Dream Skills and Tombed Visions Japan part III

Japan 2026

02/07 Bar Isshee, Tokyo

with Masahiro Tobita  飛田雅弘 & Kevin Rowland

I woke up at 5.30am on 2nd July with some serious jet lag. All the usual when you take a 14 hour flight from JFK to Haneda. Dave managed to sleep like a log until 9am. When we finally got out of the apartment, there was a constant heavy rain, which meant umbrellas, and avoiding puddles because I didn’t bring any waterproof footwear. A bit of a dummy move. I had breakfast in the same spot as I did last year, simply because it’s one of the best yogurt and fruit bowls I’ve ever had! We made our way over to the newly reopened Edo museum, which details the history of Edo era Tokyo, right up to the present day. A must see for anyone interested in how this city evolved from

Wooden huts to the megalopolis it is today. The next stop was to one of my very favorites, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT). They had an exhibition on the children’s book illustrator/writer, Eric Carle, so lots of parents there with kiddies and babies, and I kinda wish I had paid to see it. We however chose to see the exhibit on  HIROKO KOSHINO, the famous Japanese designer, and her clothes and art were of course radical and inspirational at the time of their production. Nice to see racks of these wonderful and creative designs. We made our way to one of our favourite ramen places in Asakusa, and I had the spiciest food I could order! Does a treat to get the body functioning at optimal level! Over to the gig next at Bar Ishee, a place we’ve played twice before on previous tours, and run by the music fanatic Shunichi Ishida. Dave and Kevin Rowland opened the evening with breathy overtones from the sax, coupled with beautiful harmonics and open tunings on the guitar. They played a 16 minute set! Next up, I played with Masahiro Tobita, the ex guitarist from Japanese band envy. This is my third time playing with him, and he’s always a super inspirational guitarist who obviously dedicates his life to the instrument. I’m experimenting a lot more with granular synthesis, and together we produced some wonderful sonic landscapes over 20 minutes. The last set, we all played together, with beats, sax and a double guitar. The audience seemed to love it, and Masahiro Tobita was kind enough to credit all the musicians in Japanese. Tobita San and Rowland san humored me with my very basic and elementary understanding of the Japanese language throughout the evening.

On to Chiba today to play with our boy, Shoji Hano, a ferocious drummer and long time collaborator with Peter Brotzman. Stay tuned.

03/07 Jazz Spot Candy, Chiba

with Shoji Hano  羽野昌二 

Today we had a traditional Japanese breakfast whcih came with two onigiri of your choice, 2 sides of aubergine and egg, miso soup and a small desert! It was about $10, and totally michelin class! Afterwards we went to the very best modern art museum in Tokyo, the MOMAT. I’ve been here twice before, but last year it was unfortunately closed for a renovation so we missed out. Luckily for us, this time the special exhibit focused on the work of photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto (1948-) the most impressive work is his idea of photographing the sea and the sky together, with the same composition, to which he explains, this view has been constant for billions of years: Seascapes - The horizon bisects the frame: sea below, sky above, nothing else. This view has remained unchanged for billions of years, since water and air first appeared on earth. “Seascapes” is Sugimoto’s answer to a question he posed himself: “Can someone today view a scene just as primitive man might have?” In this series, he turned photography into a vehicle for reaching back across time to the first stirrings of human consciousness. His own earliest memory is of a view of the Bay of Sagami. Since the first work in the series, Caribbean Sea, Jamaica (1980, exhibit number 17), he has shot the horizons of seas around the world, always with the same identical composition, a practice he continues today. Source for quote from Sugimoto: Hiroshi Sugimoto: End of Time, exh. cat., Mori Art Museum, p. 109. — The gig was at Jazz Candy and we played with improvisational free jazz drummer, Shoji Hano for the second time. A western family, who were clearly on holiday, had obviously seen ‘jazz club’ and decided to give the evening a shot! Poor them! They stuck around for the first sonic assault, but during Dave and Hano’s second blast of noise, they had had enough, and cleared out of there real pronto, downing whatever drinks they had ordered! The locals found this very funny, and were asking us why they decided to leave! Lol😆! It probably had something to do with the complete avant noise weirdo shit we were creating! #shojihano #tombedvisions #dreamskillsnyc 

