When The Rain God Sings S o m Lions A e Bo n
YUNYU ONG, Uni e si y o Technology Sydney, Aus alia
EMMA SMITH, Independen , Aus alia
RYUJI HAMADA, Taikoz, Aus alia
LEE MCIVER, Taikoz, Aus alia
MADDIE DUNCAN, Aus alian Film Tele ision Radio School, Aus alia
Addi ional Key Wo ds and Ph ases: In e ac i e Music, Real-Time O ches a ion, Pe o mance Cap u e
ACM Re e ence Fo ma :
1 PROGRAM NOTES
Cu iosi y does no always kill a ca , some imes i makes a god. Welcome o he wo ld o "When he Rain God Sings,
S o m Lions A e Bo n" (‘Rain Gods’) by mul i-awa d winning compose Yunyu. This is a supe na u al wo ld o ca s,
hunde and new gods. The old god has gone ishing, you see, so she lea es he d ums o he nex unsuspec ing human
o play, o his is how new gods a e made. This is he wo ld whe e d ums play unes and ca s mus i s be appeased
and ed so hey can g ow up and make hunde o he new gods. I is all e y ha d wo k. Commissioned by Taikoz,
Pe cussion Aus alia and b ough o li e by he mas e ul Ryuji Hamada, Yunyu e-pu poses a linea DAW, Logic X wi h
a goal o u ning a single pe o me in o a pe o me /conduc o . This is a seamless explo a ion o musical composi ion
and ins umen making, whe e adi ional playing echniques o Taiko d umming a e conside ed and mapped on o
hei elec onic coun e pa s [Roland’s Taiko-1], pushing he limi s o wha aiko playing can be. This is a cau iona y
ale o he acciden al gods amongs us. In a u he de elopmen by V x A is /Di ec o Emma Smi h, he pe o mance
in e wines sound and ligh wi h eac i e wea he pa e ns and a esponsi e ecosys em p ima ily comp ised o ca s, all
changing in esponse o he play ul musical landscape.
Keep an eye ou o he ins alla ion ha accompanies his his pe o mance – "Be you own Rain God" whe e
audiences can make hei own hunde s o m. This is a ale o nego ia ion be ween en i onmen al o ces and human
will, whe e humankind a e no always in con ol al hough we o en hink we a e.
2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
2.1 Backg ound
In Japan, a Taiko is a d um; pe o mances a e o en accompanied by s o ies, mo emen and pe cussi e hy hms. The
spi i behind Rain Gods is one o ad en u e and explo a ion o wha a composi ion o a Taiko can be when i has o be
p epa ed o i s elec onic coun e pa (Roland’s Taiko-1). One o he key challenges o he composi ion was expanding
Licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License (CC BY 4.0). Copy igh emains wi h he au ho (s).
Yunyu Ong, Emma Smi h, Ryuji Hamada, Lee McI e , and Maddie Duncan. 2024. When The Rain God Sings S o m Lions A e Bo n. 1,
1 (Sep embe 2024), 4 pages.
Music P oceedings o he In e na ional Con e ence on New In e aces o Musical Exp ession
NIME’24, 4–6 Sep embe , 2024, U ech , The Ne he lands
2 Ong e .al
Fig. 1. When he Rain God Sings S o m Lions a e Bo n pe o med by Ryuji Hamada
wha was possible om a single solois pe o mance while add essing he pe o mance adi ion o he Taiko including
playing echniques. A signi ican di ec i e om he commissioning body was o eimagine he Taiko beyond acous ic
possibili ies. Gi en ha he commissioning g oup, a enowned Taiko ensemble, al eady possessed a as collec ion o
adi ional Taiko, he elec onic coun e pa was no in ended o eplica e hese. Ins ead, he compose , Yunyu was
encou aged o explo e inno a i e a enues, while s ill espec ing and in eg a ing con en ional Taiko playing me hods.
This led o he de elopmen o a design amewo k ha b oadened he unc ional scope o an Taiko. Thema ically, he
composi ion d aws inspi a ion om "Komainu”. These a e s one gua dians ound ou side emples in China and Japan.
