We really should quickly bring this event at Cafe Oto to your last minute attention (before one of us rushes of to DJ at said event) for Yumi Hara’s Groove Study are playing tonight, Yes, I know, should have said something already but hey, it has been stupidly busy recently what with all the fun of The Fair and such –    

“Yumi Hara’s Groove Study are avant-rock trio consisting of ex-Henry Cow drummer Chris Cutler; London-based Japanese composer/pianist/vocalist Yumi Hara, the driving force of Lindsay Cooper Songbook, who has been collaborating extensively with Canterbury/Rock in Opposition/Krautrock/contemporary classical musicians such as Hugh Hopper of Soft Machine, Daevid Allen of Gong, Jean-Hervé Péron of faUSt, Tim Hodgkinson, John Greaves, Geoff Leigh, Dagmar Krause of Henry Cow, and PianoCircus; and ex-MELT-BANANA and collaborator of Jim O’Rourke and Eiko Ishibashi (who also appeared her score for the film Drive My Car) and bassist Toshiaki Sudoh.  The threesome will be performing music with complex rhythm and harmony, music that is accessible, that comes with memorable melodies while fusing ever-changing odd metres and world rhythms (expect Gamelan in 6, reggae in 7, West-African polyrhythms in 10, Baroque fugue in 15), expect medieval modes and Japanese scales that would appeal to fans of the Canterbury Scene, of Rock in Opposition, Avant-Prog and more” to slightly rewrite the promoters blurb. 

I could watch the way Chris Culter moves around his kit without ever needing to hear him, the sound is almost a bonus. We have of course written about Yumi many times, here are a couple of things others have said… 

Recommended Records: “incisive, fizzes with invention and inspiration, distils so many of the musical ideas…” 

‘nothing short of majestic’ (Sid Smith, Prog magazine).

TAKU deal in what we’re told is “entropic Improvisation”, something that has evolved through slow aggregation over ten years in the nebula of the East London music scene, four spheres occupying different spots in space and time (Thomas Broda, Nathan Fustec, Agate Max, and Julia Nutter) coalesced through the point of extreme creative gravitation pull of the Conglomeration of Peeps project into Taku; “Something born of the chaos of multiple environments, TAKU is a place of most unpredictable cosmic weather where, as the non-linear nature of the elements present inside blends and separates, creating everything from long gazes into the expanse to fractals of the infinitely small to lightning storms battling solar flares. To experience Taku is to witness the birth of new astral phenomena, every moment”.

DJ for the event is Marina Organ it says here – “Marina Organ is a London-based music curator, DJ, and broadcaster. She is best known for hosting “The Other Rock Show” on London’s Resonance FM (104.4 FM), focusing on unconventional music structures, math rock, avant-prog, and weird electronica…”

It all happens on Wednesday 9th September at London’s Cafe Oto over in Dalston London N16, here’s the venue’s event page with more details.