Yoshi-hiko SHIMIZU

In 1925, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) began Japan’s first radio broadcast. NHK was experimenting with art forms designed purely for the ear, such as radio dramas. In 1930, the radiophonic piece “Eight Views of Summer” was broadcast. This work contained almost no dialogue and was composed entirely of imitative sounds (sound effects) using unique instruments. This work attempted to transmit a fictional soundscape of a Japanese summer to the public via radio waves. NHK did not have recording equipment in 1930, so no recordings of the live broadcast of “Eight Views of Summer” survive. Based on the synopsis of "Eight Views of Summer", two composers attempted to recreate the work from a contemporary perspective. Tomonari Higaki composed musique concrète using AI-generated sounds, and Yoshihiko Shimizu composed his work using field recording techniques. The 2025 version of “Eight Views of Summer” can be seen as a work that reaffirms the 100-year history of media performance, during which broadcasting media have explored the world of sound.