Recorded August 1999 (except Deus recorded September 1998)

I recorded the double album Kabuki during my August vacation back in Ottawa while I was still working in Japan. In the middle of working on it, my machine broke down putting a nine day gap in my work.

Kabuki is a form of traditional Japanese theatre. I conceived of the project while still in Japan and some of the songs bear the influence of my time there and the places I visited. Musically it bears of a lot of prog rock influences.

As with the two previous albums, the run list was not featured in recording order.

1. Tooi Hi no Uta (Aug 7)
遠い日の歌 (song of a distant day, literally: far day’s song)
This Japanese song is one that students sang in a school choral competitions at the middle schools I taught. The music is based on Pachelbel Canon. The melody by Shoji Hashimoto and words by Chihaya Iwasawa.

2. Ano Hi Ano Toki (Aug 26-27)
あの日あの時
Translated as ‘That Day That Time’, this was the name of a book of memoirs about the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. The song was influenced by my visits to Nagasaki and Hiroshima and reading first had accounts of the atomic bombings. This multi-section song is about the horrors of nuclear weapons and a harsh critique against their use. John Paul II’s appeal to peace carved on a stone at Hiroshima is quoted in the song.
a) Impact
b) Critical Mass
c) That Day
d) Requiem
e) Carry a Big Stick
f) Ashes

3. Sadako (Aug 9)
Sadako was a Japanese girl who died of cancer as a result of exposure to nuclear radiation. She was immortalised in the children’s book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes which inspirited this song. There is a monument to her in Hiroshima to remember all the children lost. It was believed if one could fold a thousand paper cranes they would be granted a wish. School children often bring paper cranes with them when they visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

4. Deus (Aug 31-Sep 4 1998)
Prior to leaving the September before, I recording this to include in a compilation of my Warhorse material up to that point. Then I added it to Kabuki. Deus is a multi-part song about religious extremism and historical harm done wrongly in the name of God.
a) Kyrie Eleison
b) Mae Culpa
c) Clash of Civilisation
d) Armageddon
e) Light of the World

5. Misinformation Age (Aug 26)
A play on the fact everyone in the 90s was using the term information age. Much information we receive is more about shaping perceptions than about facts. There’s some references to Marshall McCluhan quotes in the first section. The second part is a jab at y2k paranoia and Nostradamus.
a) The Message
b) Y2K
c) The End is Near

6. Cardboard Coffins (Aug 6-7)
During my first visit to Osaka I was startled when I noticed people were sleeping in cardboard boxes at the foot of marbled office buildings. The opening riff was a tune some cross-walks played.

7. J-Pop (Aug 27)
This was the only song completely conceived in my time back Ottawa. It’s a jab at vapid mass-marketed commercial pop music.

8. The Show That Never Ends (Aug 10-25)
This Frankenstein of a side-long piece fuses together various songs and bits by Emerson Lake & Palmer, doing my best approximation of their music. It took several days to record and due of mechanical issues work was halted for a time in the middle of the sixth section.
a) Fanfare (Aug 10)
Incorporates Fanfare For the Common Man, Abaddon’s Bolero, and Tarkus(Eruption)
b) From the Beginning (Aug 11)
Incorporates Pictures at an Exhibition(Promenade) and From the Beginning
c) Schizoid Man (Aug 12)
Incorporates Karn-Evil 9, 21st Century Schizoid Man, and The Barbarian
d) Knife-Edge (Aug 14)
Incorporates Knife-Edge and Tarkus(Stone of Years)
e) Battlefield (Aug 16, 25)
Incorporates Tarkus(Battlefield and Aquatarkus)

9. Tooi Hi no Uta (unplugged) (Aug 28)
For this version of this Japanese song, I recorded my piano live air. Even though I often use the piano when creating music, to date this the only time I’ve featured in a recording.