04/07 OTOOTO, Tokyo

with Tetuzi Akiyama 秋山徹次 (Acoustic)

In the morning we made our way over to Tokyo’s newest cultural centers, MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives -an interactive, experiential museum that opened in March 2026 in the Takanawa Gateway City district of Tokyo, Japan. Designed by acclaimed architect Kengo Kuma, it focuses on combining traditional Japanese arts, technology, and culture with immersive digital installations, theater performances, and storytelling. The center is state of the art, with beautiful architectural detailing, and built with sustainable materials. The building is covered in vegetation, and looks like how we should be designing our buildings moving forward. They have a huge tatami center, and it’s very relaxing to simply sit and watch the projections on art by masters like Hokusai. I ate a lovely salad for lunch at their cafe, and it was pretty reasonable. On the top floor they have an area where you can soak your tired feet! It was brilliant! The gardens are very impressive, and the exhibition, although clearly intended for children and school groups, was quite decent, though you could skip this aspect and enjoy the rest of the museum for free. It’s clearly there to be enjoyed by everyone, and I love the utilitarianism. We made our way out to Sengaku-ji 泉岳寺 temple, and gravesite to the 47 ronin, a real-life group of 18th-century samurai who famously became rōnin (masterless samurai) after their feudal lord was forced to commit ritual suicide. We had a free history lesson by one of the guides, and he also commiserated me on Scotland’s losses at the World Cup! lol! Afterwards we went to see a very impressive Buddhist temple named Reiyukai Shakaden Temple 霊友会釈迦殿 - it looks like a ship from a sci Fi movie. Unfortunately we couldn’t visit, but the guide told us to try tomorrow. The gig at otooto was with Tetuzi Akiyama, one of our favorite guitarists and a true innovator in his playing style who has worked with David Sylvian and Keiji Haino to name a few. We played two sets where I incorporated samples from the 1964 horror movie Kwaidan, together with field recordings and oscillators through delays and loopers. (Continued…) David played the sax with various tools incorporated, such as plastic bags and coke cans, utilizing semitones together with a few outbursts of free jazz. Akiyama san is always a pleasure to play with, as his style centers around the use of resonant harmonics on an acoustic guitar, together with techniques involving the use of additional tools, percussive instruments, bells, scrapers, etc.. after the show, he told us that ‘next time’ (next year! 😆) we have to record something together! I mean, what an honor. Of course we would jump at the opportunity! I have recordings of the gig which will one day make their way out into the world, but we just want to say thanks to Akiyama, and a massive thanks to Otooto, pretty much our favorite venue in the whole wide world. We love these guys!!! 😢😍❤️🙌🔥👏😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

05/07 Ftarri, Tokyo

with Masatake Abe  阿部真武 & Tetsu Nagasawa 長沢哲 - The first thing we did on Sunday was to eat the traditional Japanese breakfast again - two onigiri, two sides, desert and a miso soup with green tea for a very reasonable price! It’s some of the best food I’ve had and made lovingly by a husband and wife duo. Afterwards we made our way out to the west of Tokyo to Jindai Botanical Gardens 神代植物公園, which is also close to Jindaiji Temple. David had found this picturesque looking spot online, so we decided to give it a go, even if it was a bit of a trek. Both of us like to get out into the local areas, and it didn’t disappoint. Jindaiji Temple Is very busy with Japanese tourists, and there are lots of little shops selling souvenirs and very tasty looking food. The botanical gardens were very impressive, with sprawling rose gardens and a huge greenhouse with different climates for the diverse array of plants. I highly recommend the trek out here if you are in Tokyo, especially if you are into plants and quaint little towns. Tonight’s show was at the legendary avant garde/minimalist CD store/venue, Ftarri. We first visited as audience attendees in 2019, and have been coming back ever since to watch gigs, buy music, and play shows. Last year we were lucky enough to play for the first time, and this year our friend, Masatake Abe set up the show. Dave bought about a million cds, and I got a handful myself, as they had a ‘summer sale’ and each of the early Fttari releases was priced at a very reasonable 500yen. THEN you are given a discount stamp for your purchases which you can use later on and buy more! lol! The owner, Yoshiyuki Suzuki, asked me if we come to Japan every year, to which I replied ‘はい’. I told him David intends to buy every CD in the store, so this is the reason. In reality we keep coming back to play these wonderful gigs with people like Masatake Abe. We had a great discussion about how he originally started playing bass, and he started about the same time I did, at 15. He explained that initially he was influenced by Flea, and we were all laughing about our formative years as musicians. I played a solo set first, and was very (continued) Very happy with the results of sending the oscillators through delays and loopers, and bringing in various samples which provided an ambient backdrop. David, Masatake and Tetsu Nagasawa played a really brilliant set with bass, piano and drums. Super minimalist to begin with, and then rhythmic and catchy with Tetsu Nagasawa’a sublime drumming. We ended the evening as a quartet, and David bought more cds. I asked the owner of ftarri,  Yoshiyuki Suzuki to take a photo of us using my canon film camera, and he said “where do I even look through this thing”? I said just point it in our direction and shoot! Hopefully it works! Every time I come to this venue I feel super inspired and revitalized as a musician. It’s an incredible place, so please see a show there if you visit Tokyo, and make sure you attend with an open mind. 🔥👏

