IKI

Writing a soundtrack has been on my bucket list for quiet a while especially since I started venturing into electronic music a couple of years ago and have a long-time passion for movie scores in general. So in some sense I didn't go unheard by the universe when publishing house Yokuzuna Coenen Publishing asked me to provide music to their latest book release called "IKI-The Essence" which is released alongside a 45 minute long documentary.

IKI is a close and intimate portrait of four Japanese tattoo artists – working in the traditional form of tattoing called irezumi – and their body of work over the last decades. It also shines a light on the whole production process, travelling to clandestine private studios, organising the shooting and documenting an artform practiced in the shadows.

To me Japanese culture is a unique mix merging past, present and future - pushing aesthetics to its extremes. I tried to create an equal tension between analog and digital sounds to accompany the beautiful shots provided by photographer and editor Anna Gala. Using samples of traditional Japanese instruments like the koto or taiko drums in combination with analog synths like the Prophet 5 and Juno 6 as well as drones and soundscapes I created with Arturias Pigment synth. Since flutes like the shakuhachi also play a significant role in traditional Japanese folklore sound, I recreated a custom more distorted interpretation to achieve the dissonant yet organic high-tones in the tracks.

The dark and mysterious nature of the sound is rooted in the fact that traditional irezumi is socially not much excepted in Japan and practiced semi-legally in many places. Coming from the association of tattoos with yakuza culture since it was banned by the Meiji government in 1868 and then legalized again in 1948. The layer of outlawness and danger is obvious.

It was a real pleassure to be part of a project where everyone pushed hard and tried to deliver something special despite the fact that none of us had any previous experience on that scale. That's what I love about the creative process – venturing off into the unkown, returning home with a backpack full of insights.