The special program series is produced by the AAPS to introduce various forms of contemporary music on a specific theme at each session. The theme this time was the "Human Voice" in two-day sessions for the purpose of exploring musically expressive possibilities of the human voice. On the first day, a joint concert by Otomo Yoshihide and Carl Stone featured the world premiere of their works.

"Modulation for Voices and Sine Wave" by Mr. Otomo was a very delicate piece of music. It consisted of a pure sine wave generated by Ms. Sachiko M., a sustained vowel sound by Ms. Sagara, an almost inaudible voice produced through the tightened vocal chords of Ms. Yoshida, and the very deep bass sound generated by Mr. Otomo.

"Adana Urfa" by Mr. Stone was a collaborative work between the voice and the computer. Ms. Haco sang in response to music to which she was listening through her headphones （inaudible to anyone else）, and Mr. Stone spontaneously accompanied her with his computer-generated sounds. The audience seemed to enjoy hearing a new form of music - a combination of voice and computer sound which were sometimes harmonious and sometimes in discord.

As the last part of session, Mr. Otomo, Mr. Stone and Ms. Sagara performed an improvisation in the conventional style of electronics music.（F.A.）

Carl Stone and HACO

Otomo Yoshihide, Sagara Nami and Carl Stone

photographs by Tatsuo Nanbu

OTOMO Yoshihide, turn-table player, guitarist and composer
Born in 1959. He works independently worldwide at concerts as well as in recording studios and in collaboration with many musicians. He is well known as a film music composer mainly for Hong Kong and Chinese films, and has won awards at many film festivals such as the Berlin Festival.

Carl STONE
Born in Los Angeles, CA. Studied musical composition with Morton Subotnick and James Tenny at the California Institute of the Art. Started composition of electro-acoustic music in 1972. Solo works and collaborations with many musicians, dancers and artists such as Takahashi Yuji, Sawai Kazue, Otomo Yoshihide, Kisanuki Kuniko, and Stelarc. The Village Voice states that Mr. Stone is one of the best composers in the U. S. today.

YOSHIDA Ami, vocalist
She produces sound, rather than a human voice, that can be best characterised as a barely audible "howling voice." In addition to her solo activities, she works together with Utah Kawasaki's band Astro Twin; as part of a duo group, Cosmos, with Sachiko M.; a "girl band," the California Dolls, with Wada Chihiro.

SAGARA Nami, vocalist
After graduating from the Music Department of Tokyo University of Arts, she formed a duo group, Opera, with Kakigami Naoko. They debuted as "the Eccentric Opera" through Epic Sony. She is also active in the underground music scene as Tokyo Namy. She is known for her charismatic presence on stage and for her voice that extends to a strikingly high pitch. Her activities are currently based in San Francisco.

Sachiko M, sampler player
She burst onto the scene as part of the group "Ground-Zero." After the group broke up in March 1998, she has produced many works that stretch the limit of the sampler, such as test tones and noises from disk samplers. She is regarded as a leading composer for the post-sampler movement, and her solo works using only the sine wave have attracted wide attention, particularly in Europe.

HACO, vocalist and composer
She was active as a core member of the group "After Dinner" （1981-1991） which had gained international acclaim. She released a solo album in 1995. Since then, she has given many concerts of improvisations featuring samplers, electronic devices, electric mandolines, percussion instruments, toys, and the voice.