is a Japanese band known for their use of open-reel recordings to create music. Formed in 2009, it consists of members

Ei Wada is a Japanese programmer, artist and musician known for his work in repurposing old electronic appliances into musical instruments. He is the member and founder of projects such as Open Reel Ensemble, Braun Tube Jazz Band, and Electronicos Fant ...

, Haruka Yoshida and Masaru Yoshida. The band originally also included members Kimitoshi Sato and Takumi Mamba, who departed in 2015. After experimenting with open reels in his teenage years, Wada and his friends established the band following a university assignment for a performance presentation. The band garnered acclaim with performances at the

NTT InterCommunication Center NTT InterCommunication Center (ICC) is a media art gallery in Tokyo Opera City Tower in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Jap ...

and

Ars Electronica Ars Electronica Linz GmbH is an Austrian cultural, educational and scientific institute active in the field of new media art, founded in Linz in 1979. It is based at the Ars Electronica Center (AEC), which houses the Museum of the Future, in t ...

, earning them recognition and an award from the

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival was an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

. Their works have been used for Issei Miyake's fashion shows. They have released three albums, ''Open Reel Ensemble'' (2012), ''Tape and Cloth'' (2013), and ''Vocal Code'' (2015).

History

2009–2012: Formation

had been experimenting with old tapes to create sounds since his teenage years. He received a pair of tape recorders from a friend of his father, who worked at a radio station. One day, while handling them, he accidentally tripped and attempted to fix the reels with his hands. This led him to realize that manipulating the reels could turn them into musical instruments. This incident, along with a family trip to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

during his childhood where he witnessed a

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performance, inspired him. He and the other members, Haruka Yoshida, Masaru Yoshida, Kimitoshi Sato, and Takumi Mamba, had been friends since their teenage years, attending junior high and high school together. The group would gather at Wada's home, where he played the reel-to-reel in front of them. They later attended

Tama Art University or is a private Art school, art university located in Tokyo, Japan. It is known as one of the top art schools in Japan. History The forerunner of Tamabi was Tama Imperial Art School (多摩帝国美術学校, Tama Teikoku Bijutsu Gakkō) fou ...

in Tokyo, where Wada studied programming but continued experimenting with using reels as instruments. During university, Wada received an assignment for a group performance presentation. To brainstorm ideas, he brought the reel-to-reel machine, and the group began experimenting with it, connecting the open reel to a computer and cutting wires. This project ultimately led to the formation of the group in 2009. That same year, the band won the Excellence Award in the Student CG Contest Interactive Division of the

. Their performances at

and

garnered attention, prompting them to transition from a purely visual project to a combined visual and audio one. They began experimenting with incorporating their ideas into songs, using trial and error to create songs that effectively captured the feelings of the reels.

2012–2015: First releases

On June 27, 2012, they released their debut album, ''Open Reel Ensemble'', featuring collaborations with artists like

Yukihiro Takahashi was a Japanese musician, singer, record producer, fashion designer, and actor, who was best known internationally as the drummer, lead vocalist, & 2nd keyboardist of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, as the former drummer of the Sadistic Mika Band, ...

Etsuko Yakushimaru is a Japanese singer, producer, composer, lyricist, arranger and artist. She is broadly active, from pop music to experimental music and art. Her output has also included drawing, installation art, media art, poetry and other literature, and reci ...

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, and

Gota Yashiki , born 26 February 1962, is a Japanese musician. He performs an independent acid jazz artist and drum/bass player, and was a member of English band Simply Red. Biography Born in Kyoto, Japan, on 26 February 1962, where at a young age he le ...

. Released on

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Music of Japan, Japanese musician, composer, keyboardist, record producer, singer and actor. He pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the Synthesizer, synth-based band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his ...

's label , the album includes the track "Joseph Voice 9.5 cm/s," which features a sample of

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

's voice from the world's oldest surviving

magnetic recording Magnetic storage or magnetic recording is the storage of data on a magnetized medium. Magnetic storage uses different patterns of magnetisation in a magnetizable material to store data and is a form of non-volatile memory. The information is ...

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. Their music began to be featured in

Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product. Early life and education Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 i ...

's Paris Collection for multiple seasons. On July 17, 2013, they followed up with their second album ''Tape and Cloth''.

2015–present: ''Vocal Code'' and Sato and Namba's departure

In May 2015, the band announced the departure of Sato and Namba, who planned to focus on their own band, Mother Tereco, starting in September. On September 2, 2015, the band released Vocal Code, an album centered around the theme of "voice." It featured collaborations with various artists, including

Tavito Nanao is a Japanese singer-songwriter who debuted in 1998. He has worked with a great number of musicians, including Takkyu Ishino, Salyu and Yakenohara. Nanao has reached a wider audience since 2007, after his album '' 911 Fantasia'', a 3CD musical ...

. The album was chosen as the theme for the

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...

show ''News Every'' and aired for three months that year. In October 2016, they performed at

TEAC Corporation () is a Japanese electronics manufacturer. TEAC was created by the merger of the Tokyo Television Acoustic Company, founded in 1953, and the Tokyo Electro-Acoustic Company, founded in 1956. Overview TEAC has four divisions: *TASCAM - con ...

's warehouse following the company's announcement of two new concept audio models of CD player amplifiers. By 2018, they had innovated new methods for utilizing tape recorders, including programming sounds directly onto them, toggling individual tracks, and even employing bamboo sticks for playing. In June of that year, they received an honorary mention at Ars Electronica and were honored with the Starts Prize, recognizing their work at the intersection of science, technology, and art. The following year, the band unveiled a multimedia project accompanied by a video, marking their first international distribution. On March 25, 2022, the Open Reel Ensemble launched a digital book alongside the song "Magnetik Phunk," followed by a live streamed performance at Ginza Sony Park on March 27.

Band members

Current members *

– reels, programming, composition *Haruka Yoshida – reels, percussion *Masaru Yoshida – reels, bass Former members *Kimitoshi Sato – reels, DJ, composition *Takumi Namba – reels, violin

Discography

*''Open Reel Ensemble'' (2012) *''Tape and Cloth'' (2013)'' *''Vocal Code'' (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Open Reel Ensemble Japanese electronic music groups 2009 establishments in Japan 2009 in Japanese music Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Musical groups established in 2009 Japanese musical trios Musical groups from Tokyo