Open Reel Ensemble Composes 'Magnetic Folklore' Using Tape Recorders
In an era where digital audio workstations and AI-generated music are becoming the norm, the Japanese trio Open Reel Ensemble is crafting a radical counter-narrative, composing what they call 'Magnetic Folklore' using a symphony of vintage reel-to-reel tape recorders from the 1970s and 1980s. This isn't just a nostalgic gimmick; it's a full-blooded artistic movement, a deliberate and beautiful rebellion against the sterile perfection of the digital domain.Their process is as much a performance as it is a recording session, a tactile dance with physical media where the hiss of tape, the warm saturation of analog circuitry, and the unpredictable wobble of a worn-out motor become integral instruments in their sonic palette. Picture the scene: a stage not with laptops, but with a sprawling, whirring installation of these mechanical beasts, their reels spinning in a hypnotic ballet as the artists—Etsuko Gotanda, Yuri Miyauchi, and Haruhiko Tanaka—become conductors of magnetic flux, manually manipulating tape loops, creating cascading delays through physical echo, and building dense, ethereal soundscapes from the very grain of the medium.Their work, 'Magnetic Folklore,' is a profound statement. The title itself is a masterstroke, suggesting that they are not merely making music but are archivists and storytellers, weaving new myths from the electromagnetic whispers stored on oxide-coated polyester.They are creating a folklore for the machine age, one where the quirks and imperfections of aging technology are not flaws to be corrected but are the cherished characteristics that give the music its soul and authenticity. This approach places them in a rich lineage of audio pioneers, from the tape-loop experiments of musique concrète composers like Pierre Schaeffer to the studio-as-instrument innovations of The Beatles on 'Revolver' and Brian Eno's ambient works.Yet, Open Reel Ensemble pushes further, treating the recorders not as mere recording devices but as collaborative partners whose mechanical idiosyncrasies directly shape the compositional outcome. It’s a conversation with technology, a dialogue where the artist proposes a sound and the machine, with all its aged character, responds and transforms it. In a cultural moment obsessed with the new and the next, their dedication to this analog craft is a powerful reminder of the beauty inherent in limitation and the profound creative potential that emerges when we choose to deeply listen to the tools of our past, forging a hauntingly beautiful sound that is entirely, and authentically, their own.
#Open Reel Ensemble
#experimental music
#analog technology
#tape recorders
#featured
#Japanese trio
#Magnetic Folklore
