変わり続ける無形のコンセプト

 

 

– Can you introduce yourself to a new audience,  What is Evanora:Unlimited

– 最初にEvanora:Unlimitedの自己紹介をお願いします。

 

Evanora:Unlimited is a multimedia project from Oakland-based interdisciplinary artist Orion Ohana, exploring music, film, fashion, storytelling, and varying mediums of performance art with a focus on world building. Evanora:Unlimited is not an artist alias, but the title of an ever-changing formless concept and cinematic world, showcasing various characters. A based on true events, erotic science fiction and religious horror epic.

 

Evanora:Unlimitedはオークランド拠点、Orion Ohanaのマルチメディアプロジェクト。音楽、映像、ファッション、物語といろんな分野のパフォーマンスアートを起点として、Evanora:Unlimitedの世界を作ってる。Evanora:Unlimitedはアーティストとしての存在じゃなくて、ずっと変わり続ける無形のコンセプト、キャラクターを体現したもの。実際に体験したこと、性的SF、宗教的ホラーとかがもとにあったりする。

 

– Where are you from? And where are you now? 

– 出身はどこですか？今はどこにいるの？

 

I was born and raised in Oakland, California, where I am writing this from. I am in my friend’s basement dental lab where I am staying while spending off-time from tour in Oakland.

 

今オークランドでこれを書いてるんだけど、生まれと育ちはここ。今は友達の地下の歯医者に住んでる。ツアーしてない時はここに一時的に住んでる。

 

– What are you wearing today?

– 今何着てる？

 

I just woke up, I’m still in my pajamas — a taupe two-piece suit with a white dress shirt & striped blue tie.

 

起きたばっかりだからまだパジャマ。トープ色のセットアップに白いドレスシャツ、その上に青いストライプのネクタイ。

 

– Whats a recent gig you went to that you liked

– 最近一番楽しかったライブはある？

 

Definitely one of the most memorable gigs I’ve been to lately was a massacre of sorts put together by an organization “KMIF”. The event took place in a massive dilapidated castle in Berlin. During my performance I found myself being violently carried by the crowd in a full-size bathtub full of blood. I have no idea where the bathtub came from, some woman dressed as a mermaid who was screaming through the entire DJ set before mine dragged it in. After the performance the bathtub, and myself still inside of it, were dragged to the front left corner of the club, still drenched in blood and the closing act “clopped & hooved” now playing – a vaporware country music experience of sorts, my wife and a friend joined me in the blood filled tub as people brought us drinks and offered us infinite drugs which we ““politely turned down”” as we had our 3 heads rubbed by a mysterious person in a very sexual manner as reality split in two from the substances we “politely turned down.”

 

KMIFっていうグループのマサカー(虐殺)テーマのイベントかな。場所はベルリンにある廃城でやったんだけど、ライブ中に血に浸った浴槽に入って、乱暴にクラウドサーフィングされてた。浴槽がなんであったのか全然知らないんだけど、俺の前にDJした人魚のコスプレしてる女の人（セット中ずっと叫んでた）がどっかから引きずり出してきた。浴槽でのライブが終わった後、クロージングの曲“clopped & hooved”が流れ始めて、まだ血に浸りながらフロアの左に引きずられた。ヴェイパーウェイブ/カントリーミュージック的なノリの中、俺の妻と友達も浴槽に入る。いろんな人が飲めないほどの酒を持ってきて、無限にドラッグを用意してくれたんだけど、俺らは「礼儀正しく」断って、知らない人から俺たち3人の頭を異常に性的な仕草で撫でられた。気付いたら「礼儀正しく」断ったドラッグがキックして現実が真っ二つになってた。

 

– How do you relate to different scenes of music & how have they been important to you?  We think it’s hard to place your sound. Do you have any stories about any genres that are close to your heart?

– いろいろな分野、シーンの音楽にどうやって共感してる？それは自分にとって影響があると思う？Evanora:Unlimitedの音楽ははっきり言葉にできないと思う。一番思い入れの深い音楽はある？

 

I definitely never want to ever have any singular refined sound that’s placable and more so my discography to be similar to a film sound track with drastically varying tones. genres and music scenes have definitely been important on my journey though of course — Ive been a part of and interacted with many different music communities along the way and learned a lot from them all. As someone who has always seen art as all or nothing and my only true option in life, I dropped out of school and followed a path with very little structure. I see music communities and scenes of a sort of “university” in a sense, they provide foundation, education from analyzing and interacting with the people who have been around for awhile, and a place to make mistakes and learn. just like in school systems some people float around and constantly change their major, some people specialize and go really deep into one field — I was definitely one of the people who floated around and changed their major constantly. I’m very grateful for all the communities I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of and the crucial lessons I learned during those times, but eventually you need to graduate and step away from that foundation and make your own community and scene out of the world.