Yunyu, wi h he Chinese Fujianese ances al he i age, aimed o celeb a e he cul u al ies and sha ed olklo e o China
and Japan h ough his na a i e.
2.2 Real Time Music Pe o mance wi h Real-Time Visual E ec s
P ojec ed on o he backd op a se ene sky, he a mosphe e u ns and we see he powe ul o ces o na u e c ashing and
colliding in he backg ound as he Hamada begins o play. This is a cap u e o he Rain God’s play ul pe sonali y and he
undeniable powe o a newly bo n Rain God. The inco po a ion o mo ion cap u e echnology and a eal- ime sonic and
isual ou pu c ea es a dynamic, e ol ing expe ience om Visual A is Emma Smi h. Each d umbea esona es wi h
he isual e ec s, c a ing an elec i ying syne gy be ween pe o mance and isual spec acle. This app oach aligns wi h
he objec i es o he New In e aces o Musical Exp ession (NIME) communi y, showcasing how adi ional musical
ins umen s can be eimagined h ough con empo a y echnology, en iching bo h he audi o y and isual aspec s o
pe o mance.
2.3 Rele ance o NIME
The p ojec was de eloped in esponse o he diminishing oppo uni ies o a elling pe o mance g oups as enues
hemsel es became ulne able du ing pandemic ela ed economic challenges. We eel ha he u u e de elopmen s
o elec onic Taiko a e impo an as his was a democ a isa ion o skills. Taiko playe s a e no longe limi ed o
pe o ming non-pi ched ins umen s and eac i e ensemble s yle playing oppo uni ies a e possible o solois s wi h
ca e ul in e ac i e composi ional echniques.
When The Rain God Sings S o m Lions A e Bo n 3
The ale is an en i onmen al one, acknowledging he o ces o na u e and how humans in e ac wi h na u alis ic
o ces. This is a balance o con ol be ween human will and na u e, an ongoing ale o mu ual unde s anding and
space-making.
3 PERFORMANCE NOTES
3.1 Pe o mance Ins uc ions
In-pe son li e pe o mance
•1 ope a o unning he music session on LogicX and Un eal Engine
•1 pe o me playing he elec onic Taiko
Pe o mance sco e and se swi ching ins uc ions a e p o ided o bo h pe o me and ope a o . Ope a o is o
swi ch he se s as indica ed in he sco e.
3.2 Powe Requi emen
•Lap op: powe ou le x2
•Elec onic Taiko – 10 x AA echa geable ba e ies
3.3 Technical Requi emen s
The pe o mance is p oposed o Ti oli V edenbu g. The below is a guide o wha is needed, howe e , we an icipa e
u he communica ion and ine- uning once he pe o mance is p og ammed.
Audio Se up –
S e eo DI ou o MacBook P o o audio desk o audio igge ed by he Taiko 1 3 x moni o s o s age old-back
Ligh ing -
A igh cen al spo (down s age cen e) plus a wide cen al s a e co e ing mid s age and down s age.
Spa ial conside a ions:
Minimum 6m wide x 4m deep
AV:
Ideally ea p ojec ed on a la ge sc een (6m wide) ha add esses he loo - Howe e , we can wo k wi h a on
p ojec ed lown sc een o sc eens i equi ed. LED sys em also possible. Hi es p ojec o s equi ed. To be con i med
close o da e.
Du a ion
8-15 minu es. Pe o mance is a a iable leng h due o i s in e ac i e na u e. We can lock equi ed imes in as pe
NIME equi emen s.
4 MEDIA LINKS
•Video: h ps:// imeo.com/942163293/b63853485c
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The au ho s would like o hank Uni e si y o Technology Sydney, Dolby Aus alia and Roland Aus alia o hei
ongoing suppo o he wo k.
4 Ong e .al
ETHICAL STANDARDS
The e hics app o al p ocess has been conduc ed and app o ed wi h e hics boa d wi hin he Uni e si y o Technology
Sydney.
