Name: Carl Tokujirô Mirwald
Nationality: (Half-) Japanese
Occupation: Educator, vocalist, songwriter
Current release: Carl Tokujirô Mirwald teams up with Hans Platzgumer for Taishô Romantica, a complement to Platzgumer's book Großes Spiel. The album is out September 1st 2023 via Noise Appeal.
Recommendations: "The lonesome death of Hattie Carrol" by Dylan and the noh-piece “hagoromo” by zeami

[Read our Hans Platzgumer interview]

If you enjoyed this Carl Tokujirô Mirwald interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit the page of his duo with Hans Platzgumer on the Noise Appeal website.   

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I don't see anything, I feel thirsty. I listen with eyes opened

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

I was raised on Japanese noh-music. It surely influenced me, but I don't see myself as a musician or artist anyway.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

At that age I heard first of all Japanese pop music. But when I turned 16, I started listening to bob dylan which blew my mind.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

For me, music is first of all singing in Japanese and activating my Japanese alter ego.

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

I have definitely discovered ideas.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

My voice is an instrument used by Hans Platzgumer. In other projects, it's also a part of the whole sound and it's a lived community of mutuality

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

The sound of crickets and cicada in the middle of a big city. It sounds like a polyrhthmical rave on a dolby surround system.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

I react to deep and husky sounds such as, for example, Mongolian throat singing with galopping rhythms.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

I listen to compositions and riffs and then some simple melody crosses my mind.

When a melody sticks, meaning I can recall that melody again and again, then, I start to fit words to it

Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

I'm not musician enough to dare experiments.

On the other hand, every project I make is an experimente because I never know where it goes to.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

Music, for me, represents a deeper level of communication with others and with myself.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

It may be not like making coffee but it could be like cooking a menu, especially if you cook in or for a community.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

I really like the voice of Dylan. its not so much about his lyrics, which I often don't understand. It sounds like some dying insect.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I wish music had more importance in education and daily life.