Asa-Chang & Junray
Formed: 1998, Tokyo, Japan Genres: Avant-garde, electronic, percussive music
Introduction: 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 1998 with programmer and guitarist Hidehiko Urayama.
Biography: ASA-CHANG commenced activities as a solo unit in 1997, while 3 years later, the Tabla wizard U-zhaan joined, and the group began staging live performances with Junray Tronics. Its music is imbued with a distinctive vibe produced by the combination of tribal and abstract sounds.
Beginning in 2000, the group appeared at Fuji Rock for five consecutive years, a feat unmatched by any other acts.
After its 2001 release in Japan, “Hana,” its second album, was also released in the United Kingdom under the Leaf label, and was selected as the fourth best album of 2002 by the British magazine The Wire and best album of the same year by Mojo Magazine and Muzik. Besides these accolades in Europe, the group and “Hana” received extensive coverage in the music media of Australia, the United States, Chile, and other countries around the world. A collaboration with contemporary dancers in a music video created a buzz worldwide, and was followed in 2009 by the staging of “Aoiro Theater” featuring their music with dance at Setagaya Public Theatre. A production that could only have been created by a musician (and ex-makeup artist), the work garnered high ratings for its free conception untrammeled by the conventional framework of stage arts. In 2010, Asa-Chang made a fresh start as a solo unit and began to be handled by precog. It has since remained active in creative forms that go beyond established ideas of music.
Members: - Hirokazu Asakura (朝倉弘一), better known as ASA-CHANG (アサチャン) – percussionist, bongoist - Yoshihiro Goseki (後関好宏) – saxist, flutist, vocalist - Anzu Suhara (須原杏) – violinist, guitarist, vocalist
Former Members - Hidehiko Urayama (浦山秀彦) – guitarist, music sequencer - U-zhaan (ユザーン) – tablaist
(Source: ASA-CHANG & Junray's Official Website, edited)
