Contemporary Taiko Ensemble

Our lives are immersed in seas of rhythm, beat, vibrations, and waves. Drumming is one of the most direct and powerful media used to create and harness energy. Long ago our ancestors recognised it as a medium for contact with the world of spirit. At the same time music entertains people and unites them when they face hardship.

BATARI is a cross-cultural contemporary Taiko ensemble based in regional Qld. The group aims to explore the new horizons of Australian music and creates musical events for ceremony, purification, concert and other occasions. The music is purely improvisational and spontaneous, and is interwoven with a diversity of traditional musical principals to present musical journey through Pacific Rim, central Asia and desert. Australia is now a very multicultural society with a kaleidoscope of musical influences from all over the globe. We see that our role as contemporary artists in Australia is to take on different philosophical and cultural perceptions, respond to these and create music with its own identity.

Elements

BATARI focuses the music of Taiko drums, based on Moto Niwa's 37 years of experience in this unique Japanese art form that lends itself to both traditional and contemporary interpretations. Moto has been guiding and mentoring young Australians for the past 12 years to form a highly sensitive and creative team that can improvise and compose together with a keen awareness of aesthetic sensibilities. The sound of the Taiko can be like a quiet curl of distance thunder, or like a lightning brother shouting fury, or with the melody comes in Japanese folk beat to give a variety of textures and colours to the group. Francis Gilfedder brings his extensive range of Asian and Middle East wind instruments, which can be pivotal in creating atmospheres and textures that describe the many moods of the Australian landscape. They also use Gongs and percussion of varying sizes, pitch and timbres which provide an exciting contrast to the drums, or can be played solo for a beautiful atmosphere reminiscent of Ian Fairweather's "Turtle and Temple Gong."

BATARI has a unique method of composition, ideas and concepts, which may arise from experiences of the landscape, or from our knowledge of tradition, or from creating sounds in the present moment. Moto's sources of Taiko drumming and his extensive knowledge in traditional Japanese imageries and Francis draws on Indonesian and other Asia-Pacific musical processes to create a fascinating fusion.

New direction

BATARI developed full-multimedia theatrical performance "Plate Tectonics" using mask, movement, image projection, soundscape and live music. Plate Tectonics is an artistic envisioning of the creation of art, which based on the context of Plate Tectonics. The production has received grant to tour in Darwin, Fremantle and Melbourne in 2004 as part of Kultour Program, funded by the Australia Council. Currently the group has been developing composition "KODAMA: The Echo of Forest", which represents relationship between nature and people; based on the context of spiritual ergonomics and ecology.

Personnel

Motoyuki Niwa
Artistic director, choreograph, mask making, soundscape,
image projection and percussion

Moto has an extraordinary range of experience and art skills such as sculpture, textiles, calligraphy, conceptual design, composition, multimedia, etc. He has over 30 years of experience in Taiko music, Jazz, experimental music, free/improvisational music. Currently works as cultural and artistic consultant including cross-cultural, CCD, social justice and environmental contexts. Work includes consultant, project developer, project coordinator, facilitator, sculptor, photographer and sound artist. He introduced Taiko music to Australia in 1994, his intention is to explore the future of Australian music using traditional Japanese arts principals as a template rather than staying in Japanese traditional context and styles.

Past 33 years he has been involving international interdisciplinary collaborative projects with diversity of art fields and cultural background artists. He has been invited by Gudo Jikko Kai Mikkyo Yoga, Oki Do International and Meiso Shiatsu, Italy to residence since 2005. The residence aims to share and exchange knowledge between Taiko music, Zen meditation, Shiatsu and Yoga practice, to exploring the interrelationship between mind, heart and body. He has asked to establish Taiko group in Italy and facilitates Taiko workshops for young people, Yoga and Shiatsu practitioners.

Francis Gilfedder
Choreograph and woodwinds

Francis travelled to Bali, Java and other islands of Indonesia, studying flutes and Gamelan music at the School of the High Arts in Solo, and in local communities and villages in Bali. He has taught Gamelan music at Conservatorium Griffith University (99-00) and trained Javanese community Gamelan Groups in Brisbane, also working as cultural liaison for various community arts projects. He also studied Shakuhachi music with Yomei Nakajima in Brisbane, and developed skills from many multicultural sources from NESB Artists in Brisbane. He is one of remarkable examples of understanding and introducing various Asian cultures, music and arts with high level of competency; his knowledge provides unique artistic depth and colours to the group. He has also collaborated with Moto Niwa to create a series of mask dramas and multimedia performances such as "Flower of Memory" for Asia-Pacific Wataboshi Festival, BEMAC Cultivarts, Powerhouse (03/04) .

Currently he has been preparing to compile his first solo CD.