Audio Recording Part 2: A More In-Depth Talk with Isaku Kageyama

This is Part 2 of my conversation series with Isaku Kageyama about audio recording gear and how to use it effectively in your home studio. In Part 1 we covered some basic information to get started, and you can find it here:

https://www.eienhunterishikawa.com/blog/isaku-home-studio-recording-gear

This time, we go further in depth and address some topics which had been requested over the past few weeks. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback and engaged with us through email and social media. I’m also very appreciative of Isaku’s willingness to sit down with me and spend so much time sharing his knowledge and experiences. Largely due to his help, I have been able to substantially improve my own audio recordings and gain a deeper understanding of important concepts and terminology over the past two months.

Isaku and I talked for quite a long time and I have split the audio into four downloadable parts. We readily admit that the sound quality of Part 1 was subpar, especially considering our conversation topic (the unfortunate result of a built-in recorder of a video call software with a name that does not start with z and rhymes with gripe). The Part 2 audio is much, much better.

If you would like to see a Part 3 in the future, please let us know. Feel free to send in topic requests or any questions you would like answered.

Links for the topics we discuss:

Isaku’s taiko mic comparison video
http://isakukageyama.com/best-mic-for-taiko-drums/

UnitOne virtual concert
https://youtu.be/uL2Fdsx_nO0

Isaku’s youtube channel - Garageband Basics, Fue EQ, Parallel Compression, Mixing, and More
https://www.youtube.com/c/IsakuKageyama/videos

Isaku’s directed study program
http://isakukageyama.com/directed-study-program-learn-taiko-music-production-and-more/

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1. Taiko microphone test, audio samples, UnitOne concert audio

2. Tempo changes, mixing, midi keyboard and drum pads, recording fue, reverb, room importance

3. Potential income from recording, livestream concerts, click tracks, simplifying our playing

4. Isaku’s directed study online lessons, importance of feedback for effective learning

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Isaku Kageyama is a taiko artist, well versed both in live performance and in the studio. His resume includes performances at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, networks such as NBC, VH1 and BET, tours with the Japan Foundation, and residencies with The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage. He’s also an overall nice guy. :D:D:D

On stage and in the classroom, Isaku brings a breadth of experience performing and teaching both traditional and contemporary styles. A versatile collaborator in the studio, Isaku contributes to projects by bringing his extensive knowledge of composing, recording, and mixing to the table. When none of that is needed, his job is to make sure there is cold water in the fridge for everyone.

Isaku currently works as an instructor at Los Angeles Taiko Institute, performs with Asano Taiko US UnitOne, and records for virtual reality creators Rhythm of the Universe, and video game composers Materia Collective.

Formerly a principal drummer of Amanojaku, he holds a Bachelor of Music from the Berklee College of Music and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Longy School of Music of Bard College.

He is also a two-time National Odaiko Champion, becoming the youngest person to win highest honors at the Mt. Fuji Odaiko Contest in 2000, and Hokkaido in 2003.

From 2011-2014, Isaku was the resident instructor at Wellesley University and the University of Connecticut, and has held clinics at Berklee College of Music, Brown University, Rochester Institute of Technology, North American Taiko Conference, East Coast Taiko Conference, and Intercollegiate Taiko Invitationals.

A Discussion with Isaku Kageyama about Home Studio Recording Gear

Last week I had a great time talking with Isaku Kageyama about recording gear for home studios. Isaku has a lot of experience as a performing musician, instructor, composer, and producer. He is one of my go-to resources for information about recording music. You can learn more about his interesting background by checking out the interview we recorded previously.

Interview: Isaku Kageyama talks taiko, music school, and teaching

This conversation covers the basic needs for starting out with home recording. I am grateful for Isaku’s willingness to spend time answering my questions and providing very valuable advice based on his years of experience in the music industry. This is how we normally talk while hanging out and exchanging ideas about our work and life. Whether you are a complete beginner or have some experience with modern recording gear and methods, I think there is a lot of valuable information offered here.

I have separated the conversation into six broad topics. The audio files below are downloadable. We are planning a part 2 of this topic where we talk more in-depth about recording. If you have any questions or topics for us to address in a future discussion, please let us know.

Send a question or topic for Part 2

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1. Audio Interface

2. Microphones

3. Headphones & Monitor Speakers

4. Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)

5. Accessories

6. Used Gear, Mic Placement, & Bachi Selection

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Isaku Kageyama is an eclectic music composer and producer. His music has been broadcast in countries such as the United States, UK, Italy, South Korea, and Norway. Isaku is the co-founder of Los Angeles-based music production company Audio Music Productions. His knowledge of composition, production, and Japanese music have led to a resume that includes brands such as BET, VH1, NBC, Microsoft, and the world’s largest taiko manufacturer Asano Taiko. In 2015, Isaku was commissioned by Asano Taiko US to compose a piece for the professional taiko ensemble UnitOne. The composition premiered at North American Taiko Conference, the largest taiko event in the US. As a producer, Isaku’s resume includes projects such as Microsoft video game Phoenix Force, O2O Theatre in Greece, and Kuma Outdoor Gear in Japan. He is currently the rehearsal director of Bataré, a production that combines taiko with progressive metal. He holds a holds a degree in Contemporary Writing and Production with a minor in Writing for TV and New Media from Berklee College of Music, as well as a Master of Arts from Longy School of Music of Bard College.

