ASA-CHANG & Junray

Wednesday, October 23rd at 8pm, ISSUE and AvanTokyo are pleased to present esteemed Japanese band ASA-CHANG & Junray for their debut U.S. performance. Drawing on material from the project’s entire discography, they perform as a trio: ASA-CHANG (percussion), Yoshihiro Goseki (saxophone, flute), Sena Oshima (violin), and the “Junray Tronics” soundsystem. The evening will take place at The Invisible Dog Art Center, and will also feature Argentinian experimental artist Alma Laprida whose creative pursuits encompass composition, improvisation, performance, installation, and radiophonic pieces.

ASA-CHANG & Junray is the name of the ASA-CHANG experience, and comes from the “Junray Tronics” soundsystem developed by self-taught tabla guru Asa-Chang. Junray (derived from the Japanese word for “pilgrimage”) has been described as an attempt to summarize musically the entire experience of human emotion, or “kidoairaku.” Based in Tokyo, Asa-Chang has spent much of his professional life touring with multi-million-selling J-pop acts and is regarded as one of Japan’s premiere session percussionists. In the early 2000s, his group was met with worldwide acclaim from the success of debut international album Tsu Gi Ne Pu and the single “Hana,” a revelry of tabla, overlapping vocals, strings, and electronic elaborations that stands as an achievement of early-aughts innovation between pop and avant-garde sensibilities. BBC DJ and tastemaker John Peel had featured the single regularly on his radio show; and, even recently, they have garnered new admirers, with German concert series ReiheM describing the song’s pointed impartiality as in the spirit of Robert Ashley or David Behrman. ASA-CHANG & Junray’s expression lives beyond both country and culture. Amid COVID-19, many of the group's shows were postponed, including a commemorative concert scheduled last year in honor of the 20th anniversary release of their influential song, "Hana." Following major changes to their lives over the past three years, the members are overflowing with passion as they resume long overdue live performances.

ASA-CHANG & Junray is the band of the Japanese percussionist Asa-Chang, who was the founder and original bandmaster of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. After leaving that group in 1993, he formed Asa-Chang & Junray in 1997 with programmer, guitarist, and non-performing member Hidehiko Urayama. They were joined in 2000 by tabla player U-zhaan, and the group began staging live performances with Junray-Tronics -- appearing at Fuji Rock Festival for five consecutive years. After their Japan-only 2001 release “Hana,” their second album Tsu Gi Ne Pu, was released in the United Kingdom under The Leaf label, and was selected as the fourth best album of 2002 by The Wire Magazine, and best album by Mojo Magazine and Muzik. Outside these international accolades, the group and “Hana” received extensive coverage in the music media of Australia, the United States, Chile, and other countries around the world. “Hana” was featured on Fabric Live 07, while “Tsuginepu To Ittemita” was included on a The Wire Tapper CD. In 2013, "Hana" was re-done for the soundtrack to the anime Aku no Hana (lit. Flowers of Evil), an adaptation of the manga of the same name. The group has often collaborated with contemporary dancers in a music videos; and, in 2009 with a staging of “Aoiro Theater” featuring their music with dance at Setagaya Public Theatre. In 2010, Asa-Chang made a fresh start as a solo unit and has since remained active in creative forms that go beyond established ideas of music. In 2012, they unveiled the opus “NEW Aoiro Theater” at Kyoto Experiment 2012 with the addition of Yoshihiro Goseki and Anzu Suhara as members.