Journeys Guided by Sound

#Cuba #foreigncountry #Hawaii #JAKAM #journey #JUZUakaMOOCHY #recording #travel #Vietnam #Music 2021.10.04

Life, the world, is intertwined with magical causes and effects, and sometimes miraculous things happen.
Have you ever had such an experience?

Hawaii, as you can see from the world map, is an isolated island.
It wasn’t that long ago that humans first arrived on this island.
Before that, there were only birds and insects, and it is said that humans brought dogs and pigs to the island.

And that, of course, was by boat, or canoe as we call it today.

It is said that the people who crossed this vast Pacific Ocean came from Tahiti and other parts of Polynesia.
So that area has a similar sense.

At the time, in 2006, while living in Fukuoka but frequently traveling around the country as a DJ,
as I mentioned before, I started up a label called CROSSPOINT and recorded in Vietnam
to create a piece called MOMENTOS from my Cuban recordings.
In the process, the word “steel guitar” came up in Hanoi, Vietnam, as foreshadowing.
I headed from Fukuoka to Honolulu, Hawaii.

By the way, this is another foreshadowing, as well.
Just before this tour, in 1997, I met Toshio Bing Kajwara, a friend and brother of mine who had met me in New York.
He told me that he was coming back to Japan from the U.S. and was interested in Kyushu, where I live, so he visited me in Fukuoka.
I went to pick him up and stopped by JUKE, a long-established record store in Fukuoka, where we found the following record.

It’s a too-timely-meeting record, it came with a booklet, it’s got great content, and it’s a record of considerable cultural value for 700 yen!
The good start had already begun.

As you can see from the map on the record above, the Hawaiian Islands are scattered in several pieces.
The most famous and largest city, Honolulu, is located on the island of Oahu, and this time it was an offer to DJ here.

I’m going to preface this by saying that the photos I’ve taken of the few places I’ve visited during my stay here, whether by some divine mischief or no,
I simply erased them due to my own unwillingness and incomprehensible mistake, so there are not many photos that I can post here.
Still, in writing this column, I have gathered a lot of information.

Most importantly, I DJ’d at a restaurant where opium was smoked in the early 1900’s,
when Hawaii and Honolulu were complete colonies lol
From what I remember, it was a very old, very quaint place.
But the photo is gone…

And I’ve appeared on the local radio and mixed in a little of the above records…

And other things they’ve taken me to…

The above is a noni bar.
It is a nutritious juice made from noni, a kind of potato, and it is quite relaxing to drink,
It was like a coffee shop in Amsterdam, and everyone was drinking it and chilling out lol
Haven’t had a drink since they took me out at this point, but I feel like I want one after all these years!

And in that way, I recorded with the following steel guitar player
who was playing at a different so-called bar that I was taken to.

● Greg Friedland Steel Gtr:
He is a great player who has played not only on his home island of Oahu, but has also come to Japan many times. He has Polynesian, Chinese, and Irish (Celtic?) blood. His world is a melting pot of races, like a picture scroll of the world.

<a href="https://crosspointproception.bandcamp.com/album/re-momentos-introduction">Re:Momentos – Introduction by Juzu a.k.a. Moochy</a>

Anyway, his performance was wonderful. A good start to the recording.

And Toshio Kajwara’s cousin, a.k.a. Niini (ex-Black Emperor), was a businessman in Honolulu at that time. We hit it off even though we had never met before lol
He has a Jaguar and a Porsche that he uses to tour the sacred sites of Hawaii lol
By the way, he is also over 6’4″ and quite a big guy, so when the two of us were walking around the sacred ground together, we must have looked like yakuza lol

The following is the place where the Hawaiian royalty have given birth for generations.
Perhaps under a full moon, or under the starry skies of a new moon, life was born from the mother, and the first sound was emitted from the earth.
Just thinking about it makes me feel the difference between the modern world and this one.
What a majestic world we live in!

And I had an appointment with a local from Fukuoka, Kaori-san.
I had made an inquiry to her about recording with a Hawaiian shaman, so we moved from Oahu to Hawaii Island.
I met her in Hilo, the largest city on Hawaii Island, and when I told her what I wanted to do, she simply said,
“It’s not going to work out that way in a few days.” lol
Having said that, there are two female shamans, so she’s willing to take me with her, just in case.

Which, incidentally, reminds me again,
during my stay in Tokyo a few weeks before this trip, I visited Sandy at her studio in Harajuku,
whom I had met through the “Wa Project” held in 2001 with Mademoiselle Toki, a so-called soul mate/bandmate who is a tarot reader by profession, and asked her about recording in Hawaii.
This is the book that Sandy supervised.

The content is quite deep and dense, but the binding is pop and gorgeous.
Once again, looking at it now, it is quite a valuable resource and well done.
Reading this book, I humbly faced the culture of this island.
This may have been a major influence on my trip.

