J.C. Schütz. blog. watching the mud settle.2010-09-08T11:10:05ZJohan Christher SchutzCopyright 2010, Johan Christher SchutzSPHPBLOGAugust 9 some critics claimed that it ignored the atrocities of japan before the bombing, and just focused on a japanese family, some even saying that Kurosawa had made an anti-american movie. actually, the old woman in the movie, who lost her husband 45 years earlier, because the bomb, she says several times that she is not bitter or angry at the usa, she blames the war itself, not a specific nation. and i believe that the fact that the story tells of a family, gives authenticity to the movie, as they were not involved in any war-crimes themselves. this movie is about a family, not about the history of wars in asia.
however, we see the movie from her grandchildren's perspective, which gives the movie some kind of distance, despite the strong theme. Kurosawa was one of the best directors of all times, but this is unfortunately not one of his best movies. one reviewer whose name slipped my mind, called it a "sketch".
but it's a strong movie, with the old lady struggling with her own memories and her uncaring children as she takes care of her grandchildren who are staying with her as their parents have gone to Hawaii to visit a rich relative, played by Richard Gere. He does a good job speaking japanese. when american actors speak japanese it sounds usually very fluffy and childish, but i think he does a good job.
sorry, but i couldn't find a subtitled trailer:
i'm glad to know that Gere is also a buddhist and a true humanitarian soul. he was probably very happy to work with Akira Kurosawa, in a story about forgiving and learning from the past, in this movie that was one of Kurosawa's last.
today my thoughts are with the survivors and relatives after the Nagasaki bombing in 1945.
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100809-0905572010-08-09T00:00:00Z2010-08-09T00:00:00ZAugust 6today, AUGUST 6, it's 65 years ago since the devastating bomb over HIROSHIMA. i read in the swedish daily news (www.dn.se) that today was the first time that usa, great britain and france sent representants to the memorial ceremony in hiroshima.
65 years without sending representants? i thought you won the war. perhaps some respect for the hundreds of thousands of victims would have been appropiate before.
however, it was about time.
today, the world has the total capacity of 150,000 atomic bombs. every year, billions of dollars, euro, pounds, or whatever the currency, are put to produce weapons, mines, bombs, etc etc etc.
but why?
because it's part of the economy. because it's good business. because we make money from the sales. because we only care about ourselves. because we think with our wallets and not with our hearts.
maybe i'm naive, but what's the problem? why can't we respect eachother? why can't we help eachother? people die every second because they have no food. and we put our money into weapons.
there's a serious intelligence meltdown. i'm waiting for the PEACE & LOVE revolution.
but august 6 is also a day with positive connotations, because it's my girlfriend's birthday!
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y , min älskling ! ! !
i hope some bird will sing for you in my place.
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100806-1028182010-08-06T00:00:00Z2010-08-06T00:00:00ZNew songs.....as i've got plenty of new songs written, i will post something here during the next few weeks. it's all just early pre-production samples, but it will give you an idea of the sound.
i'm currently working on two projects - my fourth album with 9 or 10 songs, and the musical, which will include more than 25 songs. the musical songs are not finished, but my aim is to finish them during this year.
so, for the curious, what about the sound, what about the style of music?
my next album is influenced by 70's soul, and most songs are very melody-based, with easily recognizable chorus parts. i've tried some of them live, and many people really loved them.
as for the musical, the style is not at all influenced by bossa nova. there is some strong world music influences, and as musical songs should be they are focusing on the lyrics and melodies. the style is a little different from song to song, because each song is expressing certain feelings or action in the story, but some people will call them 'pop songs'.
i don't know. i'm just the composer, don't ask me to put the labels ;)
of the music from all the musicals i have heard, it strikes me that the songs themselves, which should be the main part, are often very weak. therefore i have been putting a lot of effort in writing the melodies.
so, yes, it's two years since i recorded C'EST LA VIE. but i have been writing more than 30 new songs during this 'silence'.
and if you ask me, it's 30 of the best songs i have ever made! more than ever before, i have had the feeling that i am just a collector of the songs; i tune in to the right frequency and listen. then, i try to put them down on paper. most of the time, each song can take weeks to get right.
and then, one day, with a feeling of complete satisfaction, i can sit back and smile. then, very often, a small tear of thankfulness also brims in my eye as my heart is overwhelmed by the emotion of hearing a new song which i can barely understand myself how it came to life.
i never understood inspiration. it's something out of this world.
