Miya Masaoka (b. Washington, D.C., 1958) is an American musician and composer who performs on the 17-string Japanese koto zither, often augmenting it with string preparations and electronic triggers (as in her "Koto Monster", where additional laser beam "strings" hover over the koto).

She is known for creative, improvisational technique, and a sensibility that combines experimental Western approaches with the tradition of the koto.

Her compositions have included works for large ensembles, sometimes with unusual sound sources such as hives of bees, or the amplified sounds of human bodies (brain waves, heartbeat, etc). One notable piece was performed outdoors in a plaza on San Francisco's sometimes unsavory Market Street, utilizing an ensemble of dozens of musicians, a pair of male and female exotic dancers, and taped interviews with sex workers: "What's the Difference Between Stripping and Playing the Violin?" An impressive blend of musical composition, and site-specific conceptual art.

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NYT > Music

Music Review: New Focus, New Home, Same Sonic Grandeur
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:20:36 -0000
The Walkmen showed perspective as well as purpose on Monday, in its first of two consecutive shows at the Bowery Ballroom.
Johnny Moore, 70, Ska Trumpeter, Is Dead
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:19:48 -0000
Mr. Moore was a trumpeter and founding member of the pioneering Jamaican ska and reggae band the Skatalites.
Music Review | The Gaslight Anthem: Telling Stories Inside Stories, in Songs With Shades of Punk and Pop
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:30:08 -0000
The Gaslight Anthem brought rich, punk storytelling and shades of another Jersey export to the Knitting Factory on Saturday.

NPR Topics: Music

Old 97's 'Blame It On Gravity': Taut and Delicate
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:03:00 -0400
Formed in Dallas, the Old 97's were long pigeonholed as an alt-country band. They never were — just a rocking quartet with a terrific songwriter up top. They've just put out their best album in seven years.
Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich And Fussible
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:10:00 -0400
The Grammy-nominated Nortec Collective brings together Mexican, electronica and dance music. Hear songs from the group's new album, Tijuana Sound Machine, when Bostich and Fussible come by WXPN's World Cafe with host David Dye.
Gymnast Carly Patterson, The Pop Star?
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:00:00 -0400
American gymnast Carly Patterson won the all-around gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Now's she's hoping to become a pop star. She discusses her life after gold and her dreams of lyrical leaps.

www.tennessean.com - Rss-News-Music Industry news

Jackson, Montgomery Gentry give Sony reasons to celebrate
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:20:00 -0500
Music Row celebrated the successes of two Sony BMG Nashville artists this week: Montgomery Gentry earned two parties to honor No. 1 "Back When I Knew It All," and a massive gathering at Vanderbilt's Student Life Center feted Alan Jackson, who recently reached the milestone of 50 million records sold.
Briefs
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:12:00 -0500
Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group was sued for allegedly cheating members of The Allman Brothers Band out of some $10 million in royalties on music recorded from 1969 to 1980. Band members Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson alleged Universal is paying only a "small fraction" of the royalties due them for digital downloads of their songs and is refusing to negotiate royalty rates for newly released digital configurations, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan. UMG spokesman Peter Lofrumento declined to comment.
Hip-hop's bible, 'The Source,' relaunches
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:19:00 -0500
NEW YORK — The Source, which was in bankruptcy last year, is relaunching with a 20th-anniversary issue and a new focus — a direction that its co-publisher says will restore the magazine, once known as hip-hop's bible, to prominence.

Rolling Stone: Features

How Bush Destroyed the Republican Party
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:58:32 -0700
A president driven by ideology. A Congress rife with corruption. A political party hellbent on a "permanent majority." A leading scholar examines the radicals who hijacked the GOP — and wrecked the longest conservative ascendancy in American history • Video: Five Ways Bush Sunk the GOP The failure of the administration of George W. Bush — and the accompanying crisis of the Republican Party — has caused a political meltdown of historic proportions. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, Bush enjoyed the greatest popularity ever recorded for a modern American president. Republicans on Capitol Hill, under the iron rule of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, fattened their coffers through a fearsome...
Artists to Watch
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:29:00 -0700
Six acts who are defining rock and pop in 2008 LOW VS. DIAMOND West Coast quintet craft widescreen rock anthems built for stadium singalongs Click above to watch Low vs. Diamond's Luke and Howie perform "Heart Attack" live Few young american bands attempt the unabashedly grand cinematic rock that L.A.'s Low Vs Diamond play on their eponymous debut — and frontman Lucas Field sees that as an opportunity. "I felt like there was a hole in American anthems," says Field, 28. "British bands do this big, melodic stuff so well, but I...
The Man Who Wasn't There
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:18:38 -0700
Robert Downey Jr. has made the leap from tortured rebel to leading man. So why does he feel he's "still not human"? • Peter Travers on Robert Downey, Jr.'s Best Roles At a restaurant called Craft, in Los Angeles, near the new CAA building, outside, under sunlight, not on a couch but on the warm, warm ground, Robert Downey Jr. lights a cigarette, takes a sip of his double espresso, listens politely to a waitress extolling the virtues of the halibut, orders the halibut on her recommendation, regards her through the dark bubble of teardrop shades, remembers then what his first thought of the day was...

Ultimate-Guitar.Com [News]

New RevCo Release Date, Jourgensen To Stick Around
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:05:09 -0000
Revolting Cocks (RevCo) founding member Alien Jourgensen is clearing up, once and for all, the rumors surrounding RevCo's future.
Metallica Discuss Death Magnetic Attraction To Rubin
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:38:25 -0000
James Hetfield to get his thoughts on Rick Rubin being the chosen one, even though Bob Rock might be missed.
Bono Leaks New U2 Songs
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:29:27 -0000
A fan overheard Bono listening to tracks from the band's forthcoming album and recorded them before posting the songs online.

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