[3] He continued to experiment with using reels as instruments throughout his university years.

Open Reel Ensemble

In 2009, Wada formed the band Open Reel Ensemble while in university alongside his friends Haruka Yoshida, Masaru Yoshida, Kimitoshi Sato and Takumi Namba.

Braun Tube Jazz Band

During his time with the Open Reel Ensemble, Wada saw the eventual scarcity of obsolete tape for their recorders. To address this, he began experimenting with other old technologies. It was during experimenting that he found that connecting a sound cable to a composite video connector port displayed the sound on the screen as an image.^[4] He then transformed televisions into percussion instruments by synchronizing multiple units with computer-controlled video decks, with each emitting sound at different pitches. He also made a method where touching the television screens produced buzzing noise by connecting guitar amps to his feet.^[5]

In 2009, Wada won the Excellence Award in the Art Division of the Japan Media Arts Festival

Electronicos Fantasticos!

In 2015, Wada formed the project Electronicos Fantasticos! as a resident art project, also forming the Nocos Orchestra-Lab that same year to help exchange ideas and techniques for production and performances.

Other activities

Visual art

References

^ Jozuka, Emiko (January 20, 2016). "This Japanese Band Makes Music With E-Waste". Vice.
^ Reader, Ruth (January 20, 2016). "This Band Is Making Music Out of Outdated Technological Garbage". Yahoo!.
^ Summers, Nick (July 26, 2018). "The Japanese ensemble making music from old tape reels". Engadget.
^ Nakagawa, Makiko (December 27, 2010). "消えゆく機械を歌わせる、電子時代の"民族音楽"を模索". The Nikkei (in Japanese).
^ Matsumura, Taro (March 15, 2009). "オープンリールを「楽器」として再発見──和田永氏". ASCII (in Japanese).

[1] Jozuka, Emiko (January 20, 2016). "This Japanese Band Makes Music With E-Waste". Vice.

[2] Reader, Ruth (January 20, 2016). "This Band Is Making Music Out of Outdated Technological Garbage". Yahoo!.

[3] Summers, Nick (July 26, 2018). "The Japanese ensemble making music from old tape reels". Engadget.

[4] Nakagawa, Makiko (December 27, 2010). "消えゆく機械を歌わせる、電子時代の"民族音楽"を模索". The Nikkei (in Japanese).

[5] Matsumura, Taro (March 15, 2009). "オープンリールを「楽器」として再発見──和田永氏". ASCII (in Japanese).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 122: / Line 122: @@
 == Other activities ==
+=== Visual art ===
 [[File:Ars Electronica Festival 2013 Toki Ori Ori Nasu - Falling Records.jpg|thumb|Wada's "Toki Ori Ori Nasu (Falling Records)" at [[Ars Electronica]] Festival 2013]]