voices of memu

Research Retreat by Eisuke Yanagisawa (Field Recordist, Anthropologist)
April 20th – May 8th, 2021, March 2nd – 14th, 2022

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Voices of Memu is a collection of recordings by field recordist Eisuke Yanagisawa made at numerous locations in and around Taiki, Hokkaido, during his five-week stay at memu earth lab in the spring of 2021 and winter of 2022.

Venturing into the wilds with his audio equipment, at different times of the day and night, Eisuke sought out new sounds in an unfamiliar place. As well as the voices of the land, Eisuke also turned his attention to the words and activities of local residents in the town of Taiki, and at the farms that are scattered across the area.

The result is a captivating series of sound environments that portray the essence of the area with a deep sense of place, in the way that only pictures painted by sound can realize.

Label: MSCTY EDN
Format: Digital and Double CD/Booklet
Release date: Autumn 2023 (coming soon)

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「Voices of Memu」

text by Eisuke Yanagisawa

北海道の東部、十勝の南部に位置するメム（大樹町）を拠点とするmemu earth labに2021年と2022年の冬から春にかけて計5週間ほど滞在し、周辺の様々な場所の響きを収録した。

録音機材を車に積み込み、さて今日はどの辺りに行こうかと広大な大地を車を走らせながら考える。周辺には森林や川があり、海岸沿いには湖沼群が点在している。市街地から離れると通り過ぎる車や人の姿はほとんど見かけない。一方、野生のキツネやタンチョウ、リスの姿は時折見かけるし、雪の上には何かの動物の足跡が点々と残っている。適当なところで車を停めて、機材を入れたバックを担ぎ、面白そうなポイント、何かが録れそうな雰囲気のするポイントが見つかるまでひたすら歩く。このようにしてたまたま出会ったさまざまな音がこの作品には収録されている。さらにこの土地で暮らす人々にも話を伺った。彼／彼女らが日々の暮らしの中でどのような音をどのように聴いているのかに興味があったからだ。

雪が積もった朝方、滞在していたバンガローから外に出ると耳が詰まったかと思うぐらいの静寂に慄く。自分の耳には「自然」の音しか聞こえないように感じられる場所でも、マイクロフォンが捉えた音からは人間の活動に伴う様々な音が聞こえてくる。例えば、大型トラックが国道を走る音、山で猟師が獲物を猟銃で撃つ音、上空を通過する飛行機の音、近隣の住居の室外機の音、そしてもちろん私自身が無意識のうちに立てている音もある。それでも、背景のノイズが少ない、小さな音が明瞭に聞こえる場所というのはそれだけで価値がある。ここはまさにそういう場所だ。

メムで出会った環境音、人々の声、それらを区別することなく、この土地の声として捉えてみる。土地の声に耳を澄まし、それらを録音し、録音された音に耳を傾けるという行為を通してどのような世界が立ち上がってくるだろうか。メムという言葉はアイヌ語で「泉の湧き出るところ」という意味があるそうだ。これらの音がリスナーそれぞれの記憶や身体的経験と結びつき、湧き水のように世界に対する想像力を涵養することを願って。

I stayed at memu earth lab, based in Memu (Taiki Town), located in the southern part of Tokachi, eastern Hokkaido, for a total of five weeks during the winter and spring of 2021 and 2022, and recorded the sounds I encountered at various locations around the area.

Loading the recording equipment into the car, I drive on the vast land while thinking, “Where should I go today?” There are forests and rivers all around, and lakes and marshes dotting the coast. Away from the city center, one rarely sees passing cars or people. On the other hand, wild foxes, red-crowned cranes, and squirrels can be seen from time to time, and the snow is dotted with tracks of some animal. I parked the car at a suitable spot, carry our bags of equipment, and keep walking until I find a point that looks interesting or has the atmosphere of something I can record. The various sounds that I encountered in this way are recorded in this work. In addition, we talked to the people who live in the area because I was interested in how and what kind of sounds they hear in their daily lives. Through their words (voices), the way you listen to these recorded sounds, in other words, the world reconstructed by the recording, is also likely to change.

When I stepped out of the bungalow where we were staying on a snowy morning, I shivered with such silence that I thought my ears were clogged. Even in places where it seems like one can only hear the sounds of “nature” with their own ears, the microphones captured a variety of sounds associated with human activity. For example, there are the sounds of large trucks driving on national highways, hunters shooting their prey in the mountains, airplanes passing overhead, the sound of the outdoor units of neighboring residences, and of course, the sounds I myself make subconsciously. Still, a place where there is little background noise and small sounds can be heard clearly is worthwhile in itself. This is just such a place.

Considering the ambient sounds I encountered in Memu, the voices of people, without distinguishing them, I try to perceive them as the voice of this land. By attentively listening to the voice of the land, recording them, and attentively listening to the recorded sounds, what kind of world will emerge? The word ‘Memu’ apparently means ‘a place where a spring wells up’ in the Ainu language. It is my hope that these sounds will intertwine with the memories and physical experiences of each listener and nurture their imagination towards the world like a spring water.