Blog | Thanks John Solt and Nishimatsu Fuei! Hakana DVD: Traditional Shamisen/Postmodern Visuals/Fantastic Butoh |
My thanks to Nishimatsu Fuei and John Solt (www.highmoonoon.com) for 101 minutes of sheer delight! Nishimatsu Fuei plays 19 classical songs from the Japanese while postmodern visuals (including one of mine–a Tarot dance made to permutate by Tamura Hiroshi to the love story Rancho) provide interesting, if oblique, commentary on the songs. A pamphlet nicely printed and designed to clip inside the case gives the skimmy on the songs, including translations. The real gems however are the bonus tracks at the end: Ohno Yoshito, son of the famous (and still living) co-founder of Butoh, wows us with his dances to the passionate shamisen of Fuei-san. Well worth the 4,000 yen/$40.00 price.
