Musica Anonyma, i.e., anonymous music we interpret as "music with no name." This, in turn, is made to imply "nobody’s music,"which again relates to "everybody’s music" by semantic inversion. Ultimately we meant to play music which everyone may feel that they have heard them somewhere, but, in fact, that’s not the case.
By "Sounds like nothing else, and everything else" I mean above.
PLEASE TURN THE VOLUME TO THE MAXIMUM! SO THAT YOU CAN HEAR THE ATMOSPHERE!
First of all, thanks to Yuiko-san, one of my favorite artists for letting me know the existence of this site.
Following is my self-introduction, including a young persons’ guide to Musica Anonyma:
MuziKc was born in 1957, Dec., 6th, in Osaka, Japan.
Since his childhood, he has been very much interested in music. He asked his father eagerly to have him take piano lessons. A conservative father simply rejected his request by saying "You’re a guy. What a guy has to do with music?"
The father’s word was a total shock. MuziKc even thought as if his future came to nothing.
Luckily, MuziKc found a second-hand guitar shop in his neighborhood, and was able to get a $30 classical guitar with his allowances, and part time job of newspaper delivery earning. At that time he was 11 years old.
His high-school days were a happy one. He, this time, worked in a screw-making factory, and bought a black Japanese made Stratcaster at $300. He played Deep Purple tunes, Wishbone Ash, and Beck, Bogart & Apice repartoire.
One day, when he was around 16, MuziKc came to know a band called "King Crimson," and without any reasons, he was deeply into it. He could not afford to buy vynals then, and borrowed them from his friends and recorded them on tapes.
Oddly enough, when he ran short of tapes, in order to record another material, re-listened to "Larks’ tongues in Aspic," and "Starless and Bible Black," and each time he tried to erase them, he couldn’t but to have the tape in tact. Those two recording seemed to belong on the level of his Life with a big L.
Through college, MuziKc practiced his electric guitar (now Japan-made LesPaul) unplugged.
In 1992, after finishing a graduate school 2ears earlier (majoring in linguistics, and collocuial American English), he found a very small article in a progressive rock related magagine at Tower Record in Shibuya, Tokyo. The article was an advertisement telling us that Robert Fripp will come to Japan for a guitar seminar. Thus, his carrier as a guitar crafty began.
After coming back to his home town for the change of the working place, MuziKc began joining his friends of long standing for jam sessions once a week late at night. This session evolved into a band called "Musica Anonyma." The following is a brief story from the point of view of MuziKc as a multi-instrumentist (basically, a guitarist).
History: A percussionist and a bassist had been rehearsing for many years before the guitarist, MuziKc, joined them. The three had been friends well before beginning jam sessions at nights at the percussionist’s office once a week or so. While they were rehearsing, another bassist was introduced by a friend of the percussionist, who also was a friend of both the bassist and the guitarist.
The former bassist began to try one instrument after another, and finally settled as a violinist.
One day the new bassist left without a word: she fell in love. After a while, the friend of the percussionist, who was the vocalist of a band called "Law," obviously named after David Bowie’s album, visited the rehearsing group with a melody. Thus he also contributed as a vocalist and guitarist-out-of-tune.
Inspired by the melody, in 1994, a band, or an ensemble, to be more exact, came to exist under the name of Musica Anonyma, involving the afore mentioned four musicians. The melodies brought by the vocalist cum guitarist made the guitarist feel it necessary to contribute with different instruments to the music played. He played many kinds of guitar, the mandolin, and the recorders. The same applied to the percussionist, and the violinist.
The performing period of Musica Anonyma was about two years and a half. After the percussionist closed his office, they practiced at EVES every Sunday morning. They gave the final gig at the bar in 1997. In the process of preparing for the show, "Musica Anonyma" began to leave the musicians as distinct individuals, the unity was lost.
The following is retrospective comments by the guitarist of the ensemble, nothing more, nor less.
Musica Anonyma, in its first incarnation at least, were very lucky guys who did not have to PAY to go on the stages: a young musician asked them to join his gig as a guest--the debut of the musical unit, funnily enough, they were PAID, or given free supper! The members even did not have to make their efforts to sell the tickets to their shows, as is the case with many beginning amateur bands.
At another time, an event promoter offered them a chance to play at a chick restaurant, hiring efficient mixing crews. Some of the audiences may well remember their lives at Fandango, Rain Dogs, and the bar "EVES."
They even made a tune into an omnibus amateur bands CD by winning the second place in an audition. The CD was commercially available at some music shops.
The anonymas were serious musicians who were able to play by the need of the moment, but only when it was possible, which means that they were too sensitive not to be affected by various factors, eg., by the musicians played ill- mannerly before them. At one time each band at a show was allocated 20 minutes. However, the band before the Anonymas played more than twice as long. As a result, the ensemble lost its necessary tension to go on to the stage.
A second incarnation of the ensemble is unpredictable at the moment. The guitarist and the violinist (who now plays the bandoneon), however, are still committed to music. They are thinking of performing again in the near future.
P.S. On Oct. 1., 2007, an inspiration visited me to the effect that I may collaborate with a female vocalist. The name of the unit is not decided yet. Two days later, in fact, I met a promising young 4th year student who will have more time from the next Apr. 2008. We will be rehearsing shortly.
Hello MuziKc, just passed by to hear your music and found myself surprisingly on your toplist, thank you very much. Sambi-Ka is a very nice song. Enjoyed hearing it. Read in your blog that you didn't feel so well for a time, hope this is better now! Summer will come again! Greetings from Ella
Arigato MuziKc-san, thank you for your friendship and the words in german. I was very impressed of your music when I found it here! Sad that your Band doesn't exist anymore. Looking forward to your new project. Greetings from Ella
