soo happy, it's very well placed in the ep, creating a radical change of mood!

this is such a great track, love the theme, love the harmonies, great work!!

"This is a recommended download for ALL fans of Silent Hill's music. It's got a fresh and moody soundscape resonating with either [ethereal] and melodic ambience or driving guitar riffs, and captivating drums that would impress even [Akira] Yamaoka himself." - soundcloud.com/fungo [United States]

"A very refreshing artist. His mixture of rock and atmospheric music is very unique. 'surreal, so real' is a fantastic example of his style, mixing traditional [Okinawan] music elements with timeless rock music, and even techno flavors. The result is very special, an eerie sound-scape with clearly defined melodic passages that  act like puzzle pieces in a story." - soundcloud.com/rasec-music [Britain]

“You can hear that you put a lot of time in it and really put attention to the different layers and creating opposites. It’s dreamy but also raw reality! … Together with the story behind the EP, it makes this EP very interesting to listen to!” - soundcloud.com/miyuki-day [Netherlands]

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INTRODUCTION:

this demo/EP can best be described as a collection of "ambient rock" soundtracks. though sonically diverse in style and tone, all seven songs express the dualities of dreams vs. reality, serenity vs. discordance, and the moments when those balances become threatened.

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DOWNLOAD + DONATE:

this release is also available as a name-your-price digital album via Bandcamp, so download it for free (enter $0.00 when they ask for your price and you'll be emailed a download link) or please donate what you can if you enjoy the music! those who download the full digital album from Bandcamp will also receive the CD artwork (front cover, inside cover, jewel case insert, and disc face) in various formats for personal printing. http://yoshimasukamiya.bandcamp.com/album/surreal-so-real-ep

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS & PRODUCTION CREDITS: 

the title for "Uchina noir: The Cocktail Party" was taken from Tatsuhiro Oshiro’s 1967 novella of the same name

synopses written with assistance from Andor Czigeledi 
artwork model: Terumi Shimazu 

infinite thank you’s to those who’ve assisted me with this project: 
Maggie Peng, Andor Czigeledi, Noah Golderg, Jo-Ann Irvin, Michael Daugherty, Miyuki Day, Jason Michael [Dah2] 

all tracks written, performed, and recorded by 
Joseph Yoshimasu Kamiya 
in loving memory of Auntie Irene Ike [1962 ~ 2008] 
and Grandma Yoshiko Kamiya [1915 ~ 2012] 

“UCHINA NOIR” BACKGROUND: 
“…had the [Japanese] military regarded non-combatants as coming under their protection, evacuations [of Okinawan civilians] would have been unnecessary and the collective self-killings that took place in the Kerama Islands, Iejima, Yomitan, and Mabuni would never have been carried out. In reality, non-combatants were far from being protected by the military. Instead, they found themselves in a situation where they were attacked by tigers at the front gate (the enemy troops) and wolves at the back gate (their own troops).” 
– Masahide Ota, Re-examining the History of the Battle of Okinawa (1985)

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listen to my collaborations (featuring some awesome SoundCloud artists):
soundcloud.com/yoshimasukamiya/sets/collaborations

check out some demos, experiments, and really old projects:
soundcloud.com/yoshimasukamiya/sets/paper-shop-demos-set

download my 6-song EP, "Dark Humor: The Instrumental Demos":
soundcloud.com/yoshimasukamiya/sets/dark-humor-the-instrumentals

DONATE

[free instrumental EP] surreal, so real

Was going for a Frankie Cosmos sort of thing and it ended up sounding a little Jens Lekman.

Capacity v. Consumption

A solo track from a collaborative EP with yana-imi. Stream/purchase at https://yanaimi.bandcamp.com/album/imi-ru-yataru-just-a-dream-ep

Sakura And Parking Lots

Are You Sure? (Eleventh Hour Escape Fantasy)

Another jam from Heart MTN. who have a new album, Year Three, up on Bandcamp.

https://heartmtn.bandcamp.com/album/year-three

Year Three

Heart MTN. - Escape Velocity

Laura Kina and Jan Christian Bernabe were interviewed for the Pan-Asian Radio Hour on 99.5 WBAI in NYC on October 9, 2017, at 9 pm. We were interviewed about our anthology "Queering Contemporary Asian American Art." You can check the show out on the web at http://asiapacificforum.org.

