KiMiMi, the solo project of musician and multi-instrumentalist Shinya Ohno—who also performs with groups such as Trapeza and Yamamura Bogcho no Uta, and plays the gaida, a traditional Eastern European bagpipe— This work was born out of Shinya Ohno’s deep involvement in the construction site of “Aritsumatoru,” an unconventional concrete building in Mita, Minato Ward, which architect Keisuke Oka spent 20 years self-building. It is a magnificent fusion of architecture and music, created by field-recording the “body temperature” of the building—such as the sounds of work and the presence of people—and blending them with his own performance. A joint release by 〈conatala〉 and 〈Calax Records〉, this long-awaited vinyl release follows the CD. We have it in stock. (Adachi)
Centered around the gaida (the ancestor of the bagpipes), which she studied in Bulgaria, multi-instrumentalist KiMiMi skillfully handles a diverse array of instruments. She brings the traces of daily life and folk melodies she has collected during her travels back to the intimate setting of her home studio, weaving fantastical soundscapes of folklore through cassette tape works and stage music. Alongside her musical activities, she has participated in the construction of “Aritsumatoru,” recording the sounds of hammers and steel beams on-site, casual conversations during lunch breaks, melodies played by others, and the sounds of cars passing by on the street. In late 2022, a zine titled *Monthly Arimasutoboru Uri-masu*, based on this construction project, was launched. For each issue, KiMiMi incorporates these recordings into their musical contributions, layering sounds from acoustic instruments—such as the guida, accordion, guitar, flutes, ukulele, piano, foot-pump organ, melodica, xylophone, and other acoustic instruments, as well as synthesizer sounds, to create soundscapes imbued with the humidity and breath of the site. KiMiMi’s creative process is characterized not by planned construction, but by an attitude of entrusting the work to chance, intuition, and the passage of time. Layering fragmentary recordings, setting them aside for a time, and then revisiting them. Through this repetition, the music naturally takes shape. This resonates precisely with the process of “Ant-Trout-Kite,” which was created by improvisationally layering elements without a pre-drawn blueprint. “ИМА (Ima)” marks the current location of KiMiMi’s sonic journey and represents an attempt to gracefully cross the boundaries between architecture and music, documentation and creation, and the individual and the community. The clamour of the city, the stillness of manual labour, laughter, and every sound resonating at the Ant-Trout-Kite site blend with KiMiMi’s music, reflecting the very passage of time in which people live.
Centered around the gaida (the ancestor of the bagpipes), which she studied in Bulgaria, multi-instrumentalist KiMiMi skillfully handles a diverse array of instruments. She brings the traces of daily life and folk melodies she has collected during her travels back to the intimate setting of her home studio, weaving fantastical soundscapes of folklore through cassette tape works and stage music.
Alongside her musical activities, she has participated in the construction of “Aritsumatoru,” recording the sounds of hammers and steel beams on-site, casual conversations during lunch breaks, melodies played by others, and the sounds of cars passing by on the street. In late 2022, a zine titled *Monthly Arimasutoboru Uri-masu*, based on this construction project, was launched. For each issue, KiMiMi incorporates these recordings into their musical contributions, layering sounds from acoustic instruments—such as the guida, accordion, guitar, flutes, ukulele, piano, foot-pump organ, melodica, xylophone, and other acoustic instruments, as well as synthesizer sounds, to create soundscapes imbued with the humidity and breath of the site.
KiMiMi’s creative process is characterized not by planned construction, but by an attitude of entrusting the work to chance, intuition, and the passage of time. Layering fragmentary recordings, setting them aside for a time, and then revisiting them. Through this repetition, the music naturally takes shape. This resonates precisely with the process of “Ant-Trout-Kite,” which was created by improvisationally layering elements without a pre-drawn blueprint.
“ИМА (Ima)” marks the current location of KiMiMi’s sonic journey and represents an attempt to gracefully cross the boundaries between architecture and music, documentation and creation, and the individual and the community. The clamour of the city, the stillness of manual labour, laughter, and every sound resonating at the Ant-Trout-Kite site blend with KiMiMi’s music, reflecting the very passage of time in which people live.