行 • (Kō)

The title of the piece, 行 • (Kō), refers to a Japanese kanji radical, which is used in expressions that evoke action, movement, and the journeys we undertake, both physical and metaphorical. The radical is also used to signify a line of poetic verse, hinting at the rhythmic flow and narrative qualities in the video. The music itself was born in the context of the COVID-pandemic in close collaboration with Kojiro Umezaki, an accomplished shakuhachi player and friend. Over a few remote sessions we recorded various individual shakuhachi sound gestures trying to capture the rich and idiomatic nuances of this traditional Japanese bamboo flute and the essence of Ko’s creative spirit and expression.