Ei Wada

エレクトロニコス・ファンタスティコス！2016-2020│ELECTRONICOS FANTASTICOS! 2016-2020［Project / Performance / Installation / Composition / Workshop］

「エレクトロニコス・ファンタスティコス！」はアーティスト/ミュージシャンの和田永を中心に、さまざまな人々が共創しながら、役割を終えた電化製品を新たな電子楽器へと蘇生させ、徐々にオーケストラを形づくっていくプロジェクト。東京・京都・日立の3都市に活動拠点を設け、70名近いメンバーが参加しながら、これまでにブラウン管テレビ、扇風機、換気扇、ビデオカメラ、エコアン、電話機などの数々の家電を楽器化してきた。
2017年には古家電の祭囃子にのせて踊る奇祭『電磁盆踊り大会』を実現させ、2018年からは日本にとどまらず、海外でも活動を展開。2019年には多国籍の人々とバンドを結成してのパフォーマンスを世界最大のメディア・アートの祭典「アルス・エレクトロニカ」にて実現させた。
人々の創意工夫によって電化製品が本来持っている機能を積極的に楽器へと読み替え、使い古されたテクノロジーから生まれる「電磁民族音楽」やその祭典を夢想しながら、日々ファンタジーを紡ぎ出している。
ELECTRONICOS FANTASTICOS! is a project where retired consumer electronics are resuscitated as instruments, new ways to play music are invented, and all kinds of people are invited to be orchestrated with the artist and musician Ei Wada.
Once we dismantle old consumer electronics, we realize the condensed wisdom of pioneers and the interesting and mysterious scientific/physics phenomenon hidden inside these objects. By transferring these into electronic musical instruments, a sound like a groan of electronics begins to echo. Old consumer electronics come to life as yokai—supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore, sometimes they appear as spirits of abandoned tools.
Currently, we have 3 main bases of creation: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hitachi. More than 70 members have joined the project from diverse fields such as engineers, designers, musicians, and management members. In November 2017, under the most symbolic old radio tower Tokyo Tower, we staged the Electro-Magnetic Bon-Dance. The original purpose of the Bon Dance is to mourn the dead; here we extended its concept for the memorial service of electronics that have played a major role in economic growth. Elderlies who donated electronics came to see the concert; children fell in love with instruments, engineers who work at electric appliance companies were thrilled to create instruments.
Everybody is enjoying the project and is very surprised how daily items have been fantastically transformed. We dream and search for the answer to our question, what is the new folklore music of urban cities? We want to realize a festival that strongly contrasts with the efficiency and rationality of the AI era, to breathe life into trash that holds memories of someone, and to produce new instruments through ideas, fantasies and technology with many people. As a next step we wish to develop a new relationship between objects and the human spirit. We believe that this project has the potential to establish a new culture after the fetish for capitalism.

Link :
Ars Electronica 2018 / STARTS PRIZE ‘18