Hyper-current // Dommune

"What does abundance mean to us these days?" - Ukawa Naohiro

It's been a good four months since the release of our debut 12", 'Grind Analysts Fig.1', with Japanese sound designer and glitch-techno producer Yu Miyashita, aka Yaporigami. During our preliminary discussions, we had discussed the possibility of hosting an event to celebrate the release of the record, but due to the near 10,000km between ourselves and Miyashita, the plans never came to fruition. However, as the full digital release of the EP draws near in early September, we are pleased to announce that an event in celebration of the release has finally been solidified, in the form of an appearance at Dommune. In light of this, we thought it would be worth exploring the origins of the online streaming platform.

Situated in Shibuya Tokyo, Dommune was founded in 2010 by Ukawa Naohiro. Across his career Naohiro has worked as a VJ for the Boredoms, a University professor and run a private nightclub styled like an office just to name a few of his assorted endeavours. Across its five year existence, Dommune has hosted some of the most important electronic acts of the past decade, including Merzbow, Carsten Nicolai, Surgeon & Mark Fell. But this is to miss the point somewhat. Dommune's screenings are so regular and diverse, the outlet is is impossible to be define by listing the artists who have featured. Shows are broadcast for five hours, everyday between Monday & Thursday.

The platform was one of the first of its kind and Naohiro has arguably distanced himself quite significantly from other similar streaming services by refusing to commercialise Dommune's output. The platform's ethos is also an intriguing one, putting scrutiny on some of the less desirable outcomes of rapid digitalisation.

Dommune holds precious the idea of remaining current, in the most literal sense possible. While the content is archived by Naohiro, none of this is released back into the public sphere. This decision was not made arbitrarily.

In the many changes it has wrought, the internet has to an extent done away with art works being limited in the numbers they are produced and owned and this in turn thrown into question how art affects identity. Music, film and visual art has been released into the public sphere to such a wide extent our content is now shared globally. It is accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Owning a piece of music as an extention of your personality today, simply doesn't have the same significance it did 20 years ago.

Naohiro on the other hand, is concerned with now. Dommune's content is hyper-current, being consumed simultaneously by viewers around the globe, as it is broadcast. It cannot be bookmarked, favourited, tabbed and then forgotten about - the broadcasts are available only as long as Dommune's cameras are rolling and your WiFi connection is reliable. When you tune into Dommune what you see, what you hear, is finite, and as such should be treasured.

The Grind Analysts Dommune show takes place on the 13th August, full details below:

Part One: 19:00 - 21:00 (Tokyo) / 11:00 - 13:00 (London)

"Grind Analysis / Dialogue - Yu Miyashita with key individuals" (in Japanese)

Yu Miyashita will be hosting a show to celebrate the Stray Landing's debut 12", 'Grind Analysts Fig.1' which was released earlier this year. The show will relate heavily to the artists featured in the zine which accompanied the record. In this first part of the show Rena Minegishi will interview the author of the record, Yu Miyashita aka Yaporigami, alongside Satoshi Hattori, a member of the visual collective BRDG and Yukitomo Hamasaki, artist and founder of the label mAtter.

Part Two: 21:00 - 24:00 (Tokyo) / 13:00 - 16:00 (London)

"Grind Analysis / Live - Yu Miyashita and key individuals"

In the second part of the show several artists, again featured in the zine will be performing, both audio and live visuals. Yu Miyashita will perform with Kezzardrix and GRAIN noir, VJs he came across working with BRDG, whilst Sludge Tapes founder Miclodiet will perform live. Yukitomo Hamasaki will play a DJ set alongside the other acts.

• Published
• Aug 9, 2015

• Credits
• Words by Theo Darton-Moore