06/07 give me little more, Nagano

with  Kudo Aiko 工藤愛子, Kokichi Yanagisawa 柳沢 耕吉 & Yusuke Kawamura  川村祐介 - During the morning, I watched the England v Mexico game on spotty wifi throughout the day, but had a clear stream of both Bellingham goals. It was quite the game, and one of the only matches I’ve been able to see since being out here. We made our way to the insane Shinjuku station and caught our train to Matsumoto at 11am. Train was great and we arrived in the mountainous region around 2pm. We needed to get lunch, and I found an Indian restaurant. I’m glad we went there, as it was one of the best Indian meals I can remember. I mean, I’ve eaten about a million Indian meals in my life, but this one was very memorable. It didn’t come with a mountain of rice like in the uk, but the Nan was bigger than my massive head. Very good. Afterwards we checked into our hotel, and made our way to the venue, Give me a little more. This is our second time playing here, and I met Kudo Aiko last year, as she was performing with Kokichi Yanagisawa. I found her vocals so unique, and what a talent she is. So last year I suggested that if we come back, could we possibly play together. She agreed, and I’m so happy she did, because tonight was one of my favourite performances in Dream Skills history. Dave said it was as if we had played together for years. Aiko san uses her voice through an array of fx pedals, and is able to produce extremely high pitched sounds reminiscent of birds (my favorite sounds!), as well as low, bassy and guttural frequencies. This in collaboration with the drum machine and oscillators a worked very well, and again, I was so happy and inspired to play with her. We are going to work on producing a record, and the goal is she’ll one day come to play NYC. So unique. So inspiring. David played with Yusuke Kawamura a trumpet player who also utilizes home made bone instruments, and Kokichi Yanagisawa, a fantastic and wonderful guitarist who plays a hollow body Gibson with bows, tools, and other objects through fx pedals. They began their set in an extremely minimalist fashion, with little outbursts of controlled noise towards the end of their set. (Continued)

Sometimes the tones they produced sounded rehearsed because the music was close to perfect. Of course, it was improvised, but I would suggest that they too pulled off a set which seemed like they had played together for years. The opening band were locals from Matsumoto, and forgive me, but I do not have their name to hand, but they were three real weirdo experimental musicians playing Roland synths, drum machines, samples using radios, and a lovely little percussive instrument which was also heard in the bar throughout the night. Seminar shadow, who were once US/NYC based also played, with tap dancing, contact mics, and twangy country inspired guitar. A brilliant evening in the mountains, and one I will cherish for the rest of my days. Magnificent, and I highly recommend the trek out here to this beautiful town 

07/07 - Day off traveling from Matsumoto to Kyoto -

I paid an extra 1000 yen for a 12 noon check out instead of 11am, and used the hotel onsen for the last time (dream!!). We had a decent breakfast which was included in the price, and made our way to the station for the 12.56 train to Nagoya (where we transfer to Kyoto). Throughout the journey you are surrounded by breathtaking mountainous scenery (Dave had the window seat, so he has the photos), and I kept thinking how it would be nice to one day come here solely to hike. We got to Kyoto about 4pm and checked into the accommodation, which is very nice, with tatami mats and a traditional style table in the middle of the room. We went walking around the tourist area of Gion, and I wasn’t loving it! 😆 just too many people, and too much shopping and nonsense. When we found less crowded areas, it was a relief. I looked up a vegan restaurant online and we had a brilliant healthy salad topped with a soy burger. The young chef, Naomi, was chatting to us about music etc, and her pursuit of a singing career. She was lovely, very welcoming and talkative, and we wished her all the best. We walked around for a little while more, and I bought two rolls of film in a camera shop so I could snap away for the remaining week. On the way back to the accommodation, we happened upon an Indian bar, and the owner made us paratha 🫓. Gorgeous food! I explained how long I have been eating Indian food (a lifetime) and we had discussions about cuisines from around the world. The bar/restaurant is called ‘Maapaa Kyoto’, and is located in the old geisha alleys. It was very picturesque and there is even a WWII era bunker directly as you walk in. We are off to Kobe today! ✌️

08/07 Big Apple, Kobe

Sonic Conference Vol.20 with Takashi Miyamoto 宮本 隆, Ben Willis, Chie Mukai 向井 千恵, Chian 地案 & Tokunin Itami イタミトクニン -

Started the day by having breakfast at a western tourist trap eatery near our accommodation, which had overpriced pancakes, but I didn’t begrudge it too much as they were really delicious. There are simply too many tourists in Kyoto, so it was great to get to Kobe where there are basically no tourists at all. We put our musical gear in a coin locker at Sannomiya station, and made our way by cab to Hyogo Prefectural museum of art. The museum has rooms dedicated to Ryōhei Koiso and Kanayama Heizō, two significant Japanese modernist artists trained in the European tradition. The museum building was designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, whose Tadao Ando Architectural Institute undertook the design and construction costs, after which the building was donated to the prefecture. The architecture was stunning. One of the most impressive museums I’ve visited and we were lucky enough have the galleries largely to ourselves. The show was at a venue called ‘big apple’, and we’re wondering what the significance of apples are in this town! David and I played an opening set with bassist Takashi Miyamoto 宮本 隆, who we met last year in Osaka. He plays super processed almost fusion style bass, and this coupled with some drum machine and baby grand piano from Dave. Later on I played a set with Takashi Miyamoto 宮本 隆 and drummer Tokunin Itami イタミトクニン 🥁, and I think it went from quite experimental to almost noise rock funk disco! 😆I used my oscillators as well as I could to provide some pulsating rhythmic vibrations which would work well with an acoustic drummer, and what was clear was that the crowd and the owner were loving it! David played sax and piano with Japan based American, Ben Willis, who plays upright bass, and is an all round lovely guy! They were joined by Chian 地案, a modernist dancer, who provided you with a brilliant visual for the strange and uncompromising music! Chie Mukai 向井 千恵 Plays piano and traditional shamisen instrument through delay pedals and uses her voice to provide Erie and atmospheric style music. Great night!

09/07 Studio T-Bone, Osaka

with Rabito Arimoto 有本羅人 & Loui Yoshigaki ヨシガキルイ -

Today our show is in the musically rich city of Osaka, which is simply one of the greatest cities on the planet! We never get to spend enough time here, and today is also a one day only affair. We made our way to Osaka from Kyoto before noon, and went straight to the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka (NAKKA) 大阪中之島美術館. They do not have a permanent exhibition like most modern art museums, but instead curate two floors in their wonderfully modern building. We of course had to view both exhibits, the first being centered on Swiss artist, Karl Walzer. After a tragic incident in which an infatuated girlfriend took her own life in front of him, the painter traveled to the other side of the world, to Japan, where he stayed in various places, including Miyazu, Kyoto. Paintings vividly depict Japanese customs and landscapes in the Meiji period, such as Kabuki and festivals. Next was a three artist collaboration exhibit, Let us disappear in the wonderful room. - by Yasumasa Morimura, Kenji Yanobe, Miwa Yanagi - you will see the art for yourself in some of my photographs, but some of the work, particularly by the sculptor Kenji Yanobe, was breathtaking, vividly rich, and a commentary on how we as humans may survive a nuclear holocaust - absolutely mad in that one couldn’t begin to understand how he even went about creating the works. We made our way to see Osaka castle, and it was a sight to behold. We could have probably skipped the entrance fee and museum, as we didn’t really have time to read the histories on each floor, but the viewing deck was nice. The show tonight was held at photography studio/live house, Studio T bone. We were joined by the incredibly talented musicians Rabito Arimoto 有本羅人 on clarinet and trumpet, & Loui Yoshigaki ヨシガキルイ, a guitarist who was effortlessly playing Hendrix during the soundcheck. We had brilliant and vibrant discussions about an array of music and other topics throughout the evening, and at the end of the night, Rabito’s parents cooked a superb curry for us, noting that all vegetables were grown in their garden. It was quite the treat. 

Rabito Arimoto 有本羅人 & Loui Yoshigaki ヨシガキルイ opened the evening playing an experimental jazz inspired set in which one could appreciate how talented they both are as musicians. At one point Rabito San was playing both the clarinet and the trumpet at once! lol! They were simply incredible, and I felt it would be quite hard to play after their set! We did however, and David and I played a set in which he mainly focused on upright piano while I incorporated various field recordings, and the use of archery bows and arrows as a percussive tool. The final set, we all played together as a quartet, and I utilized more of the drum machine to provide a pulse under the avant madness! As I said before, after the show, Rabito’s parents made sure that we ate a lovingly cooked home made meal, and his mother told me all about the vegetables which were grown in their garden. I asked if Rabito helped, and she exclaimed that he did, but was now busy as a father! This then turned to our discussion on families and raising kids. I was having such a good time eating this home made food while listening to the best music ever made (exaggeration, but almost mean it), ‘Wandering Shadow Of Southern Streets : Blind Itinerant Musician From Amami Island’, that we almost forgot there would be a last train to Kyoto! The time was 11.06 and the last rapid train back was 11.40! Rabito said, “you better go”! We ordered a cab, and then quickly gathered all our belongings, trying not to forget anything! David of course misplaced his phone, but then we bundled into the cab, and Loui, Rabito, and his family fondly faired us well. This is what it’s about - being personable with other artists, creating communities rather than simply existing as an individual in corporate sponsored events/festivals in which no one really cares about each other! We made the last train by the skin of our teeth! What an evening, I’ll cherish it forever.

10/07 Zac Baran, Kyoto

with Loui Yoshigaki ヨシガキルイ & Mari Era -

Today I decided that I wasn’t going to partake in any tourist nonsense. It was 92 degrees in Kyoto and the sun was absolutely raging. David had to go and find a suitcase, because we shipped 20 LPs here and unfortunately we couldn’t sell them (this economy, aye?), so he’s taking them back and I’ll try and sell them on my upcoming UK tour. I spent the whole day in the apartment, albeit, a few times I left to go and get a lovely oat milk latte down the street at a very fashionable coffee store. I did laundry. My favorite on tour. Not even joking. We got to Zac Baran around 4pm, and the owner, Kamiya-san presented us with delicious ice coffee which went down a treat. After we had set up, I started feeling quite ‘strange’, which I attributed to heat exhaustion from yesterday’s Osaka castle visit. I did some research and found a drink called OS-1, which is like a Pocari sweat, but with bo sugar and tons more salt. After that and a bunch of food, including the ‘zac rice’, I began to feel a bit better. David and drummer Mari Era opened the set with a sparse and minimalist sound, which soon evolved into a hammering of the piano and a percussive and rhythmic sound in which Mari Era utilized various cymbals, bows, and drum based instruments. She is a very accomplished drummer. Next up, I played a sample and oscillator based set with the fantastically gifted guitarist, Loui Yoshigaki ヨシガキルイ (also played last night in Osaka). Playing with Loui Yoshigaki ヨシガキルイ is an absolute treat, and he really knows how to adapt his playing style to any sounds. At times I couldn’t differentiate between the sound of the delayed oscillators, and the feed backing guitar. Really great and beautiful music, if I do say so myself. The last set was a quartet and we played for around 35 minutes, each of us contributing our best ideas and intentions. I was really happy with the sets and so were the rest of the musicians. The people in the audience congratulated us, told us they loved it, and we were speaking for hours after the show with a lovely young couple from New Orleans who happened upon the ‘jazz bar’ and were (continued) Pleasantly surprised. The exact words were, “this was a once in a lifetime experience”. Also in attendance were two young university students studying environmental   science, to which I pleaded with them, “please save the planet”. Tomoko san is visiting NYC in September, and I gave her some tips, but also gave her a few New Yorker tips such as, “don’t ride an empty subway, and don’t look at people in the eye on the subway”! Fairly standard if you live in our crazy city! I thought that I perhaps scared her a bit, but assured her that our city is wonderful, but just be smart. It was a brilliant evening, and we met new friends (tomodachi 友だち), and were provided with the very best hospitality from the staff at Zac Baran, the owner and Vigo-san, who wouldn’t let us pay for any drinks, and kept serving us delicious food all evening. 

