‘Each side has a depth of 5 seconds A polka dot pattern in horizontal array A flickering that moves vertically’ is the 10th album by Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi.

How did the three of you meet?

Oren Ambarchi: I first saw Keiji Haino play in New York in 1990 or 1991. It was both super confounding and very compelling. After that I bought any release of his I could find which was quite difficult in those days, not to mention expensive. In February 2003 I randomly bumped into Haino-san at a convenience store in Tokyo. We had a brief conversation, bonding over mutual musical interests and he came to a solo show of mine a few days later. We stayed in touch after that.

I was introduced to Jim in New York in 1997 by a mutual friend. We had a fun exchange (we are both the same age and grew up listening to similar musics so we have a lot in common). A few years after he remixed a piece of mine together with Tim Barnes. Over the years I saw Jim perform many times in all kinds of contexts but I think we first played a collaborative show together around 2008 in Yokohama.

In January 2009 Akiko Miyake, a curator based in KitaKyushu, invited Haino, Jim and I to play a concert together. This was our first trio show and it became our first release, ‘Tima Formosa’. Since then we’ve all worked together quite frequently as a trio and also in other formations.

This is the 10th record you made together. How did the music change or evolve over those 10 records?

We all play different instruments so the music is always changing, especially as we’ll bring different instrumentation from performance to performance. On our first concert I played guitar and Jim played acoustic piano. The one after that I played drums and Jim played bass. Haino is always showing up with something completely different and always encourages us to expand what we are playing. Every time we do a soundcheck I think to myself: “I wonder what Haino-san will bring today?”. He might show up with a toy piano, a bass harmonica or a baglama. Jim is always bringing something different every time we perform. One new instrument will inspire everyone to explore new territory. Because of this there are so many areas we can explore with this line up. I don’t think any of us would be satisfied doing the same thing all the time, even If we all played the same instruments night after night.

This album was recorded four years ago, in February 2017. How do you remember the evening of the concert?

I remember that I had just flown from Moscow to Tokyo, landing only a few hours before the concert so I was pretty exhausted. I couldn’t travel with my guitar due to luggage restrictions on the airline so I borrowed Jim’s pedal steel. Haino-san suggested in advance that this show be more of an “electronic” show which determined what instruments everyone brought to the show, but we definitely never have any music planned before we perform.

I have the impression that, on this album, everything melts together more than before. It’s difficult to say who does what. Do you see it that way too?

It’s clear to me who is doing what but I do like it when things become blurry and they all melt together.

Why is the record dedicated to Hideo Ikeezumi?

We were sitting backstage and just before we played someone from the venue told us that Ikeezumi-san had just passed away. It was heavy to hear that in that moment. He was such an important figure in the Tokyo scene, especially for artists such as Haino-san. The PSF label was hugely influential. I was lucky to have spent a lot of time with him at his store Modern Music over the years. He was a very warm and generous man. It made sense to dedicate this record to his memory.

Joeri Bruyninckx

Black Truffle Records Official Website