What's Your Music?
with Jo Kiyoshi Hirabayashi (aka jo passed)
Where’s your head at these days?
For music I'm thinking about writing and prioritizing that part of the process by eliminating as many distractions as I can. I just recently listened to the CBC podcast Ideas about left and right brain differences and I’m definitely leaning on the side of the left brain when it comes to musical creation but find that most of my more inspired and successful creative sessions have definitely be in areas where I’m connecting more with the right brain side of things. So that’s where my head is at! Maybe left brain analysing and searching for the right.
What are your hopes for a new music centre in Vancouver? Any thoughts, requests, wishes?
I hope that the centre will be accessible to younger generations without the need to adhere to too much gatekeeping from different scenes or the community. I do think younger artists and musicians really benefit from having an accessible community space to see music and also be able to perform themselves and having this space be a stable part of vancouver would be terrified for the community.
Do you have a quote on music or arts (or one by a musician or artist) that you love and inspired by?
“Develop a comprehensive technique and then forget that and just be expressive”
-Bill Evans
How do you describe your work/music to someone who is not familiar with it?
I’ve always considered my music to be experimental pop music. The experiment mainly being seeing what could be considered pop. Mostly this experiment has failed in achieving any popular status but the intent has always been to bridge gaps in terms of genres and find some form level of commonality to far out ideas.
What is one live performance that you cannot forget? When? Where? Why?
I remember seeing Sigur Ros play at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre years ago and Jonsi held this note for a ridiculous amount of time and then they had a keyboard not work due to technical difficulties which made the show really special. Actually, this may have been two Sigur Ros shows but still, both unforgettable.
[This short interview was realized in November 2021.]
[press play and enjoy the whole playlist continuously or skip tracks using the next button]
Gong gong gong - Inner Reaches
Just started listening to this guitar and bass duo and I love how driving and rhythmic they are in a post-punk kind of way without drums
Spirit of the Beehive - Give Up Your Life
Nahre Sol - Caged
She’s a cool youtube and music educator and she put out a record and it’s great!
Circuit Des Yeux - Brainshift
Devours - Poltergeist
Local favourite who just put out a great record: Escape from Planet Devours
Only a Visitor - Bedroom Archaeology
Low - Days Like These
This whole new Low record is so amazing.
Andre Ethier - Nature Compels Me
This is my brother in law Andre’s project. He’s recently put out album a record a year on the toronto label Telephone Explosion and they are all amazing
Kate NV - Plans
Russian experimental pop artist who gives me strong Kate Bush vibes. Really awesome
Black Sabbath - War Pigs
A guitar student of mine recently asked to learn this song which brought me back into Black Sabbath as a whole and this whole record.