Isaku’s website
http://isakukageyama.com

Isaku’s youtube
https://www.youtube.com/c/IsakuKageyama/featured

Interview: Masayoshi Ishikawa talks Mujo Suite, Fukushima, and blending taiko with jazz

Composer and pianist Masayoshi Ishikawa

Last summer Masa contacted me about the possibility of collaborating on a performance of his composition for taiko and 18-piece jazz orchestra. I quickly said yes because it sounded like an intriguing and unusual project with an underlining special significance. Originally from Fukushima Prefecture, Masa wrote Mujo Suite to commemorate the victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster of northeastern Japan. After a half year of planning, we performed Mujo Suite at the University of Iowa on February 22. I also conducted lectures and workshops for a variety of classes during my residency, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Iowa City. I am very grateful to Masa and everyone involved in this project for the warm welcome and wonderful hospitality provided. Thank you also to Soten Taiko for kindly providing the taiko for this residency - it was immensely helpful. The photos and concert video are included at the bottom of this page.

I had a great time talking with Masa for this interview. We covered a lot of topics including the details about Mujo Suite, his background in Japan and the US, composing for Japanese instruments, my University of Iowa residency, his recent visit to Fukushima, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Eitetsu Hayashi, his teaching philosophy, and much more. Masa writes beautiful music and is a fantastic jazz pianist, and he speaks with much thoughtfulness, humility, and gratitude. The interview also features several samples from his album Dialogue which is linked below along with his facebook page.

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Originally from Fukushima Japan, Masayoshi Ishikawa grew up in a city called Aizu Wakamatsu. Throughout his primary and secondary school years, Masa actively participated in several choirs. He came to the United States in 2003 to begin his formal musical training in Seattle Washington, where he first found his passion for piano and the art of jazz.
As a pianist, Masa has performed at many jazz festivals and concerts in Italy, China, Japan and the United States. He was chosen to perform as one of the five finalists for 2016 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. Masa enjoys interacting and cultivating meaningful relationships with listeners and other musicians through performing music.
Masa is also passionate about crafting music with various instrumentations. His composition, Hotaru (firefly), was selected as the winner of 2014 Downbeat Student Music Awards in Graduate Original Composition for Small Ensemble. In 2019, Masa released his first jazz studio album titled Dialogue, which consists of ten original compositions written for vibraphone, piano/keyboards, acoustic bass/electric bass and drums. Several of his compositions have been published from UNC Jazz Press.

In addition to his latest project (Mujo Suite) with Eien Hunter-Ishikawa, Masa wrote and premiered another jazz orchestra multi-movement work titled Suite for the Forgotten in 2015. The suite is dedicated to people who are currently living in Fukushima under the uncertain health impact to the radiation exposure from The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants meltdown in 2011. In this composition, Masa employed a string quartet as well as French horn into the traditional jazz big band instrumentation.

As a sincere respect to Stevie Wonder, one of his musical heroes, Masa presented Stevie Wonder Recomposition Project in 2013. In this project, he selected multiple Wonder compositions to recompose for chamber jazz ensembles with various instrumentations.

He holds two Master of Music Degrees-one in jazz composition from the University of South Florida and one in jazz piano performance from the University of Northern Colorado. He received Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Composition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2015. In 2016-19, Masa served as a Visiting part-time Assistant Professor of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. Currently he serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Iowa.

Masa’s Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/MasaIshikawaMusic/

Dialogue
https://music.apple.com/us/album/dialogue/1467830569

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University of Iowa Residency Photos and Mujo Suite Video

Mujo Suite - Three Movements for Jazz Orchestra, Taiko Drums and Shinobue I. Foreword/Finale (0:00 - 16:26) II. Prayer (16:26 - 25:47) III. Prologue (25:47 -...

Mujo Suite I. Finale

Mujo Suite III. Prologue

Rehearsal with the Mujo Suite band

Jamming with Giauna during the jazz seminar class

Teaching Edo Bayashi rhythms to the percussion seminar class

Practicing taiko patterns in the music therapy class

Lecture on the history and evolution of taiko for the world music class

Photo with Masa after the concert

Poster for the Mujo Suite performance

Interview: Abe Lagrimas, Jr. talks music, working with taiko players, and his new album

Abe Lagrimas, Jr. (photo by Greg Hatton)

I recently had a fun conversation with Abe Lagrimas, Jr., a Los Angeles-based musician, composer, educator, and author. Abe and I have been working for the past several years as members of On Ensemble and it's always a pleasure to share the stage together. He is an outstanding musician who plays drums, vibraphone, and ukulele, and consistently adds color and spark to elevate the music. Audiences love his technical flair, yet as a bandmate I truly appreciate Abe's fine-tuned ear and his flexibility to instantly adapt to any situation. He makes any band sound better and it's no surprise to learn that he is very much in high demand. In addition to On Ensemble, Abe and I have worked extensively with the preeminent taiko artist Kenny Endo. It's always interesting for me to chat with musicians with similar points of view, and as a jazz musician, Abe had some very insightful observations about working with taiko players. It would be wonderful if everyone shared such an open and forward-thinking mindset about art, culture, and everyday life. This conversation also contains more humorous bits than usual, reflecting Abe's easygoing personality.