Okinawa 11th and 12th 

Cancelled! There is a typhoon the size of France over Okinawa. It has so far killed 17 people in the Philippines. Japan airlines have not officially cancelled our flight, and they told us they would try to fly there later,  but the highest possibility is it is likely to turn around and come back to Osaka. They have been no help what so ever, because according to them, it could still fly there. Why is blatantly false, and would be insanely dangerous. We are out a ton of money, about $400!! If you are feeling like you want to help us, please buy my new record at Bandcamp and we could use the donations to help cover costs! https://dreamskills.bandcamp.com

11th July, Okinawa (cancelled) 😭😭😭😭🥹🥹🥹🥹🌀🌀🌀 so last week while we were in Matsumoto, Tetsuya san, the venue owner of Azat Fanfare in Okinawa, contacted me to say that there was a typhoon approaching the island and that it was expected to hit on 10th July. I have been looking forward to playing the two shows I set up there for a whole year! I mean, looking forward to it is an understatement and a half! It’s been a dream of mine to visit Okinawa, let alone play there. Anyway, last night, as I’m going to bed, I’m checking the news and see that ‘Typhoon Bari’ has already killed 17 people in the Philippines, and that it is currently the size of France and approaching Okinawa and Taiwan. I woke up to multiple messages from Japan airlines about how the flight is possibly going to be cancelled. I tried calling them, spent an hour on the hold, only for them to tell me to call the international line. We decided to make our way over to Osaka Itami, and see what was up. It was a small nightmare traveling around Kyoto station trying navigate our way around Kyoto station looking for a way to get to Itami. Finally we found our way onto the bus, and I find out the flight is delayed by 2.5 hours. I notified Azat fanfare, and I still had a glimmer of hope that we would be making our way to the island, albeit, a wee bit late. I thought we could get off the plane, set up etc, and that would be that. We get to Osaka, and Japan airlines couldn’t exactly give me a straight answer about the flight. They said that they would try to leave at 17.50, but that in all likelihood, the plane would turn around and fly back to the OTHER Osaka airport. I simply couldn’t understand why they would attempt to fly into the path of extreme danger, only to return to another Osaka airport. I asked them what are the chances of it landing. She said “the highest possibility is that it will not make it to Okinawa” 🤔 so in order to claim any travel insurance, I’d need a cancelled flight, and it just wasn’t happening. I cancelled through ‘e dreams’ and got 80% on our return flight to Tokyo, and about 33% refund on today’s. The accommodation refunded us, but the guy in Okinawa whose house we were staying at is pissed, because there was no official cancellation yet. I mean, the fact that they haven't cancelled it is completely irresponsible of them, and now because I don't have a cancellation certificate, we are out about $400 between us. Probably more. We had to buy two flights from Osaka to Tokyo (15,000 yen each), and thankfully I found a decent accommodation, but that was still a good $150. It sucks. What sucks the most though is that we didn't get to play these two shows. As I said, I had been looking forward to this the entire year. Like, it was a large part of what kept me motivated at work etc! God damn. I'm beyond gutted. I'm not ashamed to say it, I felt like crying on the plane. I didn't. I'm not going to cry over spilled milk. The good news is, we're alive, and we're in a REAL area of Tokyo called Nakarokugo. There isn't another tourist to be seen! I also got to see Fuji for the first time, and it was quite the view!

so,! guess we just have to be grateful. IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT US, please buy the new dream skills record on band camp.

