Shobus Diary

I’d like to draw your attention to a most extraordinary tour that’s going on in Japan right now, and being blogged in an excellent collective blog. Shobus Diary documents Shobo Shobo artists O.lamm, Domotic, Davide Balula, and Minifer’s “Shoboshobus / Mobium Japan Tour 2005″. (Ishida Daisuke is the Japanese host.) Since these are highly original people, this is a bit different from your average rock or laptop tour. Instead of concert halls, the French artists have opted to busk. They’ve built portable speakers which hang from their necks, each one supporting a laptop. They’re playing on the roofs of buildings, at the Tsukiji fish market, in malls and car parks, anywhere. The blog is brilliant, and expanding rapidly with photos, sounds and videos. The Shoboshobus are quite aware of the problematical issues their guerilla tactics raise about disruption, noise pollution and their status as guests in Japan. There’s a lot of noise pollution in Japan already, but it tends to be in commercial or industrial areas; areas zoned for residence are hushed. Rehearsals on the roof of Yahiro Factory, where the Shoboshobus are staying, were stopped, for instance, when an employee of the Austin Mini dealership next door shouted that he couldn’t stand it any more.