Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers
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Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers

Lanark, Scotland, United Kingdom | SELF

Lanark, Scotland, United Kingdom | SELF
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Music

Press


"Aberdeen Press & Journal"

Almost spiritual…the energy exhibited by the performers was thrilling to behold. - Aberdeen Press & Journal


"fRoots Magazine"

In the hands of Mugenkyo, Japanese taiko drumming becomes a totality, taking in everything from music to performance… Rules were made to be broken, and Mugenkyo do it with panache, not only with their costumes and startling choreography, but also the drums themselves.. - fRoots Magazine


"Avant Jazz Magazine"

To play this music you need to be seriously dedicated, not just to its musical disciplines but absolutely physically fit. This is not music for wimps. A tour de force of both music and stamina…
If the tour bus is parked in your neighbourhood my advice is go to the gig and don't take the cotton wool.
- Avant Jazz Magazine


"The Stafford Sentinel"

A display of drumming that would have left poor Ringo breathless. Martial arts met musicianship with intricately choreographed and hugely dramatic routines. The performers showed not only mastery of the instruments but immense physical fitness. It takes strength and stamina to play some of these drums, particularly the massive Odaiko drum that dominates the stage. The real surprise is the flexibility of these instruments which were both moody, sensitive, hypnotic and rousing.
It was electrifying stuff and hugely appreciated by a lively audience. For virtuoso drumming, this was hard to beat. - The Stafford Sentinel


"Edinburgh Evening News"

(5 stars) If ever there was a musical incarnation of raw physical power, Taiko drumming has to be it. Mugenkyo have brought their energetic Taiko performance to Edinburgh, receiving whoops of joy from its audiences. Taiko drumming is as much a physical spectacle as an aural one; the drummers use calculated, disciplined movements... Your whole body begins to reverberate as the soft patter of raindrops grows into a deep rumble. Just when you think it could not get any more powerful, it doubles in intensity.
This show is not one to be missed.
- Edinburgh Evening News


"The Herald"

This latest show is something else. It is, unashamedly, drumming as theatre, but also drumming as an almost religious experience… exhilarating to behold. Even if you've seen them before, you'll be gobsmacked. - The Herald


"The Stage"

Mugenkyo perform Taiko with manifest skill and awesome relentless energy. Having learned the ancient drumming techniques from Japanese master Kurumaya [Mugenkyo] showcases its musical presentation in totally modern style, making the esoteric thoroughly pop. Splendidly exploiting the theatrical potential of their intensely forceful drumming and mesmeric heat of the rhythm, they leap from drum to drum, dance around them with mini cymbals and handbells, and strike vivid gestures with choreographed force…Mugenkyo sustains its appeal right to the climax, winning thunderous applause. - The Stage


"The Scotsman"

" ???? The members of Mugenkyo, Europe's only professional Taiko drumming group, perform with what seems an unlikely combination of reckless abandon and metronome-like precision. Armed with wooden sticks, they whack their drums - which range from small, bowl-sized instruments to others the size of boulders - in a combination of synchronised movements reminiscent of tai chi. But there is nothing tai chi-like about the sound: a heady, relentless and rigid beat over which complex counter-rhythms are steadily added. From a soft pitter-pattering evocative of a slight rainfall to a thundering, eardrum-bursting shudder loud enough to wake the gods, these musicians display a remarkable control, with not a beat out of place anywhere." - The Scotsman


Discography

1997 Mugenkyo (CD)
2004 Ten (CD)
2007 One Vibration (DVD)
2009 Era (CD)
2010 Celebration (DVD + live CD)
2013 Eternal Return (CD)
2013 Document Live (DVD)

Photos

Bio

Mugenkyo are the UK’s foremost taiko group, with over 1,000 performances worldwide since 1994, primarily touring a full-length theatre concert.

Television appearances include: BBC Last Night of the Proms and Brit Awards. Cross-genre collaborations include: “World of Gods” with Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (2010), “Yatra” with bagpipes, tabla, fiddle, harp (2009), with electronic dance artist Kenji Williams at the Glastonbury Festival (2007), and a tour with Hanayui, from Kodo of Sado Island (2005).

On their 2012 Japan tour, Mugenkyo represented European Taiko at Japan’s leading festival “Extasia” and a 20th anniversary concert in Fukui, where the group founders originally trained.