“It’s a miracle,” exclaimed musician Eiko Ishibashi joyfully. She offered filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi to accompany her live performances with projected visuals. As the project for ‘GIFT’ took shape, so did the film ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ — in this “miraculous” process, there seems to be a subtle inquiry into us, the shapers of culture, much like the wild deer lurking deep in the woods in both ‘GIFT’ and ‘Evil Does Not Exist.’
With voice and sound, Ishibashi’s music in the film ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ won the Silver Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival and is set for nationwide release on April 26th. ‘GIFT’ has also been performed domestically and internationally, with Ishibashi’s remarkable performances rivaling silent films, leading audiences into uncharted territories and garnering acclaim. Amidst this ever-changing process, we caught up with Ishibashi for a conversation.
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Contemplating Lost Landscapes: Embarking on a “Journey” with Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi
-The film ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ and ‘GIFT’ are filled with a stimulating relationship between music and visuals, but it seems that ‘GIFT’ was initially conceived as a project.
Ishibashi: It all started when an overseas promoter asked me if I was interested in doing a live performance together with video. Recently, there have been many events overseas where musicians perform along with video images. There are a number of venues for such performances, and in fact this time I have been performing ‘GIFT’ in Europe and other places in Japan and abroad, but the locations really vary.
The other day, when we performed in a so-called cinema complex, everyone was eating snacks and opening beer [laughs]. On the other hand, sometimes we perform in a very solemn theater. As a performer, the size of the screen differs depending on the venue, so the way I see the images changes considerably.
Eiko Ishibashi
She engages in various activities including producing electronic music, composing music for stage performances, films, and exhibitions, singer-songwriter activities, improvisational performances, and producing for other musicians. She has also participated in numerous works and live performances as a performer.
-The project ‘GIFT’ launched in response to the recent overseas trend of many such events.
Ishibashi: When I received an inquiry from overseas, what immediately came to mind was a live performance with abstract images. However, although I had seen many such works, the idea of doing it myself didn’t really come to mind.
In addition, making a video requires the participation of many people and costs a lot of money. Therefore, I felt that I wanted to create something that could be performed live on an ongoing basis. What I came up with was a “video with a story,” like the movies that I have been familiar with my whole life. I thought that with such images, I would look different each time and the performance would not be the same.
-How did the project develop after that?
Ishibashi: I approached Hamaguchi around the end of 2021, after the summer of 2021, when ‘Drive My Car’ was winning awards at various film festivals and he was traveling around overseas. I think it was around the time when “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” was released in December. The reason why we asked Hamaguchi to make the film was, of course, because of his experience with ‘Drive My Car,’ but I also feel that the documentary “Tohoku Documentary Trilogy” (directed by Kou Sakai and Ryusuke Hamaguchi) was a major factor in my decision to ask him.
-This film focuses on the “narratives” of the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake, doesn’t it?
Ishibashi: I was drawn to this film because I felt a kind of pre-disaster landscape rising up. I myself have a strong interest in “lost landscapes,” and I had previously made an album about the history of Manchuria called “The Dream My Bones Dream” (2018), inspired by photographs of my own father and grandfather.
-The album originated from the fact that your grandfather worked for an electric company in Manchuria, and your father, who is his son, returned from there.
Ishibashi: I have always been interested in themes that are sometimes connected to science fiction, such as flashbacks of people who were traumatized by the war and are brought back to the war, and lost memories. Hamaguchi is working on a work that is related to exactly such themes. I thought we could have a very fulfilling “journey” together if I asked him to make a video of a live performance.
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Dust as Musical Motif and Collaborating with the Filmmaker
-What was it like for you two to begin this “journey” through a series of detailed discussions?
Ishibashi: For that, I can refer to the email Mr. Hamaguchi sent to me. Please wait a moment (and she flicks to a nearby smartphone).
-What kind of email is it?
Ishibashi: (coming back to her seat) Even I can’t help but chuckle at the thought of myself writing such a thing in an email. It was December 22, 2021, when I first spoke to Hamaguchi about the video and live performance project. At the end of that month, I told Hamaguchi what I thought about the “memory of the land.
As for the story I mentioned earlier about Manchuria, I shared some vague thoughts with Hamaguchi, such as, “The land originally had the lives of the people who lived there, and that was lost as development centered around the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu) progressed—so I was thinking about what the map looked like before Manchuria became symbolized as Manchuria.”
-You guys shared many ideas together.
Ishibashi: It seems I was talking about novels by science fiction writers like Philip K. Dick or perhaps Kurt Vonnegut for instance, works such as “Slaughterhouse-Five,” which is based on Vonnegut’s experiences during World War II, particularly the bombing of Dresden. During these discussions, in May 2022. Hamaguchi recommended a film titled ‘Staub’ (2007) directed by Hartmut Bitomsky.
-That’s an unique documentary portraiting from everyday dust to dust from terrorism and war, and even cosmic stardust
Ishibashi: I also spoke with you in 2013 when I was in charge of music for a performance of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s play “Trash, the City, and Death,” for which I was also the film director. After those exchanges, in July 2022, Hamaguchi headed to the garbage factory.
-Wow, he visited there right away.
Ishibashi: In August 2022, I created a demo with ‘dust’ as one of the themes. In November, Hamaguchi-san and others came to the studio in Kobuchizawa, Yamanashi, where I was. Coincidentally, Shun Ishiwaka, Jim O’Rourke, Marty Holoubek, and I were having a session, and they filmed the scene. Later on, they showed us an experimental montage of classic film footage with our music layered over it.
While watching this, I told Hamaguchi that it would definitely be interesting if he made a dramatic film as he always does, instead of focusing on the music as he does in music videos. From there, we proceeded from research to scriptwriting, shooting from February to March 2023, and editing the film and creating the music from April to May 2023.
-The film and music would exist independently of each other, and would be better when combined as a live performance. While the film editing of ‘GIFT,’ which was the beginning of the project, preceded the creation of the music, it seems that ‘Evil Does Not Exist,’ which was conceived later as a version with voices, came first. In fact, when we listen to the music of ‘Evil Does Not Exist,’ there are some very impressive tracks, such as one with multiple string recordings and one with ambient sounds.
Ishibashi: The electronic music and other tracks were created around the theme of “dust,” even before there was a script or anything like that. It was when Hamaguchi visited a garbage dump. I made about four or five songs based on this theme and handed them over to him. He selected some from those and polished them up, and those are the ones actually used in ‘Evil Does Not Exist.’
On the other hand, I composed two string tracks. One was created after the script was completed, based on unedited footages, while the other, which eventually became the main theme, was composed after watching edited footage. After viewing the edited material, I sensed something like Hamaguchi’s “anger,” and that’s how the main theme, repeated several times throughout the play, came about.
Takumi (Hitoshi Omiga) and his daughter Hana (Rei Nishikawa) live in Mizuhiki-cho, Nagano Prefecture. One day, they come up with a plan to build a glamping site near where they live. It was planned by an entertainment agency, which was hit hard by the Corona disaster, with a subsidy from the government. Takumi and the other townspeople are upset by the plan, which could pollute the forest environment and the town’s water supply. Unlike ‘GIFT,’ this is not a silent film.
-Does his concept of using sound to provide feedback on “anger” contribute to the complexity of the layers in the main theme’s music?
Ishibashi: You could say so. The fact that I wanted to mix in a bit of dissonance may be due to the complexity I sensed from the images and the story, as well as Hamaguchi’s “anger”.
-There are many beatless tracks this time, aren’t there?
Ishibashi: I knew in advance that we were going to shoot nature, so I wanted to use organic music rather than music with a steady rhythm.