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100803-2038212010-08-03T00:00:00Z2010-08-03T00:00:00ZBlog updatei've just updated my blog, with a new look, and a partly re-organized structure.
in the menu on the right you can see CATEGORIES, now also including MOVIES, OTHERS and a special category for everything regarding my japan experiences and visits, obviously called JAPAN.
i have also re-organized ALL posts (from the start of this blog) so they are easier to find, as some posts never had a category at all. that's fixed now. only some small posts are still un-categorized, so only the really curious person can find them =)
i hope you like the new black and green "bamboo" look. as always, let me know what you think.
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100801-1243172010-08-01T00:00:00Z2010-08-01T00:00:00ZTokyo radio: J-Waveyesterday i had a wonderful surprise.
a friend in Tokyo heard my song "Passion" on her favourite radio station, J-WAVE, and told me about it in an email. it was a coincidence, as she was just home for a short time on her day off, and during that short time they played my song. i was very happy!
here comes the funny part - the host and DJ of the show, Rachel, also sent me an email, inviting me to join her show next time i come to japan!
=)
i performed 3 songs live at J-WAVE in 2007. it was the first time i was in Japan - the second day, after four hours of sleep after 2 evening gigs the night before, and enjoying my life's first jetlag, i did my first japanese radio performance.
with the view from the radio studio in Roppongi overlooking all of Tokyo that lovely sunny november day, it is a memory for life.
i'm very glad to be able to visit J-WAVE again. "Rendez-vous" is a daily program, monday to thursday at 81.3 FM hosted by Rachel Chan. maybe you can hear it online if you're not in japan. i enter their website sometimes and listen to their podcasts. it's good practice for my japanese, and of course they play lots of good music!
next time, maybe i'll even be able to answer some questions in japanese =)
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100730-2143102010-07-30T00:00:00Z2010-07-30T00:00:00ZCranethe Tokyo paper crane reached the Swedish summer skies.....
photo taken about 22:30, the skies are still not dark....
this is the music of today, japanese singer/songwriter YUICHI OHATA:
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100714-2109372010-07-14T00:00:00Z2010-07-14T00:00:00ZConcert photosi've just received lovely photos from my gig with YOSHINARI NAKAMATSU at Daikanyama Loop in Tokyo (June 13th).
there's a live recording from this gig, which will be broadcast on a japanese internet radio channel sometime in August. i'll make another post with updates.
all photos by Sunao Honda.
honto ni, awesome photographer, ne!?
before....
me and yoshi during the gig....
with the band....
jun.
ruy.
shinya.
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100714-1942412010-07-14T00:00:00Z2010-07-14T00:00:00ZDalälventhis weeked i visited my aunt's family and my grandmother, and we spent a lovely saturday at my aunt's cabin in the "river" of Dalälven, about one hour north of stockholm.
i post some photos here to share the spectacular scenery.
almost 30 degrees warm in the air, i sat down to rest, but fell asleep after 5 minutes.
the sun began to set in the distance.
as there is no electricty on the island, we went back to land when the sun set and the mosquitoes arrived. we returned in the same way as we got there - by boat.
steering a boat for the first time in his life - my nephew Anthon did a great job!
actually we took an extra cruise to try to spot some beavers, but we didn't have any luck.
but there were LOTS of mosquitoes. i got about 30 bites in 2 days...
self-portrait.
here you clearly see the currents in the water in front of the boat.
peaceful
.....
coming back to land, the boat made a beautiful turn in the water, perfecting this last photo.
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100712-0005502010-07-12T00:00:00Z2010-07-12T00:00:00ZLast thoughts on Japan, for this time
so...
i'm back in sweden after a hectic last week in kobe, kyoto, osaka, himeji and tokyo (all at once!), and for once i could actually sleep on the plane. I actually fell asleep before the plane had left japanese ground!
but the skies were crying when i left ;)
the 27th's live performance with TAISUKE TSUGIMATSU was really wonderful, BAR MUSIC was sold out and the atmosphere was great. many people said they thought the night was ”magic” or ”miraculous”, and i think that especially the 4 songs i performed together with Taisuke went really great.
we did my song ”passion”, TAISUKE's song ”natsu no numa”, HIROMI UEHARA's song ”green tea farm” (taisuke played lovely piano and i performed my first song ever in Japanese!) and BOB MARLEY's ”waiting in vain”:
my last 2 days in tokyo was great, but as always time goes too fast. monday evening i experienced a private HANABI (fireworks) session in a park in naka-meguro with Taisuke, Hiroko and Toru. later i went to shibuya to have a last drink with Masa and Gen, drummer and guitarist from FROG. i went back to gakugei daigaku at midnight and when i got there my clothes were SOAKING WET. i guess it was the most humid and hot day so far in tokyo - around 31-32 degrees and a humidity that stuck your clothes like glue to your body.