You can learn more about the book by visiting: http://www.queeringcontemporaryasianamericanart.com.

Asia Pacific Forum on WBAI 99.5 in NYC: Interview with Laura Kina and Jan Christian Bernabe

Track 1 from from the "surreal, so real" demo/EP. Listen to all 7 tracks here: http://soundcloud.com/yoshimasukamiya/sets/surreal-so-real-ep OR download the digital album (including printable artwork) and donate here: http://yoshimasukamiya.bandcamp.com/album/surreal-so-real-ep

UPDATE 11/15/2013: Featured in the G-TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN CREATIVITY COMPETITION 2013, shortlist (top 15 songs) in the Amateur Music category!

UPDATE 12/7/2012: Featured on the compilation, DIGITAL RECOVERY - PART 2. All proceeds go to the Red Cross for the victims of Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy! Click here to stream and download it (only $3): http://digitalrecovery.bandcamp.com/album/digital-recovery-part-2

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“…had the [Japanese] military regarded non-combatants as coming under their protection, evacuations [of Okinawan civilians] would have been unnecessary and the collective self-killings that took place in the Kerama Islands, Iejima, Yomitan, and Mabuni would never have been carried out. In reality, non-combatants were far from being protected by the military. Instead, they found themselves in a situation where they were attacked by tigers at the front gate (the enemy troops) and wolves at the back gate (their own troops).” - Masahide Ota, Re-examining the History of the Battle of Okinawa (1985) 

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SYNOPSIS: April 1, 1945 – Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan – One hundred forty Okinawan men, women, and children seek refuge in Chibichiri Cave, sheltering themselves away from the heavy crossfire of the U.S. and Japanese militaries. Eighty-four of these same men, women, and children would commit suicide the following day. 

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BACKGROUND: Okinawa Prefectural Government records show that nearly 1/3 of the population at the time – over 150,000 civilians (including 11,483 children) – were killed during World War II’s Battle of Okinawa (March 26 through September 7, 1945). Crippled by the horrors of war as well as the horrors fueled by Japanese military propaganda (and not to mention Japan’s samurai-era doctrine of “honorable” death or sacrifice), many civilians would resort to suicide using military-issued hand grenades, by jumping from high cliffs, or – in the case of Chibichiri Cave – by slaughtering one another. 

********** 
PRODUCTION: 

recording/arrangement/mixing: Logic 8 
programming/synths: Reason 3 
live instruments: sanshin [Okinawan lute]

written, performed, and recorded by Joseph Yoshimasu Kamiya under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Download + Donate

Uchina noir: Ghosts of Chibichiri Cave [instrumental]

Track 2 from from the "surreal, so real" demo/EP. Listen to all 7 tracks here: http://soundcloud.com/yoshimasukamiya/sets/surreal-so-real-ep OR download the digital album (including printable artwork) and donate here: http://yoshimasukamiya.bandcamp.com/album/surreal-so-real-ep

UPDATE 5/6/2013: "She Who Wandered: Infatuation" has been selected as the closing track for the benefit compilation, "Digital Recovery - Part 6" (all proceeds go to the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance)! Click here to stream and download it (only $3): http://digitalrecovery.bandcamp.com/album/part-6

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PRODUCTION: 

recording/arrangement/mixing: Logic 8 
programming/synths: Reason 3 
live instruments: electric guitar, electric bass

written, performed, and recorded by Joseph Yoshimasu Kamiya under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

She Who Wandered: Infatuation [instrumental]

Track 3 from from the "surreal, so real" demo/EP. Listen to all 7 tracks here: http://soundcloud.com/yoshimasukamiya/sets/surreal-so-real-ep OR download the digital album (including printable artwork) and donate here: http://yoshimasukamiya.bandcamp.com/album/surreal-so-real-ep

**********
PRODUCTION: 

recording/arrangement/mixing: Logic 8 
programming/synths: Reason 3 
live instruments: electric guitar

written, performed, and recorded by Joseph Yoshimasu Kamiya under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

**********
PROJECTS FEATURING THIS SONG:

Collaboration with www.soundcloud.com/miyuki-day
http://soundcloud.com/miyuki-day/kamiya-i-uki-she-who-wandered