Yes, I also remembered another foreshadowing.
This magazine, Relax. Eri-chan, who was editing the special feature on the pilgrimage to Hawaii’s holy land, was the girlfriend of TAKENAWA (who appeared in the previous article as “Edu from Saga”) at that time, who had accompanied me on the Vietnam recording tour I mentioned in the last issue.
The fact that she gave me this magazine definitely deepened the reality of this recording.

Yes! It was the aforementioned Kaori who was coordinating this Relax shoot, and she was introduced to me by Eri!
I just figured it out now lol

After all, it was 16 years ago…
MEMORIES are so hazy that I wonder if it was all a dream lol

Anyway, Kaori took me to the first shamanic woman’s hula ceremony practice.

I was aware of the reality of black magic due to the influence of the aforementioned Mademoiselle Toki.
But this person scares me…

Personally, I find her attractive and interesting, but my goal is not to explore magic,
but to create music, so…um…I don’t know.

Kaori introduced me to a young man named Kuhao, who is said to have good taste in the area, for dinner at a modern restaurant in a former Freemason’s lodge.

I told him that I actually live in Fukuoka now (Kaori is also from Fukuoka),
I showed him this record that I bought before I came here, and it was really good,
I explained to him that I wanted to record these hula chants…

He said, “I mean, this is my mom…”

Kaori and I were surprised and said, “What? The next day, we met with his mom (in the photo above, the bottom one is Kuhao’s mom, Narani, and the top one is his sister) and went straight to recording while looking at the lyrics of this record lol

● Nalani Kanakaole
She is a leading Hawaiian chant performer who is well known in the hula world.
She has been invited to Japan several times a year, and recorded with JAKAM through a chance encounter.

Narani’s point of view.
She looked at the photo of her mother who passed away in the booklet of the record with deep emotion.
It was as if she was reconfirming her place again.

Coincidence or miracle that I can meet her? A miracle??

Needless to say, I have once again deepened the reality of this island’s culture in my mind.

The second from the right in the photo above is Mr. Narani’s son, Kuhao.
He is the young man who designed my album, MEMORIES, which I will talk about later.
I had just turned 30 at the time. So young.
Kuhao was also about 24 at the time. By the way, the current Kuhao

And on the far right is
●Ulumauahi Kanakaole
A young chanting musician who is related to Mrs. Nalani, he is also a reggae lover who likes Dry & Heavy and Super Cat.

So he joined us for this recording and chanted a song about Pele, the volcano goddess, with Nalani. By the way, he told me that he loves DRY&HEAVY, and on this song, he got to play with Akimoto, the HEAVY guy, and Uchida, the engineer.

<a href="https://crosspointproception.bandcamp.com/album/re-momentos-memories">Re:Momentos Memories by Juzu a.k.a. Moochy</a>

Inshallah, indeed!

And below is a chant for this location, Hilo.

<a href="https://crosspointproception.bandcamp.com/album/re-momentos-memories">Re:Momentos Memories by Juzu a.k.a. Moochy</a>

Delivered above.

And you can see him in the photo below.
Dennis Kana’e Keawe Polynesian Flute :
Dennis Kana’e Keawe is a living legend who has worked with Nalani on a number of recordings and has a deep knowledge of Hawaiian instruments and culture.

He also took me to his house.

He let me record his nasal flute, which was included in the record I bought in Fukuoka, and included it in the above song.

A nose flute given to me by Dennis, who still owns it.

I want to be a nose whistle player one day lol

To Denise.
Why was there a need to blow the whistle with the nose?
I asked him.

“The mouth says evil things, but the nose does not. There is only pure breath, so the sound is connected with God.
I was amazed and convinced.

I now have a fierce feeling that the nose flute may be the most suitable instrument for someone like me who is full of EVIL!

By the way, he is gay, and his home is quite sophisticated, which I was also deeply moved and impressed by.

The beauty that floats throughout Hawaii clearly comes from the beauty of nature.

There is no beauty that is greater than that of nature, and the art “beauty” that we create is
only an imitation of that of nature.

If you think it’s winning, that’s just arrogant, cheap vanity.

By the way, Narani’s husband is of Chinese descent, and this brand that he designs is

Sigzane

Kuhao is currently doing the main art direction.

Below is the Aloha shirt I was presented.
Below is the Aloha shirt I was presented.
I have to admire their sense of style, which is modern but still has an organic feel.

It’s a sophisticated way of celebrating nature.
That’s how I feel.

In the in-flight magazine of the airplane on the way back from this recording session,
Naoki Ishikawa had posted photos of Hawaii.
I knew him from there, and I don’t remember how, but I made an appointment with him.
We had a conversation at a secret bar called “Misunderstanding” in Harajuku.
Talk session : Naoki Isgikawa & JAKAM talk about Memories..(only in Japanese)

There’s an explanation of star navigation in his words,

The ancient Polynesians had a perfect grasp of the position of the stars around the North Star and were able to determine the direction and navigate with great accuracy.
In the 1970s, a man named Nalinova revived the technique of navigation, and he was on board the ship.

