Girl about town Jade seeks out cultural legends

Kodo One Earth Tour: Legend

Kodo, the Taiko drumming pioneers from Japan’s remote island Sado have been performing around the globe since 1981. The performance opened with a dimly lit stage, the sound of flutes approached the ears of the audience and the whispered sounds of other instruments began to rise; they were taking us on a journey back to their home town of Sado, and then the stage slowly began to shine. On one side of the stage stood a circle of drums with a trio of Japanese drummers placed in the middle, dressed all in black, they looked upon the round faces of their instruments. Reflected on the other side of the stage stood another three with a circle of drums. Slowly they began to entice the audience, skilfully switching places with perfect precision bringing the beat up and then down, playing around with the rhythm of the music, but not once making eye contact with the audience or one another, simply making the connection with us through the beats and breaks of the music.

“They are legendary, culturally and musically, never getting lost on their way”

Kodo has two meanings; the first is “the children of the drum;” to play drums simply with the heart of a child. The second is “heartbeat;” the primal source of all rhythm and the sound of a mothers heartbeat only an unborn child would hear. When watching the passion that comes from these talented instrumentalists, you can see it is not only about the music, they live a lifestyle of traditional Japanese culture and when they perform they are not only playing the drums, but they are keeping that traditional culture alive and present all around the world. The founders of Kodo went to Sado island in hopes to create a new community, where they were free to express themselves in music and art, playing the drums was a freedom of expression they did not feel anywhere else, and even though they are now world wide, they still live that traditional Japanese life style.

As the night proceeded you were drawn in to the most beautiful and hypnotic performances. The next act was of two women dressed in traditional Japanese dresses who seduced us with their spellbinding voices as six drummers in the most colourful attire entranced you. As they hit the surface of the drum and withdrew they reached for the sky as if to pull their energy from the stars and the moon. With so much passion and strength it was so acute you could almost taste it, and feel the heaviness of the beat being pushed straight through your chest. Their tour for 2014 is titled Legend, and they are legendary, culturally and musically, never getting lost on their way through the towns, cities, countries and years. Brighton has always been a musically fuelled city, which will always bring a growing love for all types of music. The ten minute standing ovation that was given at the end of the show portrays how important music is to us all and how, even when worlds apart, we can share that love for the beat.

www.kodo.or.jp
Blog: kodo.or.jp/blog_en/
Twitter: KodoHeartbeatEn
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KodoHeartbeat