taisuke and me preparing the miniature fireworks... i love the fact that "hana" means Flower and "bi" Fire.
i've had several life-altering experiences this my fourth time in japan. i've initiated several collaborations with musicians in tokyo and really think something great will come out of it all.
last week i also met japanese NIHONGA artist MASAKO KUROKAWA, and after a tempura lunch with her and her husband, novelist HIROYUKI KUROKAWA, we went back to their house where i could see many of Masako's lovely paintings of maikos and japanese young women, sketches and drawings. the reason i wanted to meet her was to see if she can make the artwork for my coming MUSICAL album, for which i am now composing the songs. i really think we can have a good collaboration.
while still in tokyo i was lucky to find a NOH theatre workshop in english, which gave a brief but really perfect introduction to the art of Noh, so i could better understand the performance i had long planned to see. both tokyo and kyoto have Noh theatres, but i chose the tokyo one. NOH is really a wonderful artform, like all japanese traditional arts it's refined to perfection. the expression of the masks which seem to change depending on the angle of the actors head. i want to include some small, scenic elements of Noh in my musical, so i will try not to break any rules hahaha
one of the most peaceful places i have experienced in japan, together with the temple at MOUNT SHOSHA, was KOKO-EN - the japanese gardens next to HIMEJI CASTLE. the incredibly beuatiful, big parks really washed away all stress and worries from my city soul.
i have really improved my japanese during my stay. some of my friends barely speak no english, so it leaves no other choice than to understand eachother in japanese. i have been introduced to new japanese music, and often listen to music in japanese now.
since my first visit in japan, in 2007, i really felt at home with everything, and maybe i am destined to live in japan. the last month, many threads have crossed as if to bring me back as soon as possible. many people say that my music is very well suited for a japanese audience, and i always get a wonderful welcome by the audience wherever i perform.
from the live performance at Roman Records Cafe.
and the (vietnamese?) lunch close to Gakugei Daigaku station. of course, without meat ;)
me and three members of FROG - Reiji, Gen and Masa.
Toyono, me, and Yoichi Okabe, at Praca Onze.
at NARITA airport (tokyo) i found this funny sign outside the gate:
To "samurai" - no sword allowed into aircraft.
To business person of the world - sharp objects are prohibited on board except for your sharp brains.
=)
new doors have opened and i may return to tokyo already this autumn. i was really sad to go back to sweden.
passing through stockholm...
this weekend i went to a wedding party outside of Älmhult (south sweden), a wonderful party, and i'm happy for Anna and Anders and wish you a continued happy life together!
when i went to bed at 3:30 in the morning, the sun was about to rise over the lake. a very peaceful scenery.
the day after, i was completely exhausted and fell asleep on the beach. when i woke up, i had company by some tired ducks. they were quite friendly though.
after all, sweden is SO BEAUTIFUL in the summer. just check these blue and yellow fields i photographed yesterday.
it's time for relaxation and "recharging" of batteries.
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100705-1900502010-07-05T00:00:00Z2010-07-05T00:00:00ZYoutube clipsi'm back in sweden, but will update my state of mind in a few days, i just want to post these youtube clips from last sunday's gig with Taisuke Tsugimatsu and me. for just having rehearsed all songs twice, i think we did a helluva job, and many in the audience called it "magic" or "miraculous". both taisuke and me want to do more gigs and collaborations together, so we'll see when that can be.
here are the clips:
NATSU NO NUMA - taisuke's amazingly beautiful song, i join him for some lines (in japanese).
GREEN TEA FARM - hiromi ueharas lovely song, i sing it completely in japanese. the first time for me, but i think i did pretty well, according to the audience's reaction hahaha....
PASSION - my "japan hit", here in a special "Bar Music" (name of the venue) version, including Fujii Toshimitsu on percussion.