If you read his book, “Ima Ikiteiru Toiu Bouken (The Adventure of Being Alive Now)”, you will find some interesting stories.

Relying on star navigation, six or seven men led by Narinova board a canoe-like ship without a directional magnet or radar, of course, and sailing on the wisdom and intuition of the captain (Narinova) over a complete 360-degree ocean, he gets a little lost in the narrow confines of the ship.
He gets a little lost in the narrow confines of the ship, which quickly becomes infected within the confines of the ship, or rather, on the ship.
Then the whole crew perceives Nalinova’s ” doubts and anxieties”, and one of them goes crazy and starts to act out.
It’s the world of science fiction.
Like a boat wandering in the vastness of space, they are swallowed up in an endless void.
It is truly a vague fear, death.
Then the entire crew seizes the rampaging man and tries to calm him down.
Fortunately, the ship would then reach land.

I want you to imagine it.
In a way, I think it’s the same on the ground and at sea.

Isn’t this lesson applicable to this situation of vague fear and anxiety that is currently prevalent?

If you don’t have a strong spirit, you can go crazy like that man.

What should we use as a benchmark?
Where do we want to go?

信じるのか、疑うのか。

Believe it or doubt it?

Wherever we live, we must believe strongly.
That the voyage will be successful.
That we will reach our destination.

The following is a CD that was released in 2008, designed by Kuhao.
The photo on the cover is a place to pray for a successful voyage with its star navigation.

I once crossed the Sahara Desert in Morocco in 2000 on a ridiculous bus that took over three hours to start its engine.
At that moment, I felt a God who was clearly watching me from above in a vast desert that islanders like us had never experienced before.

All we can do is pray.

In this vast world, human beings are tiny.
Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, there is nothing we can do.

If you still want to go and live, you have to believe.

Where did humans come from?

How did this planet begin?

Myths tell of the trajectory and miracle of humanity.

Song, music, is the intangible record and memory of humanity.

I am once again grateful to Hawaii
for bringing it back to me.

＜To be continued.＞

J.A.K.A.M. (JUZU a.k.a. MOOCHY / NXS /CROSSPOINT)
http://www.nxs.jp/
soundcloud / Bandcamp / Twitter / Facebook

Born in Tokyo, he started playing in bands and DJing at the same time when he was 15. As a DJ, his innovative and original style has taken the world by storm, and his activities have quickly expanded from huge festivals to underground parties both in Japan and abroad. In 2003, he went on a recording tour with local musicians in Cuba. In 2003, he went on a recording tour with local musicians in Cuba, and since then he has been recording all over the world, and started his own label, Crosspoint, as a new guideline for world music.
In addition to music production, he also produces video works, picture books and art books, and organized the outdoor festival “Jomon and Rebirth” in 2012. In 2017, he released HIGHTIME Inc. with DJ Tasaka, and in 2018, he released ZERO with MACKA-CHIN of NitroMicrophoneUnderground and MaL of PART2 STYLE. In 2018, he also started the unit ZEN RYDAZ with MACKA-CHIN of NitroMicrophoneUnderground and MaL of PART2STYLE.
In the same year, his music under the name of J.A.K.A.M. was released in analog form on the French label HardFist, which led to a live performance at the huge 30,000-person Nuits Sonores Festival, followed by a DJ tour of Europe and Israel. In 2019, the production of MYSTICS, a unit with Marcus Henriksson and Kuniyuki of the internationally popular Minilogue/Son Kite, began, and this year, 2021, the long-awaited album will be released. His original vision is spreading all over the world, crossing all genres.
He has been behind the decks at home and abroad with:
Acid Arab (FR) / Adam Ffreeland (UK) / Alex Patterson (The Orb, UK) Andy Baz (Background Records, Germany) / Asaf Sammuel (islael) / Dego (4Hero, UK) / Fabio (UK) / Francois K (NY) / Fred P(NY) / Foolish Felix (UK) / Grooverider (UK) / I.G.Culture (People, UK) / Jeff Mills (Chicago) / Joe Claussell (NY) Nick the Record (UK) / Moodyman (Detroit) / Panasea (Germany) PHOTEK (UK) / Storm(MetalHeadz, UK) / Suv (Fullcycle, UK) / Q-Bert & Inbisibl Skratch Piklz, Mix Master Mike with D-Styles, Yogafrog and Shortcut (US) / Theo Parrish(Detroit) / Terre Thaemlitz (US/JPN) / Tom Wieland (Vienna) /DJ KRUSH (JP) / Flying Lotus(US)/ / Boredoms (JP) / FAUST (Germany) / Dennis Bovell(UK) / Dillinger Escape Plan (NY) / Juno Reacter (UK) /Lee Perry (Jamaica) / LKJ (UK) / Lake Trout (US) / Mad Proffesor (UK) / Mala (UK) / Marcus Henriksson(SW) / Meat Beat Manifesto (UK) / Merzbow , MMW (US)/ Yakaza Ensemble(Turkey) etc. His style keeps evolving and defies categorization.