hard luggage by Patrick Shiroishi

the first time i saw or heard the suona was with Vinny several years ago, well before we recorded Borasisi. if you know or have seen Vinnt play, it;s just one of the 100s of different instruments he has. i made a mental note to ask him what that was, but when i went up to talk to him later i completely forgot and we started to shoot the shit about something else, probably about getting a better case for my bari that had wheels on it.

a few years later i finally visited Paul in Taipei. a week before i came to visit he was telling me about a parade of musicians that went down the street and how awesome and fucking loud they were. he found a clip and we started investigating what instruments they were playing. lo and behold, one of them was the suona. when i touched down, we made a trip to go pick one up...i even tried to use it at a show we had the next day.

i started bringing the instrument with me to shows and collaborations (i try my very hardest in the opening minutes of Danketsu 10) and eventually grew a real love for it. it had so many sides that i would stumble on by accident here and there...this recording is, more or less, a study on all of those sides. i hope to continue my relationship with the instrument in the years to come.

Patrick Shiroishi is a Japanese-American multi-instrumentalist & composer based in Los Angeles.

patrickshiroishi.com