Stacked by Makoto Oshiro

Makoto Oshiro, from Okinawa and now based in Berlin, has developed an artistic practice spanning sound, site installation, field recording, language, instrument design, and more for over a decade. His performances and installations have spanned the globe, regularly appearing across Asia, Europe, North America, and further - often collaborating with other artists, most recently with Nick Klein on the album 𝑺𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 released by the cult Italian label Superpang last year.

𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 documents four live and studio performances from 2020-2023 in Tokyo and Berlin, and marks Oshiro’s first solo album since 2014. Small electro-mechanical devices made by Oshiro, which he calls 𝘬𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪-𝘬𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘴, are coaxed into physically generating sound by rapidly opening and closing relays. The speed of the relays is controlled by Oshiro, producing a distinctive clicking (“𝘬𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪-𝘬𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪-𝘬𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪…”) at lower speeds - then bursting into squeals, squawks, and drones at their maximal activity, occasionally creating sympathetic harmonics with the surface they have been placed upon. Functioning as acoustic oscillators, numerous 𝘬𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪-𝘬𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘴 build a richly layered environment, approaching sonic phenomenon at its most fundamental aspects.

These recordings bridge installation and performance, machine and organism, abstract and physical, subconscious and rapture - especially on the title track 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅, with over 40 minutes of densely unfolding square waves and their superpositions.

Listen loud, lay down, walk around, meditate, stretch, and wander through the void.

𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒌 and 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑷𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 recorded at UdK Berlin Sound Studies and Sonic Arts Studio in 2022.
𝑾𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒐𝒊𝒅 recorded at Morphine Raum (Berlin) in 2023.
𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 recorded at Permian (Tokyo) in 2020.

–--

Makoto Oshiro is a Berlin-Tokyo based performer and artist. His primary medium is sound, but he also combines other elements including light, electricity and movement of objects. In live performances, he uses self-made tools and instruments that are based on electronic devices, every day materials, and junk. His installation work handles sound as a physical and auditory phenomenon, and focuses on characteristics such as vibration and interference.

He is also a member of the live installation / performance group The Great △(夏の大△) with Takahiro Kawaguchi and Satoshi Yashiro, and runs the label Basic Function.

§ focused on contemporary sound and growth
✔ hand-constructed out of recycled materials as possible
♥ all proceeds to positive endeavors

*** demo submissions currently closed ***

enmossed.org
tobirarecords.com
ropeeditions.xyz
industrialcoast.bigcartel.com
alldayrecords.com