The interview features music from Abe's fantastic new self-titled album. The excerpted tracks are: Alternate Route, Sunday Dance, Nu'uanu Mist, End Of The Road, and Tanimoto. The album features a great group of musicians playing Abe's jazz-leaning original compositions, expressing a nice balance of varying feels, tempos, and moods. The links for the CD and digital download are below, and I highly recommend you check them out. Abe's website is also worth visiting to learn about upcoming shows, find his previous albums, and sign up for his newsletter. 

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Website
abelagrimasjr.com

Physical Album
https://squareup.com/store/abelagrimasjr/item/abe-new-cd

Digital Download
https://passoutrecords.bandcamp.com/album/abe-lagrimas-jr

Abe Lagrimas, Jr. is a musician, composer, educator, and author who plays the drums, vibraphone, ukulele, and studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. In 2012, he competed in the highly prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition and has worked with many artists such as Eric Marienthal, Eric Reed, Kamasi Washington, Dontae Winslow, Barbara Morrison, Michelle Coltrane, Jake Shimabukuro, Kenny Endo, and continues to be an in-demand session musician in Los Angeles. 

As a solo ukulele artist, Abe is a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award recipient and has released multiple albums in the United States, Japan, and South Korea. Abe has been featured at ukulele festivals in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Palm Springs, Reno, Chicago, New York, and Hawaii. His international performances include Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Great Britain, and toured extensively throughout China having performed in twelve cities. 

Abe is also an educator and has authored the first ever ukulele curriculum for instrumental music programs in schools titled “Ukulele Ensemble, Beginning Ukulele - Level 1”published by Consonus Music Institute. His latest book "Jazz Ukulele: Comping, Soloing, Chord Melodies" (Berklee Press & Hal Leonard) is available in stores worldwide and on Amazon.

Interview: Bruce Huebner talks shakuhachi, Japanese music, and the multicultural life

Bruce Huebner on shakuhachi 

Since the very beginning of my blog's interview series, Bruce Huebner was high on my list of people I wanted to feature. I'm happy that we finally coordinated our busy schedules and time difference to record this conversation. Bruce and I first met in Vancouver, BC in 2014 to work on a project with the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra, and I felt an immediate musical connection and an ease of communication as if we had known each other for years. I think this comes through clearly in our conversation.

Shortly after, we played a duo concert on Christmas day at a Tokyo live house called Tsukiji Mugenryu. It was a full program of originals, jazz and rock covers, Japanese folk melodies, and a few winter holiday tunes mixed in - all arranged for shakuhachi and vibraphone. We had a fun gig and received an enthusiastic audience response, and we decided to bring our music to the US. In 2015, we put together a concert tour of Oregon and California, playing in a wide range of venues and culminating in two appearances at the San Francisco World Percussion Arts Festival.

In the interview, we discuss Bruce's musical background, his first experiences with the shakuhachi, attending GeiDai (Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku, or University of the Arts), making the transition from flute and saxophone to shakuhachi, creating music with influences from around the world, and much more. The music tracks included are:

Kiss Me Now (Bruce Huebner, Tomoya Hara, Mark Tourian, Sendo Saori)
Falling Leaves (Bruce Huebner, Gunnar Linder)
Fond Memories (Bruce Huebner, Curtis Patterson)
Spanish Wind (Bruce Huebner, Koufuu Suwa)
Kashmir (Bruce & Eien)

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Bruce Huebner on shakuhachi

Yokohama-based Californian Bruce Huebner received his MA in traditional Kinko style shakuhachi from Tokyo University of Fine Arts in 1993 where he studied under Yamaguchi Goro (National Treasure) as a Monbusho Scholar.  After a seminal six-year professorship in Fukushima Prefecture,  he returned to Tokyo in 2000 and founded the jazz-world group Candela with pianist/composer Jonathan Katz.  The critically acclaimed group featured the shakuhachi in Japan, American and European tours and on numerous recordings.  In 2007 he began the popular "Cherry Blossom Tours" with koto player Curtis Patterson. In 2011 his "Zabu Tone Music" label released their eighth CD, "ZUI" produced with jazz guitarist Tomoya Hara.  He is a also a musical spokesman who has appeared on NHK BS TV, Tedx, Nihon TV, and he has conducted numerous lecture concerts in schools, community centres, clubs, temples, and colleges, including Rome University, Kent State, St Lawrence University, New York, and the University of British Columbia. He has performed over 80 concerts in Tohoku since 3/11.

Website
http://shakuhachibruce.net

Bruce & Eien project
https://www.eienhunterishikawa.com/bruce-eien/