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It kind of had to happen sooner or later.  On Ensemble has a new Facebook page.  Hopefully we’ll actually keep this one up.  We don’t have a great record with the social media thing but hey it’s a new year and anything is possible.

We’ve been working with puppeteer director Sam Koji Hale on a short film set to Yamasong. I just saw the rough cut and it looks amazing! Sam has posted some short clips of what his done on his facebook page. Check it out!

Russel, Jeanne, and Kaoru are all now in town in preparation for Works in Progress! We spent about 10 hours practicing yesterday and things are coming together!

Ticket sales are going well and it looks like we might sell out… just 17 tickets remain. If you haven’t yet reserved your seat, please do so today!

Thank you everyone… we’re REALLY excited about this concert!

On Ensemble met with friend and fellow taiko fanatic, David Wells, to learn the brand-new piece he has composed for our upcoming concert!  So far, it’s an all-accoustic, drum-focused piece with a mellow groove and jazz-ensemble-style arrangement. It’s going to be great!  Thank you David for your work on the piece and for collaborating with us for its grand debut!

Quite literally actually.  Sam has started shooting our “Yamasong” short film/music video being produced for the Handmade Puppet Dreams film festival.  The four of us will be making cameos in the film as four floating rock heads.  We got to see some test footage and it looks fantastic.  Sam’s vision is really starting to come together and I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished film. Ayumi and Brent have been documenting the process with some great photos and I’ve posted some of them below.

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Hi all!  So, a few months ago, I posted a blog about TAIKOPROJECT looking for a warehouse.  That particular warehouse didn’t work out, BUT Bryan found a new one down in Long Beach and signed the lease!  It’s currently being renovated since it was basically a large space with nothing in it and it needs some work.  That being said, go to TAIKOPROJECT’s website for information about the future Southern California’s only dedicated Taiko studio.  Exciting!!!

Ume in the Middle is being featured in the latest issue of HOW Magazine.  It won a merit award in HOW’s 2009 Promotion Design Competition and is featured in their current issue.  We’d like to thank Josh and Max at Chen Design Associates for their great design work on the album.  They were fantastic to work with and their design of the CD packaging really added to the whole project.

I’ve been waiting for this for a while, Christopher Tin’s debut album Callings all Dawns is now on presale!  The album’s official release date is Oct 1st and those who order now will receive an autographed hard copy and a complimentary digital download of the full album.

Calling All Dawns was recorded at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Performers on the album include the Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, Grammy-nominated opera singer Frederica von Stade, Portuguese fado sensation Dulce Pontes, early-music quartet Anonymous 4, and Iranian singer Sussan Deyhim among many others.  Calling all Dawns was recorded and mixed by three-time Grammy-winning engineer John Kurlander.

Calling All Dawns consists of twelve songs in twelve different languages and opens with “Baba Yetu” the theme song for Civilization IV that won Chris the 2007 GANG Awards for Best Original Vocal Song and Rookie of the Year. Kris, Maz and I recorded taiko and percussion parts for the Japanese song “Mado Kara Mieru” and I programmed an electronic drum machine track for the French song “Rassemblons-Nous”.

I’ve had a chance to hear this album at different points of its’ development and it’s fantastic.  Chris’ talent for great melodies and orchestration and his ability to weave influences from around the world into his work really set him apart.  This album is a powerful artistic statement from a great composer with a unique point of view and full of great performances, what more could you want?