Photo Credit: Toshi Ijuin

Japanese hip-hop meets the Australian Art Orchestra.

Based on Aaron Choulai’s critically acclaimed 2020 release, and reimagined for the Australian Art Orchestra, Raw Denshi explores new pathways of experimentation in hip-hop and improvisation, bringing together two of Tokyo’s most prominent and influential MC’s and the AAO. Featuring pioneers of Japanese hip-hop, Kojoe and Hikaru Tanaka, Raw Denshi combines bilingual rapping and structured and free improvisation, woven together by Choulai’s distinct approach to composition.

The Australian Art Orchestra’s take on Raw Denshi celebrates cultural unity and creative expression through the intersections of Australian and Japanese contemporary languages in rhyming and improvisation.

Ensemble

Kojoe – MC

Hikaru Tanaka – MC

Holly Moore - alto saxophone

Ryan Williams - tenor recorder

Eugene Ball – trumpet

Aaron Choulai – piano

Sofia Carbonara – vibraphone

Tamara Murphy – bass

Myka Wallace – drums

Artist Biographies

Kojoe - MC

Kojoe (ko-jo) was born Sakata Koichiro in Niigata, Japan. Kojoe's dual rhyming style, in Japanese and in English, has pierced multicultural barriers and piqued the interests of various listening audiences. His provocative approach and style has enabled Japanese audiences to become objective listeners amidst a foreign dominated, and J-Pop saturated market.

After moving to New York in the late 90’s, Kojoe became the first Asian artist to be signed to iconic hip-hop label, Rawkus Records. Having spent 13 years absorbing American English, culture and gaining a wealth of experience as an MC in New York, Kojoe developed his distinct bilingual approach and skills in rhyming in both English and Japanese. Since returning to Japan in 2009, Kojoe has established himself as one of Japan’s most influential and celebrated voices in hip-hop.

He has collaborated with many artists in Aisia including 5.L.A.C.K, Rudeboi Face, Big Joe and Seeda, as well as international artists such Raekwon, Talib Kweli and Styles P.

Hikaru - MC

Hikaru Tanaka is a rapper from Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture. Strongly influenced by 00's underground and abstract hip hop, his career began in 2016 following his first solo release "ECHO CHAMBER" with producers LIBRO, BUGSEED, Meiso and others. Lyrically, Tanaka specializes in a technical chop-flow style, with an emphasis on poetry drawn from the perspective of the working class. In addition, his live performances incorporate the use of samplers and effects to disassemble and reconstruct his own songs, interweaving with freestyles and improvisation. Hikaru’s ability to expand the musical possibilities of hip-hop are evident in his work with Namboku Records in his role as Mc and composer for ‘Hold, Re-sample Quartet’, dedicated to creating new ways of incorporating live sampling and free improvisation with saxophonist Yoshimoto Akihiro and trombonist Haruta Nanami. His collaboration with experimental beat maker FKD ‘Dry Echoes’ achieved great critical acclaim in the 2021 debut, with Digel Magazine saying “It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the unique approach to hip-hop that the two musicians create is one of a kind”.

Aaron Choulai – composer & featured artist

Aaron Choulai is an award winning and critically acclaimed pianist and composer whose work is recognised as innovating new directions in jazz, hip-hop and improvised music. From large scale multi-media cross-cultural festival commissions. to Japanese hip-hop beat tapes, Choulai’s career spans over 20 years, crossing international borders and intersections between genre and culture. Choulai commenced the role as Artistic Director of the Australian Art Orchestra in 2023.