Also, if anyone in Tokyo wants to put us on at a venue tomorrow, please dm me here, or reach out at fortissimo records at Hotmail dot com. We'd gladly play. Now I need to go and dry my tears.

12th July - well, we were of course supposed to be playing Okinawa, but instead we went to the Mori arts museum and saw the Ron Mueck sculptures. Pretty decent. First time I had to book a timed ticket at the Mori. We also visited the ‘Tokyo Forum’, splendid and dramatic architecture by Uruguayan-American architect Rafael Viñoly. Well worth the visit if you’ve never seen it. Ugh, day off. Not so much to report. Something mental happened whereby I realized a day later that I had left my synth case at Haneda airport, so that was a real fucking panic attack and a half, but I don’t want to go over it again, and of course, being Japan, and how they’re all so honest, it was there. 😮‍💨 I think I probably almost shit my pants and my heart was going to explode out of my chest. David was very calm and cool, even though his sax pieces were in my case. Bianca reminded me not to have attachment, and attachment leads to suffering. It’s true. I bought an apple air tag anyway, just in case I have more brain farts. I guess I’m tired at 43 with non stop gigs and travel. Anyway, I have my stupidly expensive synths back and the show goes on. I have two more gigs, David has four. I’m coming back next year to make sure I do Okinawa, weather permitting.

13/07 Oriental Force, Tokyo

with Tetuzi Akiyama 秋山徹次 (Electric)

Feat.  Takashi Masubuchi  増渕 顕史 and Shun Momose & Satoshi Imoshita 

We checked out of the emergency Tokyo accommodation, which was a very old house in a working class neighborhood. I would gladly stay there again, but David and I being over 6ft kept banging our heads on the very low heavy wooden beams. It became super annoying. Next! We walked 12 minutes with all the luggage (made sure I had my synths this time 😭) to Zoshiki station and made our way to Shimbamba. Our new accommodation is the guest house at a Buddhist temple. It’s very beautiful. The manager walked us through a graveyard to get to the house, so we had to be very mindful of the baggage. David and I then went to meet our very good friend, Kevin Rowland, who has been living in Japan since 2012. We kept joking that we’ll tell people he’s our ‘hired translator’. Great to go out with him as he always knows the authentic spots to eat, for a good price. We also went to a shopping center, Nakano Broadway 中野ブロードウェイ, and I found really cheap black and white photography books, while David bought a vintage yakuza movie poster. The gig was held at Oriental force, a venue the size of most NYC living rooms. The owner, Kaya Takada, was very hospitable and took care of your needs as musician. He was super on it when it came to setting up the tables, d.i’s etc and it was a real nice and loud sound check through an excellent pa. The opener, Shun Momose, played a three string guitar with constant and persistent strumming of only harmonics. No chords or finger work between the frets. It was real nice, and very innovative and experimental. During the set he would tune his 3 guitar strings to random notes and everyone sat in dead silence while he did so. I loved those parts. Takashi Masubuchi  増渕 顕史, who we have played with three times, plays beautifully intricate guitar lines which remind me of avant classical music. Though he insists that he taught himself by listening to Jimi. His music is both emotive and exemplary, and always a pleasure to share a bill with such a fine and humble gentleman. Satoshi Imoshita’s set consisted of a mixer and two contact mics, which he gently rubbed up and down his body, before intensifying the physicality and eventually blowing raspberries into the mics. His set was extremely loud and I was glad to have my -25db ear plugs in! Not sure how anyone can listen without ear plugs, but then again, I’m old. David and I played with master guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama 秋山徹次 for the third time, and it’s always such an honor and a pleasure. Tonight he played electric guitar with us for the first time using an array of fx pedals. He told me that he stopped counting guitars he had after 30, and pedals after 50! 😆 playing with Akiyama san is always inspiring, and he intuitively notices aspects of our playing bringing in lush and dynamic feedback which sits perfectly with the oscillators and saxophone. David said it was our best set, and this guy never bullshits. I agree. Akiyama told us at Otooto that he would like to record with us, and I have been thinking about a studio recording to the point of obsession. Just have to work out how to make it happen. Hopefully it will be soon. What a great evening, and thanks to all the performers and Oriental Force.

