Misono Universe and the Acoustic Preservation of Buildings

Everywhere you go in Japan, old buildings are being demolished for economic reasons (though some are, of course, due to aging). Even for historically and culturally valuable sites, the tide of redevelopment is relentless. Even the Shibuya Bunka-mura Studio, which used natural wood, was easily torn down (fortunately, the building itself remains). I understand that running a recording studio in a prime location in Shibuya is not economically efficient when you consider the floor space. However, when I think about the fact that such a wonderful studio can never be built again, I let out a deep sigh—what a loss.

There is also a decline in demand, so as mentioned earlier, it is unavoidable in the case of commercial studios. Perhaps it is not so much a reduction in budget as it is a polarization of scale and budget. Wealth and opportunity are unevenly distributed according to sales. I imagine that the thickness of the middle tier was what supported studios of this scale. The number of sessions from a handful of top musicians is not enough time to fill such studios.

Equipment and music are constantly changing, and even in just 20 years, the changes in the field have been dizzying, and more creators are completing music without using studios. Since the effort to create interesting music with the equipment and skills at hand has also changed music from the bottom up, it is also true that large studios are not the only "music culture." It cannot be said that prioritizing the protection of such places is fair cultural preservation.

Apart from the trends of the times, each studio has its own reasons for closing, so I cannot generalize. However, I heard locally that the owner of RAK STUDIO in London, which was built in an area like a high-end residential district in Tokyo, though not as commercial as Shibuya, is protecting it. The idea is that while it may not be profitable, they cannot bring themselves to destroy a historic studio. I cannot make a simple comparison, of course, but to be honest, I felt envious.

I began to feel uncomfortable just standing by and watching this situation. When I thought about what I could do, the simplest solution would be to buy them out, but sadly, I don't have that kind of financial power. That's when I came up with the idea of whether it would be possible to record and preserve the buildings that are disappearing as acoustic data.

A few years ago, when the Greenbird studio in Shinjuku (where we also recorded Asian Kung-Fu Generation's 1st album) was closing, volunteer engineers recorded its IR (impulse response). IR is data that shows "how a certain space or system reacts to a momentary sound," and by using this data, you can reproduce reverberation as if you were actually there. It took several years, but it was registered in the presets of music software manufacturers, and it became possible to add the resonance of Greenbird to recorded sounds.

Some people might think they are far removed from such technology, but it is often used in the video field, such as in movies. For example, when a scene switches from outdoors to indoors, the IR data of that building is used for sound adjustment. Unless you choose a resonance with characteristics similar to that place or room and mix it accordingly, conversations in tunnels or caves, for example, will not sound realistic. It can be said that IR is a technology that has been developed and used primarily in movies.

Using such technology, what should we leave behind? What kind of places' resonance should we record and preserve? I have been thinking about this for a long time. When I learned that Misono Universe was closing, I thought about whether I could utilize this technology. During the Misono Universe performance on last year's tour, I was able to record IR data for personal use using my own microphone and speakers. After that, I consulted with engineer Kenichi Koga, and just like with Greenbird, I had him consult with the domestic distributor to see if we could leave the reverberation of Misono Universe as official data within the software called "Altiverb."

Thanks to the hard work, the day after Misono Universe closed, although the announcement was delayed by one day, on July 7th, it was officially announced that Misono Universe had been added to the presets of "Altiverb 8." I would also like to thank Mr. Ogura of Formula Audio, who negotiated with AUDIO EASE, and Mr. Takehara, the manager of Misono Universe, who cooperated with the recording. And to all the engineers listed in the credits below. It was a job that could not have been achieved without them.

The preservation of acoustic characteristics itself is a subject of interest for sound geeks and engineers like us, but I hope that through these activities, people will understand that what is lost when a building is destroyed is also the building's resonance. That a place of memories had the resonance of that place along with the memories. That is lost along with the building.

The meaning of losing a studio built specifically for resonance is very significant for people like us who have an interest in it or work in recording. Also, in the studio construction in Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, which I have been working on recently, I am learning in real-time that acquiring such resonance costs a huge amount of money. It is very difficult even with new construction. And no matter how much money you pour into it, you cannot perfectly reproduce the acoustic characteristics that have changed over time. There is also the rise in material costs, but that resonance contains value that cannot be measured in money.

I would like to continue the acoustic preservation activities of places that will be lost in the future (including casual places like the living room of a friend's house who is moving). Considering the rental of equipment and travel expenses, it is not an easy task, but while enjoying it, as a kind of raising of an issue, I would like to record the acoustics that are lost or damaged and open them up to everyone who can use them. It is a project of handing down resonance, from cultural heritage to records as folklore.

The resonance of the earthen storehouse in Fujieda before construction has also been preserved. I hope to be able to deliver this to you in some way eventually as well.