ROTH BART BARON and Taro Ishida Explore New Musical Frontiers with Gagaku: A Grand Finale at 'Kaimon Music Festival'

The music festival 'Kaimon Music Festival – Open the MoN –,' organized with planning and production cooperation from radio station J-WAVE (81.3FM), was held for four days from May 19th (Tue) to May 22nd (Fri). This event celebrated the opening of 'MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives,' an experimental museum for culture at TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY, while presenting a new live experience where contemporary music intersects with traditional Japanese performing arts.

Each day, artists deeply connected to J-WAVE appeared, including Hitsujibungaku, UA, STUTS, and ROTH BART BARON × Taro Ishida. They collaborated with Japanese traditional instruments, unfolding one-night-only stages for four consecutive nights that were created specifically for this time and place.

The final day on May 22nd (Fri) featured the first collaboration between ROTH BART BARON and Taro Ishida.

The live performance included the band members along with musicians playing the Sho, Hichiriki, Ryuteki, and Gakubiwa. A space where delicate Gagaku tones overlaid with modern sounds was created. Beginning with 'Gagaku idea 1,' the set included arrangements of 'Kemonononamae,' '000BigBird000,' 'Helpa,' 'Ambient 1,' 'Himimushi,' and 'Dokuro to Hana' with Gagaku accompaniment.

Masaya Mifune remarked during the show, 'We are doing something that has never been done in history. I hope you can be witnesses to history,' expressing his response to the chemical reaction between traditional culture and modern soundscapes. The new unreleased track titled 'UTUTU' was also performed, serving as a finale that presented new musical possibilities through the fusion of Gagaku and a band ensemble.