14/07 Permian, Tokyo

with Riuichi Daijo  大上流一 & Naoto Yamagishi 山㟁直人 - I woke up relatively early with about 6 hours sleep, because I had booked a hair cut, shave, massage 💆 etc at TOKUTOKO. You have to see the video on instagram to understand why. I had a haircut by Mizuki san, who is featured in the video! It was the absolute best hair cut experience I’ve ever had, not exaggerating in the slightest! I only had a trim and a shape up, but she can do any style. Highly recommend if you are visiting Tokyo (see the video!!). Before this, I had a ridiculously sweet pancake breakfast with bananas and chocolate sauce etc. I kinda regretted it, but it was very good, and why not! As my mum says, “I’m on holiday!” Afterwards I went to Shinjuku to see a Daido Moriyama exhibit, but it had unfortunately ended already! I still got to see a few of his photos. Class. I then went hunting for an Akira Sakata record for David, as a thank you for booking the tour, and because of his obsession with Japanese improv music, making our connections with such wonderful people. I don’t think I’d ever be able to do it without him, or, at least it would be different. I’ve communicated this many times. I hope he can come back again next year. I was walking around in the blazing heat to the HMV in Shibuya, sold out, tower records, sold out, before finally asking him where he saw it, and having to trek back to shinjuku after he informed me it was located at the HMV there! I had a strong craving for raw tuna, so we went to get sushi, and David tried, and liked the rolls! Good lad! We then took the 41 bus from Shimbamba to one of our favourite live houses, Permian. Tonight I played solo to open, about a 22 minute set whereby I incorporated drones, beats and bird sounds. I get a wee bit conscious of time when I play solo, and normally keep it around the twenty minute mark. I’m going to work on extending from now on. I was however, very happy with the sound in general. It’s a wonderful venue with brilliant concrete floors and walls. David played with his boy, Riuichi Daijo  大上流, the owner of Permian. A fantastic guitarist and all round wonderful supporter of our music. We both purchased his 5 cd box set, 1. Because it will be full of brilliant and diverse improvisational music, 2. Because we want to support artists like Daijo san who have been with us since the start of this adventure into the Japanese music scene. Also playing with David and Daijo was Naoto Yamagishi 山㟁直人, who uses a snare drum almost as an amplifier, or, resonator on which he places singing bowls, bows, cymbals, and various tools, creating a sound reminiscent of violins, bowed instruments, wind instruments, and percussion. It’s quite the spectacle to see, and super inspiring. He informed me that he learned the technique of utilizing the drum as an amplifier by studying French-Vietnamese musician, Lê Quan Ninh. No matter who he learned techniques from, he is incredibly gifted and talented and it was a pleasure to see. During the sound check he was playing his instrument in such a delicate way it was really moving. I loved it. Finally we played a LONG 49 minute set as a quartet and at times David, Naoto and I were producing feedback in precise harmony, while Daijo explored the fret board of his guitar. The two guys in the audience, visiting from Turkey, and who found us on Tokyo Gig Guide, told us they thought it was amazing. I believe them! 😆 if I do say so myself. Also in attendance was Naoto’s wife, contemporary artist, Shihmin Sun, who sketched wonderful drawings she conjured up while listening to the music. She gave me a drawing which she made while listening to Dream skills, and I’ll put it on my wall when I’m home. She was super knowledgeable about art, and it was a pleasure to talk to her about Vietnam, Japan, and various topics related to history, art, music and photography. It was  brilliant evening for me to cap off an unforgettable tour. Of course I am sad to leave Japan. David has two more gigs, and I wanted to change my ticket to stay and watch, but because I booked through a third party, it was impossible. C’est la vie. I will be back next year, for sure. If there was any way I could get my family to move here, I’d leave again tomorrow! Japan, all the improvisers, artists, musicians, live houses, food, culture, I love you Don, Dream Skills x