Renowned ‘loop pedal ninja’ Kenta Hayashi is back in the country for what is his sixth Australian tour in two years.
The tour comes after Kenta was here earlier in January and February, and is in support of his latest studio album entitled ‘Loop 444’, which is focussed on the vibration of the 444Hz tuning frequency.
Kenta says that of all his albums, ‘Loop 444’ (his fourth record) has received the best response by far, owing to its minimalist quality created by only looping his voice and an acoustic guitar.
"Australia has the animals and insects that we don’t have in Japan, so it’s awesome to wake up with birds singing.”
“Many people said they like it a lot because my other three albums were like studio albums and my live sound is quite different from those three albums,” Kenta explains.
“‘Loop 444’ has the feeling of my live show because I used my voice and an acoustic guitar only, so it’s almost like you’re listening to my [live] show at home with the CD.
“It has a minimal kind of feeling [because] I only used my voice and acoustic guitar. I put many effects on while I was recoding and also afterward. I spent some time mixing and putting on different effects; I think it came out really good.”
Kenta’s upcoming Australian tour has him in the country for an extended period, playing festivals and club shows in capital cities and regional centres. “I’m very excited about all the shows but especially Woodford Folk Festival,” he says.
“It’s my first time and I’ve always wanted to play there so finally I am making it to Woodford. I’m also excited to come back to the venues where I played last time… I’m looking forward to doing it again.”
While here, Kenta says he’s keen to get out and explore the Australian wilderness and experience our unique nature and wildlife, which serves as profound inspiration for the artist.
Click here to read our September 2016 interview with Kenta.
“To be honest, I love music but I’m playing and also writing so I really like the silence; it’s not really silence, but the sounds from nature like the waves and the birds and the winds, and it’s wilder than Japan’s nature – Australia has the animals and insects that we don’t have in Japan, so it’s awesome to wake up with birds singing.”
Kenta is already working on his next album, which he says will embrace more electronic components while retaining his signature loop-from-scratch methodology.
“I’m thinking about switching to electronic guitar and using a sampler and synthesizer but I will still loop from scratch,” he says.
“I’m not going to push a button and play beats or a backing track or anything like that.
“Since I’m using the sampler I’m going to use a lot of different sounds, like what we talked about with nature sounds, like the birds or water sounds, with my electronic guitar and effects so I think it will be much stronger and bigger sound.”
Kenta Hayashi Tour Dates
Sun 17 Dec - Musicland (Melbourne, 4pm)Sun 17 Dec - Littlefoot Bar (Melbourne, 8pm)
Thu 21 Dec - Oxford Art Factory (Sydney)
Sun 23 Dec - Smith's Alternative (Canberra)
27-31 Dec - Woodford Folk Festival (Sunshine Coast)
Mon 1 Jan - Woodford Folk Festival (Sunshine Coast)
Fri 5 Jan - Miami Marketta (Gold Coast)
Sat 6 Jan - Sheoak Shack (Gold Coast)
Tue 9 Jan - The Scottish Prince (Gold Coast)
Sat 13 Jan - The Bearded Lady (Brisbane)
Sun 14 Jan - Peregian Originals (Sunshine Coast)
Fri 19 Jan - BAR 36 @ The Reef Hotel Casino (Cairns)
Sat 20 Jan - Kuranda Amphitheatre Understage
Sun 21 Jan - BAR 36 @ The Reef Hotel Casino (Cairns)
