Onkyo
by Ben Lambert, Culture Editor on March 23, 2008 in Eight-Track's Revenge
Onkyo is a Japanese genre of music that focuses on the texture of sound rather than the melody or harmony created by any particular combination of notes.In this respect it is similar to several other genres, such as ambient music, noise rock, or some forms of free jazz. And of course the tendency to focus on the sound of a note as opposed to the length or pitch of a note crops up all over the place. Many of the early hardcore bands were interested in making the fastest, loudest noise possible, not in writing conventional songs. And hip-hop producers use and re-use many of the same rhythms, varying the actual sound of the drumbeats as opposed to their patterns (for example compare Ghostface Killah’s “The Champ” to Chamillionaire’s “Turn It Up” - nearly identical beat patterns, completely different sounds)Onkyo tends to distinguish itself from these other genres and trends via a certain austerity - some songs consist only of extremely high-pitched tones varying their timbre ever so slightly over a period of minutes. That might not sound like great listening, and you do have to be in the mood for it. Other works are slightly more accessible though, and the genre, by being so rigorous, offers an interesting vantage point from which the consider the relationship between noise and music. All this is by way of saying that you can view a great mini-documentary about onkyo icon Sachiko M here. The clip comes from a larger doc about experimental music, produced by Australian guitarist Oren Ambarchi. Enjoy.
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