 

絶対に一つのカテゴリーに入れられたくないと思ってる。俺の音楽は映画のサウンドトラックみたいで、シーンによっていろんなムードがあると思う。ジャンルとか音楽シーン自体はもちろん自分の音楽にとても重要な意味を持っていると思う。いろんなシーンにも触れてきたし、一つ一つでいろんなことを学んだ。ずっと自分にはアートという選択肢しか人生にないと思ってたから、将来の骨組みもないまま学校もやめた。音楽のシーンとかコミュニティは一種の「大学」みたいなものに見える。基盤があって、他の人がやってきたこととかその人たちと交流することで学習して、そこから同じ過ちを起こさないように次につなげる。フラフラしながら専門分野を変えたり、一つの分野を追求する人もいる。俺はずっとフラフラしていろんなところに行ってた一人かな。関わることのできたコミュニティや人たち、そこで学んだことはかけがえのないものだし、それはめちゃくちゃ感謝してる。でも最終的には基盤から卒業して、自分のコミュニティとかシーンを作らないとね。

 

– I read that you don’t really have a permanent address. Do you think that affects your creativity ?

– 記事で読んだんだけど、家を売り払って、家がない状態で世界中をツアーしてるんだよね。それは自分のクリエイティビティに影響があると思う？

 

absolutely, in both positive and negative ways. I mean its non-stop moving around with no end in sight and nowhere to really return “home” to when I need a break. I can’t remember the last time Ive spent longer than maybe 15 days in any one city or country. Creatively it’s for sure very inspiring, however inversely not ever being able to truly settle in or get comfortable can make it hard to find balance and familiarity at times. I find myself making countless new projects from being all inspired and whatnot but not having somewhere to disappear to and finish these projects, they often pile up giving for what now is far more than 90% of my discography being made up of what I haven’t released.

 

もちろんあると思う、良い意味でも悪い意味でも。ずっと終わりのない道を彷徨って、休みたいときにも帰れるところがないからね。最後に一つの街に15日間以上滞在した記憶がない。クリエイティビティ的にはもちろん良いけど、安心できる居場所がないと時にはバランスを保つのが難しい。旅先でインスパイアされたりすることで新しいものを作ることは何度もあるけど、最終的に落ち着いて完成させることができない。未完成の曲が溜まりに溜まって、今じゃ作った音楽の90%以上が未発表になってる。

 

– Lustful expanse was 2 years ago, what were some themes behind it, has that developed since?

– 最後に出した「Lustful Expanse」からもうすぐ二年になるけど、アルバムのテーマとかを教えて。そのテーマに今は進展はある？

 

Its meaning and direction has definitely changed to me a lot since the time it was created in the sense of personal shifts of mindset and different life events that I now attach to it, but its initial themes haven’t changed much. It, along with everything I make, is meant to candidly capture the time I made it. As it is when you re-listen to an old favorite song, I often find myself releasing something and then later not relating to it at all from being in a different place in my life and a completely different person from when it was made, becoming nothing more then a time-capsule of sorts. but as life goes on and those same themes that were relevant come back into my life in different scenarios, they become relevant again. Lustful Expanse specifically was made in a very dark point in my life, spiraling, hating myself, wanting to love myself and love life but being someone and somewhere that made that very hard, & taking that out running away and getting into things that would hurt me and the people I loved . The EP was a pure stream of hatred and confession of those feelings that I had lied to myself about and denied to truly confront, a part of me I was plagued by which I feel since the project’s release I have since completely rid myself of.

 

もちろん最近の経験とか思っていることに違いは出てきているけど、軸になってるものは変わってないかな。このアルバムもそうだけど、作るものは全部その場を率直に捉えるために作ってる。昔好きだった曲をもう一回聞くと全然共感できないのと同じで、自分の曲を今聞いても、その時と今とは違う立場で違う経験をしてきてるから、ある意味タイムカプセルみたいなものだと思う。だけどその時と同じ状況を、今別の形で経験したら、そのテーマはまた共感できたりもする。「Lustful Expanse」は自分にとってとても暗い時期に作った。自分自身のことが嫌になるループに入って、自分のことも自分の人生も好きになりたかったけど、それがどうしても難しかった、できなかった。その感情を持ち出して、自分自身も、周りの愛してる人のことも傷つけることをしてしまうかもしれなかった。この作品はピュアな嫌悪感を吐き出し、自分が素直に安心できないためについていた嘘の告白。その時から自分のこの側面は排除できたと思ってる。

 

– Can you tell us about your music videos? Why do you often have blood all over your face? 

– MVについて教えて。いつも顔に血がついてるよね。

 

Something I take pride in is the found footage nature of my videos. none of the music videos are really ‘music videos’ to me in the traditional sense but more so a soundtracked candid presentation of intimate moments. The age of information video is a perfect example, which was 7 years of archived phone footage. But even the marjorie videos are very much candid and capture the moment spirited. I’m already covered in blood and have a bunch of people in my apartment. we should shoot a video. The blood itself dosen’t really have any meaning, I could be all artsy and say maybe the fact that it has no meaning is a take on senseless violence or maybe I’m covered in blood from the massacre of life, and it is always there because that massacre never ends. It really has no meaning though, I just often find myself covered in blood 🙂

 

MVの中で使ってるファウンド・フッテージの要素は重要なことだと思ってる。作ってるビデオはどれも「ミュージックビデオ」とは言い切れなくて、それよりも親密な記憶の一部のプレゼンテーションのような感じ。「Age of Information」は良い例だと思ってて、あれは携帯で撮った7年分の動画を使ってる。Marjorieの映像も記憶の一部としては意味は同じだね。人に囲まれながら血まみれなのはずっと変わらないし。一緒に映像撮ろうよ。血自体にあんまり意味ないかも。芸術家みたいな説明をするなら、意味がないこと自体が意識のない暴力との混在かもしれないし、人生という名のマサカーのおかげで血がついているのかもしれないし、それが永遠に終わらないからずっと血塗れなのかもしれない。でも実際全く意味はないよ、いつも血塗れなだけ:)

 

– How would you like to explain the world of gun violence (the US) to a japanese audience.