WAITING IN VAIN - bob marley's song, that i never liked until i heard Taisuke's piano version that he has also recorded on the album "Long Conte" (it makes me angry that many japanese albums are never available for digital sales in the west!!!!). here i sing and Taisuke plays the piano part, and Fujii plays "congas" on a wooden chair =) - taisuke's piano part is very beautiful.
and until next time i will have time to learn the lyrics hahaha
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100702-0812532010-07-02T00:00:00Z2010-07-02T00:00:00ZJapan timei wish i could have more time to write about my experiences here, but the days are just not long enough... this week i've experienced wonderful things in himeji, kobe, kyoto and osaka, and i really want to write about everything, so i'll try to make some proper posts when i get back to sweden next week.
japan time goes very fast.
tonight (after midnight!) i perform live at the MUSIQUE DESSINEE party at the club DER KITEN in kobe, and tomorrow morning i go back to tokyo, because tomorrow night i have a gig at shibuya BAR MUSIC with Taisuke Tsugimatsu.
the distance between kobe and tokyo is about 600 kilometers, so i'm looking forward to three (resting) hours on the shinkansen.
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100626-0326132010-06-26T00:00:00Z2010-06-26T00:00:00ZKobeyesterday i came to KOBE, and i stay in a very very very very very small hotel room near sannomiya station. the room has a bed and.... not so much more. i can barely open my suitcase on the floor, because there's no space.
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100622-0850472010-06-22T00:00:00Z2010-06-22T00:00:00ZShigeru Umebayashithis week i met film music composer SHIGERU UMEBAYASHI for the first time. i was very glad to realize that Ume-san and i have a similar way of thinking and similar opinions about many things.
i like Ume's music very much, and he has written music for some really great movies, such as HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE and last year's A SINGLE MAN.
as i am composing songs for a musical now - and i want to use japanese instruments such as shakuhachi, koto and taiko drums, and the chinese erhu - Ume pointed out a very important thing:
many musicians of these traditional instruments have a strictly traditional way of playing (intonation, feeling, etc) and may therefore not be suited to play on recordings where a "western" type of melody and feeling is required - such as in my musical.
we joked about finding a "punk koto player" who is not bound to tradition. Ume knows some of the best shakuhachi players in the world, and promised to introduce me to them at a later point, for the future recording of my musical (next year?).
Ume-san, i am really happy to make your aquaintance, and look forward to seeing you again.
many lovely paintings by Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat, Toulose Lautrec etc etc, made a big impression on me.
but suddenly a quiet painting by Picasso surprised me unexpectedly. it kind of spoke to my heart:
it's a highly recommendable exhibition, but it leaves your senses quite tired, at least if you're open to the expression of these brilliant european artists.
this lovely little flying bird with a message has nothing to do with post-impressionism but i include it because i like it. it gives me good vibrations.
yesterday's theme music was:
CLAMMBON
and
KIRINJI
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100617-0336052010-06-17T00:00:00Z2010-06-17T00:00:00ZMobile photosi have been very busy lately and not written so much here, sorry!
here are some mobile photos which i realize are most of food and meals of different kinds... maybe that's what Tokyo is about at the moment, between the music and the meetings - gorgeous food with wonderful people.
the picture on the right was taken early in the morning, maybe during the weekend. electric cables and blue sky. humid air and sticky skin. the rainy season has begun now, but actually today the weather is fine (so far).....
i'll be in Tokyo until monday, when i take a trip to the west - Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. maybe i can squeeze in another visit to Himeji where my friends run a cafe - Nakamura's HUMMOCK CAFE where i have performed live two times. actually i met Mr and Mrs Nakamura last week in Tokyo on a private party. i was the "surprise guest" and after the lovely dinner (cooked by Eri) i performed a couple of request songs - Passion, I'm Here and I guess it's ok. Yoshiko posted them on youtube, so please watch them when you have a moment: PASSION I'M HERE I GUESS IT'S OK
after grinding the coffee beans, Mr Nakamura slowly adds the hot water. a real coffee master!
another night of delicious cooking by Eri (TOTOSK CAFE)
a special pasta and dessert collaboration by Hiro and Eri.
glico CAFE AU LAIT icecream for the dessert, presented by Mr Yoshimoto.
last week's live performance at BAR CACOI.
BAR CACOI has lovely food and drinks! 1: shrimp/tofu sallad. 2: carefully boiled organic vegetables.
3: croquet with a tasty little salad at the side.
here's a photo i took of Taisuke Tsugimatsu in may, the first time i heard him live. the picture is really expressing the cosmic touch i could feel through his music.
friday (18th) i perform live at ROMAN RECORDS CAFE. they also have delicious food, here's a tasty pizza i tried last weekend.
"everyone can do it better than me" was the cute excuse with which i received this white origami crane, quickly folded between lunch and a caffe latte. i can't even fold an aeroplane, so i was very happy for this gift!
dinner at a small cosy restaurant in Naka-Meguro. this is the kitchen wall, seen from the counter where we were sitting.
one of the shared courses, gorgeous thin slices of fish.
a modern, cosy "izakaya" with great food, drinks and jazzy music.
finally, i just have to include the STOP button which you see in all the buses.
tomarimasu!
