NUa - Impressions in Berlin

Site-specific music application "NUa" by Tomomi Adachi 2021
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The site-specific music app "NUa", free and for iOS and Android is an experimental music work by Tomomi Adachi for mobile phone. This App requires listeners physically go to the locations to listen to the sounds. It has been composed originally for the Kitasenju area in Tokyo, but additionally, it works in Berlin (Hauptbahnhof, Treptower Park and Ringbahn), Moscow (from Red square to Moskva river via Albat), New York (Wall Street, the Battery and Ellis Island) and the South Pole.
This is the fifth composition from the series of site-specific works that began with "NUo" at Adachi Market in 2011 for Oto-machi Senju no En by Adachi. The last four compositions were performed with professional or amateur musicians mostly from the local. Each composition had from 70 to 15 musicians as the performers.
Because of the pandemic of Covid19, the original plan for the 10th celebration of the project could not be realized, the project team decided to present another format of the composition.
The recording for "NUa" was held in January 2021 in Kitasenju, basically, each musician came to the studio one by one avoiding the contagions. Adachi provided some notated fragments and video scores based on video recordings of train trips and still photos in the Kitasenju area. 14 musicians improvised with the materials as well as spontaneous instructions from the composer. The instruments include clarinet, contrabass, guitar as well as many Japanese and Asian traditional instruments. Some of them are core members of the independent improvised music scene in Tokyo.
Adachi edited the new recordings and old recordings from the past performances of the projects, provided around 50 loops and assigned them to selected geographical positions. Because it includes all past performances, the numbers of all players are well over 100 peoples.
When you start the app, you will see a map for the closest active area. If you go to points on the map, you can listen to the sound assigned to the point. You get to the point closer, the sound becomes louder and vice versa. It is a virtual sound map spread out over the real space. The listeners can change the mixing of the sounds moving around some sound points. The sounds are all loops, their overlaps are not the same every time, depending on how fast the listeners move. The performer's names are shown on the app during the sound source are playing. The vibrator works as part of the music in a few points. Also, a few sound points are not shown on the map, the listeners may find them voluntary.
Originally the piece has been composed for the Senju area, but there are different versions with the same sound sources for four areas; Berlin, Moscow, New York and the South Pole. In Berlin, Ringbahn is regarded as a groove of a big vinyl, the listeners are expected to experience the piece taking S-Bahn generally. In Moscow and New York, the listeners may find some political implications.
In the pandemic time, we developed the way to share time but not space through Zoom or live streamings. This app suggests you share space.
Credits
Composition and direction: Tomomi Adachi
Musicians: Akira Sakata (Clarinet), Scott Jordan (Gayageum/Sammy drum), Akiko Kubota (Biwa), Atsumi Kojima (Sho), Mikako Ogawa (Kotsuzumi), Kyouju Hayakawa (Violin), Shibatetsu (Shibatetsu Pianica/BassPianica), Yukiko Shiina Sakurazawa (Contrabass), Satomi Nakagomi (Shinobue), Francesca Le Lohé (Flute), Kotaro Ishibashi (Cello), Chiharu Charlie Kato (Melodica), Takuya Kohiyama (Guitar), Tomomi Adachi (Drums)
Programing: Shinya Iuchi
Recording: Akira Takeuchi
Recorded in Studio Kitasenju Knock
Producer: Yukiko Shiina Sakurazawa
Associated producer: Takuya Kohiyama