Information

Cover Your Ears! (2015)

​​日本語：ミミヲフサゲ！

for Metal Percussions and Video

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Commissioned by Percussion Duo Echo

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ca. 12 min.

Program Note

　The act of covering one’s ears contradicts from the act of enjoying a musical experience. It is an act to protect one’s self from loud or uncomfortable noise and overwhelming flow of information, and reclaiming one’s self. Cover Your Ears! (Japanese: Mimi Wo Fusage!) uses humor to portray the music of today. It questions the value of contemporary music, where composers are writing conceptual and logical bundles of sound which are, most of the time, meaningless in the business-minded world of the 21st Century, where time-cost is everything. Ironic paradox is the key word in enjoying this work, as I am composing conceptual and logical bundles of sound and noise, which is meaningless.​

Cover Your Ears! was composed by Chatori Shimizu in 2015, and was premiered in Kioi Hall by Percussion Duo Echo. Earplugs were handed to all performers, listeners, and staff in the hall to protect their hearing. 

Past Performances

June 28, 2015 (World Premiere)

Chatori Shimizu Portrait Concert 2015

Kioi Hall, Tokyo, Japan

Percussion Duo Echo and guests

Past Exhibitions

Aug. 6 ~ 28, 2016

Finished Goods Warehouse: Columbia MFA Summer Show

Curated by Natalie Bell (The New Museum)

Former Pfizer Factory, New York, NY

Exhibition of scores of Shiki to Unkai (2013), -shikaku- (2013), and Cover Your Ears! (2015)

Information

Cover Your Ears! 2 (2016)

​日本語：ミミヲフサゲ！２

for Sound Installation

Program Note

　Cover Your Ears! 2 is an interactive noise installation, which was exhibited from April 23 to May 7th, 2016, at Basilica Hudson (Hudson, New York).

This installation encompasses twenty-two suspended cymbals and a gong, ready to produce some noise. Audience enter the installation through the 4ft 10in x 2ft 11in opening into the world of white noise, where they are encouraged to participate in hitting the cymbals to create more noise. The aim of the installation is to challenge the audience to recreate their own definitions of music and noise. Each hit on a cymbal is recognized and recorded by the microphones fixed above the installation. The data is then processed as a rhythmic pattern, automatically generating a musical score of the rhythm. It is a process of reclaiming music hidden in the melting pot of noise. 

　The act of covering one’s ears contradicts with the act of enjoying a musical experience. It is a gesture to protect oneself from loud or uncomfortable noise and ward off an overwhelming flow of information. Acting as provocateur, Shimizu intentionally works in the paradoxical.

Past Exhibitions

April 23 ~ May 7, 2016

Continuing Effect

Curated by Galen Joseph-Hunter

Basilica Hudson, Hudson, New York

Information

Cover Your Ears! 3 (2019)

​日本語：ミミヲフサゲ！３

for Sound Installation

Reviews

夜限定の科学イベントに行ってみた

Program Note

　Cover Your Ears! 3 takes place in the anechoic chamber of Technische Universität Dresden. With earplugs handed to each participants, we explore the music making of our bodies, utilizing our heartbeat and blood flow.

Past Exhibitions

June 14, 2019

Dresdner Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften

Curated by Sebastian Merchel

Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany