Chris Cobilis (Australia) + special guest Kouhei Harada

With a musical vocabulary stretching from the spartanly abstract to the hauntingly beautiful, Chris Cobilis approaches his art with abundant pop sensibility, yet incorporating a fine sense of composition for some truly fine music. In addition to collaborations and performances with the likes of Jon Rose, Ikue Mori and Taiwanese composer Kueiju Lin, he also performs solo and with longtime indie rockers The Tigers on his home turf in Perth, Australia.

Since 2006 his musical activities have become a worldwide pursuit, with performances in the UK, US, Taiwan, Greece, France and Japan. Although this is not his first (nor last, we expect) time touring Japan, it is a rare chance to see Mr. Cobilis live and in person.

Chris Cobilis

Kouhei Harada

zAwAvAtA (Ryusaku 'Rutang' Ikezawa + Ryuta Kawabata)

It's been a year or so since I've had a chance to wax poetic about Ryuta Kawabata and it's long overdue. Since coming back from his South American tour (where he subsequently had all of his gear stolen, and played bare-bones unamplified electric guitar at times), he was hard at work on a DVD+CD set, entitled phenomenon, information. Not only is this mind-blowingly good, it is also offered as a free download (!) from his myspace page.

The DVD contains a mixture of multimedia and performance work, one in particular being a collaboration with bent-genius drummer Ryusaku 'Rutang' Ikezawa, which took place at the legendary East Tokyo loft space Highti at the end of 2008. These two are now back in a unit called zAwAvAtA, which will pit Kawabata's austere 'blues' guitar with Ikezawa's extraordinary inventiveness. Come along to watch them drive forward into the great unexplored.

Ryuta Kawabata

Ryusaku 'Rutang' Ikezawa

Martijn Tellinga (Netherlands)

Dutch composer Martijn Tellinga explores engaging ways in which the sonic arts can effect listeners, action and environment. His vanguard studies have taken him around the globe, collaborating with architects, filmmakers, musicians and artists working in a wide range of media. Using algorithms, acoustics, space and movement, much of his work looks at how the sonic observer picks through emerging information, while at the same time trying to engage their imagination as a listening participant. As an artist-in-residence at Tokyo's Youkobo Art Space, Martijn will spend the month introducing his work to new audiences in performance and lectures.

On this evening, Martijn joins Test Tone for a multichannel performance that guarantees to be both gripping and immersive.

Martijn Tellinga

Evil Penguin

Master of disguises, Mexican top-hats, ambient rockabilly to minimal Hawaiian Kumulipo chants, the Evil Penguin poses the primordial question of evanescence against a backdrop of New Wave folk. Celebratory, subliminal, moment-to-moment. A Tasmanian treasure with a penchant for open spaces.