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100616-0331312010-06-16T00:00:00Z2010-06-16T00:00:00ZSpecial Tokyo gig on JUNE 27th, i'll do a very special live performance together with TAISUKE TSUGIMATSU (vocals/piano).
i am really looking forward to this night!
Music is my passion 6/27 BAR MUSIC Shibuya, Tokyo [Live] TAISUKE TSUGIMATSU JOHAN CHRISTHER SCHÜTZ [DJs] Toru Hashimoto, Yuzuru and Tomoaki Nakamura!!!
For ticket reservation, please call Bar Music at the number at the bottom of the page.
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100615-0104212010-06-15T00:00:00Z2010-06-15T00:00:00ZGood morning, Tokyoi often have breakfast or lunch at LE CAFE MAMIE, just one minute from my apartment. it's the cafe where i heard my song "PASSION" the second day i was here! i was really surprised, and the staff and owner as well. Tae-chan who creates the cafe's music playlists have a really good taste in music (always great music!), and the food and coffee she makes is also cho- oishii!
le-cafemamie.com ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100606-0024382010-06-06T00:00:00Z2010-06-06T00:00:00ZLast gig with FROG memberslast night i played live at SHIBUYA ECHO together with the members from FROG again. i was very happy to do these two gigs with you guys. Honto ni arigatou!!!
photos by Aono Rie. arigatou!
AONO RIE also performed with her new band, and i was very glad to be invited to sing two songs together with them.
photo by Koide Yukimi. arigatou!
and MASA did fantastic DJ:ing, so did KINK and many more! here's a pic i took of masa:
thank you all for a great night!
=) ]]>http://blog.johanchristherschutz.net/index.php?entry=entry100605-0616162010-06-05T00:00:00Z2010-06-05T00:00:00ZYoyogi Park
yesterday i had a MIRACLE day in sunny tokyo with lovely company.
starting with a long lunch at Apres Midi in Shibuya, and then taking the short walk to the beautiful YOYOGI PARK which i had never seen before. it's such a lovely park!!! the sun was slowly setting over tokyo as we sat on a bench by the fountain, talking and laughing in the middle of two broken languages.
a metal-blue bird passing above, an angry black crow came asking for food, people practicing musical instruments under the trees, people walking dogs.
a peaceful oasis. life never stops surprising me. and every day i see how everything is connected. 7 years old discovering a passion, and now the same passion takes me across the world and lets me deeply understand the beauty of walking this planet with an open heart.
nothing is strange. everything is possible. la vie est un miracle.
after a really lovely, long weekend, i visited another live performance of TAISUKE TSUGIMATSU yesterday in asakusa, and i met up with taisuke and hiroko in the late afternoon.
after some quick sightseeing and a lazy yakisoba at a small cafe we went to the live house in central asakusa to listen to taisuke's piano and vocal performance.
why are the noodles so L-O-N-G when you have to eat them with chopsticks? wouldn't it be easier to make them short!?
view from the bar.
later, we went to BAR MUSIC in shibuya, Tomoaki Nakamura's new place. DJ - the great Toru Hashimoto. i was surprised to be able to dance and sing together with everyone in my own song "Passion" =)
after closing time, we went to have dinner (as we hadn't eaten for all evening), but the meal turned out to be more of a breakfast....
thank you Toru for bringing me together with one of the world's best songwriters. and Taisuke - i am looking forward to seeing you again and do some collaboration.
the 27th's live performance with TAISUKE TSUGIMATSU was really wonderful, BAR MUSIC was sold out and the atmosphere was great. many people said they thought the night was ”magic” or ”miraculous”, and i think that especially the 4 songs i performed together with Taisuke went really great. 
;)
;)
many lovely paintings by Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat, Toulose Lautrec etc etc, made a big impression on me. ;)
i have been very busy lately and not written so much here, sorry! 
on JUNE 27th, i'll do a very special live performance together with TAISUKE TSUGIMATSU (vocals/piano). 
i often have breakfast or lunch at LE CAFE MAMIE, just one minute from my apartment. it's the cafe where i heard my song "PASSION" the second day i was here! i was really surprised, and the staff and owner as well. Tae-chan who creates the cafe's music playlists have a really good taste in music (always great music!), and the food and coffee she makes is also cho- oishii!
