"When Sounds Emits Scents" Maresuke + Kawol SamarQandi, Kiyomitsu Odai @ 810 OUTFIT café

Maresuke / contrabass
Kawol SamarQandi / guitar, voice
Kiyomitsu Odai / piano

Maresuke, deeply rooted in the realm of improvisation and continuing a sincere musical exchange with musicians both at home and abroad through his rich, resonant tones, and Kawol SamarQandi, who devotes himself wholeheartedly to his own poor music through faltering guitar and a trembling voice—their first musical dialogue has now come to fruition as an album. The performance commemorating this release promises to be a special evening, featuring a rare piano solo by Kiyomitsu Odai. On the edge of a world in utter turmoil, let us share a beautiful moment of music that resonates with fragrance.

biography:

Maresuke /contrabass

Born in Tokyo in 1960.
He began studying piano at age 6, took up the double bass at 14, and became
fascinated with improvisational performance at 17; while attending Seikei University, he left the orchestra to pursue a career as a double bass soloist.
He studied under the late Motoharu Yoshizawa.
He enjoys collaborating with instrumentalists, dancers, and artists who blur the boundaries between instrument and body.
He is the founder of “Dokushoku,” a group centered on solo performers, and
collaborations titled “Hollow Sketches.”
He is also a core member of the collective improvisational group “The Tokyo Improvisation Orchestra.”
In 2011, he shifted the focus of his activities to Europe and began his musical travels.
He has participated in MIA (Portugal), BerlO (Germany),
LIO (England), The Clock Stop Festival (Italy), and others. He has given a solo concert at the Japanese Embassy in Vienna, Austria,
and released the CDs “SEZU” on the UK’s FMR label and “OPS” (Italy).
He opened “810OUTFIT café,” an experimental space for improvisers, in Tokyo (2018).

Kawol SamarQandi / guitar, voice

Born on October 7 in a port town. The first “music” he ever heard was a wave of static coming through a shortwave radio. He began writing poetry at age 6, playing guitar and singing at 12, and composing at 14. He began performing in earnest toward the end of his teens. Before he knew it, he had landed in Tunisia in 1989 under the pretext of “studying classical Arabic music and the oud,” and ended up spending about a year traveling and studying around the Mediterranean, where he had the opportunity to study under the local master, Ali Sriti. Through various encounters, he performed at stadiums and theaters in Tunisia and Malta, as well as on state-run TV programs. After returning to Japan, under a different name, he participated in numerous commercial projects with many artists in studios, at broadcasting stations, and on tours as a guitarist, arranger, composer, lyricist, and vocalist, and also composed soundtracks for documentaries and feature films. In 1997, he launched the independent craft label PLAKA for EARDRUM as a vehicle for his work. Entering the 21st century, he devoted himself to creating “poor” music born from improvisation using only a faltering guitar and a voice akin to a monologue. Subsequently, he launched a series of solo concerts titled “kawol’s tariqah al istima - solo guitar improv” as a benchmark for his work. formed REFUGEES with his partner, synthesist Mary Meacha, and has continued his activities to the present day, performing live in various venues such as historic Western-style mansions and moving trains, producing numerous works and gigs through collaborations with outstanding and free-spirited musicians both domestically and internationally—sometimes online and sometimes in person—and releasing albums under his solo name and as REFUGEES. In April 2024, he was invited by the Sharjah Arts Foundation in the UAE and traveled there with Mary Meacha to hold concerts, workshops, and listening concerts. In October 2025, he held concerts, seminars, and recording sessions in Athens, Greece. In December of the same year, he released a new LP titled “energeia,” recorded during the Sharjah sessions, on Australia’s Ramble Records. A concert tour in Wellington, New Zealand, is scheduled for July 2026.
Transcending all forms, through the silence and sound that rise like the mysteries of ancient Samarkand from vibrating strings and trembling voices, and through the humble music—akin to a prayer—that lies beyond the boundaries of academia and folklore, the artist remains committed to listening carefully to the world.

Kiyomitsu Odai / piano

After graduating from Waseda University, he moved to the United States, where he studied composition under Clarence Barlow, Curtis Rose, and Roscoe Mitchell. He is active as a composer and improviser in Europe, the United States, and Japan. His work “Fibonacci Passacaglia” was premiered in the Czech Republic by the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra. As a performer, he has been praised by the Santa Barbara News-Press in the United States as ‘stunning’ and a “figure to watch.” He also creates electronic music and installations, and has presented his works at events such as the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC). He has received numerous awards, including a prize at the Jeunesses International Composition Competition (Romania), first prize in the Large Ensemble category of the Sherrill C. Corwin Award (U.S.), and first prize in the Electronic Music category of the same award. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.