Orchestral Remix by www.soundcloud.com/rasec-music
http://soundcloud.com/rasec-music/sww-chaos-by-joseph-yoshimasu

She Who Wandered: Chaos [instrumental]

Track 4 from from the "surreal, so real" demo/EP. Listen to all 7 tracks here: http://soundcloud.com/yoshimasukamiya/sets/surreal-so-real-ep OR download the digital album (including printable artwork) and donate here: http://yoshimasukamiya.bandcamp.com/album/surreal-so-real-ep

**********
influenced by Tatsuhiro Oshiro’s novella, “The Cocktail Party” (1967) 

“Under the most desperate and unimaginable circumstances, Okinawans directly experienced the absurdity of war and atrocities it inevitably brings about.” - Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum (1975) 

********** 
SYNOPSIS: In U.S.-occupied Okinawa, Japan, a local teenage girl is raped by a U.S. serviceman. As they come to terms with the fact that justice may never be served, the girl’s family is also forced to deeply reexamine their feelings toward the U.S. military’s postwar occupation of their country. 

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BACKGROUND: Since 1945, 14 U.S. military bases have been built on the islands of Okinawa. According to the Okinawa Times (“Crimes Committed and Incidents Concerning U.S. Military on Okinawa,” Millard, October 12, 1995), there have been at least 21 reported cases of women – including underaged girls – being murdered or raped by U.S. servicemen between 1955 and 1995 (the most notorious being the 1995 gang-rape of a local 12-year-old girl perpetrated by 2 U.S. Marines and 1 U.S. Navy Seaman). Many of these violent crimes were charged under U.S. jurisdiction, which often resulted in much weaker punishments for those who were actually convicted. 

********** 
PRODUCTION: 

recording/arrangement/mixing: Logic 8 
programming/synths: Reason 3 
live instruments: sanshin [Okinawan lute]

written, performed, and recorded by Joseph Yoshimasu Kamiya under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Uchina noir: The Cocktail Party [instrumental]

Track 5 from from the "surreal, so real" demo/EP. Listen to all 7 tracks here: http://soundcloud.com/yoshimasukamiya/sets/surreal-so-real-ep OR download the digital album (including printable artwork) and donate here: http://yoshimasukamiya.bandcamp.com/album/surreal-so-real-ep

**********
PRODUCTION: 

recording/arrangement/mixing: Logic 8 
programming/synths: Reason 3

written, performed, and recorded by Joseph Yoshimasu Kamiya under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

**********
PROJECTS FEATURING THIS SONG:

"Remember Not" - short film by http://soundcloud.com/yoshimasukamiya
http://youtu.be/_C9HjXpAe4U?t=17s

"IGARA - lapsos lúcidos de um sonho" - video by http://soundcloud.com/artur-arias-dutra
http://vimeo.com/51234519

Interlude [Limbo] [instrumental]

Track 7 from from the "surreal, so real" demo/EP. Listen to all 7 tracks here: http://soundcloud.com/yoshimasukamiya/sets/surreal-so-real-ep OR download the digital album (including printable artwork) and donate here: http://yoshimasukamiya.bandcamp.com/album/surreal-so-real-ep

********** 
PRODUCTION: 

recording/arrangement/mixing: Logic 8 
programming/synths: Reason 3

written, performed, and recorded by Joseph Yoshimasu Kamiya under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Beneath the Sakura Trees: 接吻 [Kiss] [instrumental]

durian eyes

the parts we could not abandon

flesh

shatter

don't (like me)

1989

STOP building a U.S. military base in Okinawa: http://bit.ly/riseforhenoko

New project: @yanaimi

神谷嘉益(カミヤ•ヨシマス) | 第４世代アジア系アメリカ人、琉球(沖縄)と日本のルーツ | 4th generation Asian American,  Ryūkyū (Okinawa) x Japan roots

–

SOUNDCLOUD COLLABORATORS:
I've had the honor of working with these awesome folks listed below. Please listen to, follow, and share their music!

soundcloud.com/darkhumor
soundcloud.com/miyuki-day
soundcloud.com/rasec-music
soundcloud.com/reverendterryrice
soundcloud.com/stikman

Beneath the Sakura Trees: 接吻 [Kiss] [instrumental]

Yoshimasu Kamiya 神谷嘉益

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