– アメリカの銃社会について日本の人たちに説明してくれないかな。

 

It’s really not something I had ever thought all too much about until being outside the US to be honest. Where I’m from it’s just another normal factor of life, and not really something I think about. the government and police have guns, your neighbor has a gun, people who don’t have your best interest in mind have guns, therefore I should too (not to say that’s a good thing). Being on tour in Europe felt borderline extremely utopian to me,  I was always surprised when people would ask me this type of question while I was out there and how shocked they were about guns in America and how they saw America as a scary place. Coming back home after the tour however, was the first time I ever noticed how much of a dark cloud gun violence actually creates which I had always just seen as a normal factor in everyday life. That made me understand why people said they felt America was scary, because I’m not gonna lie America is scary as fuck in comparison hahaha.

 

アメリカに出る前までは全然考えたことがなかったかも。自分がどこからきてるかはただ人生の一部で、あんまりそれについて考えたことはない。政府も、警察も、近所の人も、自分を嫌ってる人もみんな銃を持ってる。だから俺も持ってる（良いことだとは言ってないけど）。だからヨーロッパのツアーでその意味ではユートピアに感じて、みんながそれについて聞いてくること、みんながアメリカが怖いところだと思っていることにも驚いた。ヨーロッパツアーから帰ってきた後にやっと、日常的な銃社会の中にある暴力がどれだけ暗いものかを感じた。だからみんなアメリカが怖いって言う理由もわかった、だって比べてみたらめちゃくちゃ怖い（笑）。

 

– You said you have family in Japan? 

– 日本に親族がいるんだよね？

 

Yes, an estranged half brothder somewhere in Kobe. when I was around 10 years old me and my father were driving somewhere, the entire car ride was silent but randomly he broke the silence asking me “how would you feel if you had a brother.” I was confused by the question thinking it was just a hypothetical or maybe he got someone he was seeing pregnant but after awkwardly responding something along the lines of “lol i dont know, why?  i guess it would be cool” he responded “well you do, he’s 5 years old, he’s lived in japan his whole life, and hes coming here to stay with us tomorrow” I didn’t believe him at all but the next day we had a small child staying with us who only spoke Japanese and looked alot like my father. I sadly haven’t seen or been in any contact with him or his mom since the week or so they spent with us but am hoping I can track them down and reunite 🙂

 

うん、ずっと会ってない弟が神戸に住んでる。10歳くらいの時に父とどこかにドライブにいって、二人とも無言でシーンとしてたんだけど、いきなり沈黙を打ち破って「弟がいたらどう思う」って聞かれた。もしそうだったらという仮の話か、その時父が付き合ってた人が妊娠してたのか何か分からなくて困惑したけど、「笑なんで？」って気まずく返事した。「面白いかもよ」って言われて、「でももう決まったんだ、日本で育った5歳の男の子で明日からうちに泊まるよ。」最初は信じなかったけど、次の日から父に似た日本語しか喋らない男の子が家に住んでた。その日の一週間後にいなくなってて、残念ながらそれ以来会うことも連絡することもできてない。でも今回見つけて会えると良いな:)

 

– Is there anyone in Japan you’d love to collaborate with? You can think big.

– 日本でコラボしたい人はいる？誰でも良いよ。

 

I was a huge fan of KOHH when I was really young. That would definitely be pretty surreal to me if that ever happened, other then that Jun Togawa, Yapoos, & Joe Hisaishi would all definitely be dream tier collaborations.

 

KOHHは昔からずっと大ファンで、会えたら現実味なくなるかも。それ以外は戸川純、ヤプーズ、久石譲とかは夢に思うコラボだね。

 

– Whats something that you’d like to introduce to Japan from abroad whilst you’re there?

– 日本の人に紹介したいことは？

 

Music from the Bay Area hahahaha, Yatta, Joe Blow, Mike Sherm, J Stalin, Lil Air, Lil Yee, Young Roka, Shopboys, etc etc etc.

 

ベイエリアの音楽（笑）。Yatta、Joe Blow、Mike Sherm、 J Stalin、 Lil Air、Lil Yee、Young Roka、Shopboysとかとか。

 

– Whats something you’d think you’d like to take home?

– 日本から持ち帰りたいものは？

 

gifts for all my loved ones at home of course & for myself I think id like a new notebook and some pencils maybe 🙂

 

もちろん好きな人たちへのプレゼントと、自分には新しいノートブックと鉛筆かな:)

 

Interview: Miranda Remington

Translation: Kai