Parallel Traces of the Jewel Voice 平行的玉音軌 [Vinyl]

有著實驗 / 即興音樂家、策展人、製作人多重身份的日本藝術家 DJ Sniff 花費了三年的時間與台南聲音藝術單位「聽說 Ting Shuo hear say」合作、計畫，收集台灣、日本於戰後的採訪、錄音等... 聲音作為素材並與即興音樂家進行錄音，其中包括第二次世界大戰末日本天皇首次聲音廣播於大眾的「停戰詔書 / 玉音放送」，以及中文版口讀。

黑膠兩面僅有一面有聲音，另一面印上了兩條線，即是 DJ Sniff 在原始音源上使用的軌跡，內頁則編寫了將近十頁的計劃文本紀錄，裡頭回顧了 DJ Sniff 在台灣老人社區的相遇故事，他們說著流暢的日文，並分享了他們的童年故事以及喜歡的音樂。


Parallel Traces of the Jewel Voice by dj sniff is a project that takes inspiration from historical narratives and personal memories constructed around The Jewel Voice Broadcast (Gyokuon Hoso) that took place on August 15 of 1945. Contrary to common belief, Emperor Hirohito did not speak live on air to announce the surrender of Japan on this day. Instead, two lathe-cut discs with his recorded voice were skillfully mixed and played by NHK engineer Shizuto Haruna. Harunas proto-DJ/turntablist performance was heard not only in Japan but also throughout the colonized territories in Asia, marking the end of World War II and Japanese rule.



Interested in these aspects which often have been overlooked within the Japanese narratives of this historical event, dj sniff conducted research in both Taiwan and Japan. Over the course of 3 years he collected various materials that include; interviews and field recordings, audio samples extracted from phonograph discs and recordings sessions with improvising musicians, and a re-reading of the Imperial Rescript on Surrender in Chinese. These were used to compose two compositions that are paired differently depending on their distribution format.

The vinyl release is a multi-sided disc with two parallel grooves cut on one side, which in effect plays a different composition depending on where the stylus is cued. The other side has no audio but features two silkscreened lines that refer to how Haruna played the original lathe-cut discs. For the digital release, each composition is independently assigned to the left and right channel and is heard simultaneously.

Additionally, an extensive text written by dj sniff accompanies this release. Sniff uncovers technical details of the recording and broadcasting of the emperor voice that took place over 75 years ago. He also reflects on his encounters with the elderly community in Taiwan who spoke fluent Japanese and shared their personal stories after listening together to records from their childhood.