On their second tour in the United States DRUM TAO once again visited Albuquerque’s Popejoy Hall Friday. Planning to return in 2020, the show drew a crowd that called for an encore.
The group has been on the rise since 2004 with their performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to a 2016 performance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
TAO’s performers are intensely trained in Taketa City in Oita Prefecture of Japan. Director and Executive Producer of the group, Ikuo Fujitaka, told Adrian Turpin of the Independent, "When I formed TAO in 1993, I intended to create the most disciplined company in the world."
TAO uses a variety of source material in its performance most strongly representing the Japanese drumming tradition, taiko. Other Japanese elements are seen in the use of the Japanese bamboo flute, the shinobue, the three-stringed shamisen guitar, the Japanese zither, koto, along with the incorporation of Samurai and other fighting references.
The performance TAO Drum Heart promotes cultural aspects of Japan, winning them the 6th Annual Commissioner Award from the Japanese Tourism Agency.
The tradition of taiko drumming is only the basis of the show, which has absorbed diverse influences from other popular shows like Cirque du Soleil.
Overall TAO Drum Heart explored extremes of register, dynamics, physicality and humor.
During the initial staging, the registral power was reflected in the instruments’ stage placement — two women were on raised blocks playing bamboo flutes with huge drums below.
The titles of specific musical sections included “Samurai of the Ocean” and “White Dragon/Black Dragon.” The costumes clothed humorous characters as well as warriors in a color scheme of black, white and red.
Musical roles were seen with the variety of drum sizes, some big enough to sit on and play and others small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The music was often presented by the leader on a drum or flute before being joined by a slew of instruments. Physically these gestures were also led dramatically with drawn out preparations then a sharp shout to cue in the whole group.
The performance pushed and pulled between intense violent drumming and joyful celebration, moving from austere registral separation to drunken shouting and raucousness.
Aubrie Powell is a culture reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @AubrieMPowell.
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