NGA JIWA
NGA JIWA was a performing ensemble that used microtonal constructed instruments and found percussion objects. A sort of music-based performance art, each event was a costumed tribal ritual inspired by gamelon, Harry Partch, industrial music, and Tibetan sky burial. Using micro-tonal pitch structures, and rhythms at times based on odd numbers of beats, the music was both primitive and experimental.
NGA JIWA was essentially Scott Harris's project, but many of his players were drawn from some of the more interesting bands in Chicago Punk. Harris would spend more than 18 months between performances constructing all of the instruments and composing the music. Along with strictly composed sections performances also had structured improvisational sections.
History
Harris built instruments using micro-tonal voicing in a number of forms. Examples include:
- Hammered Dulcimer-like instruments, played with hand carved wooden beaters or picks
- a xylophone made of carefully cut industrial iron tubing, played with orchestra mallets
- a vertical rack of many small tuned drums, played with standard drum sticks
- long horns 15 feet or more in length, played like a bugle
- finely made concert-marimba-like instrument with robustly tuned resonators.
- various stringed instruments
But there were more industrial instruments as well such as;
- "Tank Drums" - 40 gallon fuel tanks suspended with bun-gee cables on a large metal frame, played with tympani beaters, metal posts and metal rods.
- "Sheet Gong" - a single 7' by 4' piece of steel plate similarly mounted n a frame, again played with tympani beaters, metal posts and metal rods.
- "Water Drum - where a larger tub is half filled with water, and then an upside down large bowl is floated on the water, and pressed into the water with varying depths, while playing a single stick rhythm with the other hand. This motion can be modulated to make the drum "talk". At one point near the end of the performance two drummers play fast rolls on the outer tub without the top bowl drum, and the water sprays upward. This was a nice visual effect in the limited lighting (all by candle).
All of the equipment was either constructed or found by Harris.
Earlier Harris was a visual artist, and his skills in this regard were evident in the finely designed posters he made. There were only 2 different pieces, with one performance for the first piece, and two performances on one day for the second piece. Both events took place at Links Hall. The dates noted here are from the actual posters for the events as well as a web page maintained by Michael Zeroing, Founder and Artistic Director of the Links Hall Performance Series.
First Performance
11/23/85 - NGA Jiwa Sextet (Invented Instrument Ensemble)
As noted above this project was lead by builder/composer Scott Harris (AKA Mousetrap and formerly of Terminal Beach and A Mason in Ur) . While Scott built all the instruments and composed the music, many Chicago punk band players participated at one time or another. Bands drawn from include: Da. Terminal Beach, Silent Language, Monads, and others.
(Member list is tentative with info subject to change)
- Scott Harris AKA Mousetrap - Instrument Builder, Composer, Instrumentalist*
- Dave Thomas - Instrumentalist
- Jed Fox - Instrumentalist
- Doug McCombs - Instrumentalist
- Jack Kontney - Instrumentalist
- Philip Galanter - Instrumentalist
Second performance
9/26/87 - music - Nag Aiwa Ensemble Plays The New Musical Instruments of Lang Darma
This program for this performance read "ISU TEH BAKAN HNORI" and then "A creation myth in seven parts". The seven parts are "coming of the thunder spirit", "the flood", "rise of the seven eyes clan", "war of evil spirits", "head-takers dance", "the second flood", "prayer wheels"
- Scott Harris AKA Mousetrap - Instrument Builder, Composer, Instrumentalist*
- Dave Thomas - Instrumentalist
- Jed Fox - Instrumentalist
- Doug McCombs - Instrumentalist
- Jack Kontney - Instrumentalist
- Philip Galanter - Instrumentalist