Posted on 1 April 2011

I’m on the board of the Coldsnap Music Festival. When our festival ended this year, we had an afterparty with various musicians playing for all the volunteers. Partway through the night, a guy with grey dreadlocks set up some equipment and began singing. Through technological trickery, he then started harmonizing with himself, adding beats and melodies along the way. It was unlike anything I’d ever heard.

His name is Doug Koyama. He lives in Quesnel and has been making music since the 70s, mostly in the world of musical theatre. A few years ago, he embarked on what he calls a “voyage of discovery into Improvised A Capella with a Loop Pedal.”
Doug Koyama at Coldsnap Afterparty
This week, I got to speak to Doug in advance of his national tour. It was research for an interview on Daybreak North, which I’ve posted below. The funny thing with musicians is that sometimes there’s very little to talk about, and sometimes there’s more than you can possibly fit into a five-minute interview. Doug falls into the latter category. Carolina did a good job of getting in as much as she could, and I wouldn’t have done things any differently, but I thought I would share a few things I found out that couldn’t be included in the interview. In case you don’t want to keep reading, I should tell you that Doug is performing tonight at Cafe Voltaire at Books and Company, and tomorrow night at the ArtSpace (above Books and Company). You should definitely go if you have the chance. If you are in a city other than Prince George, check his tour dates at koyama.bc.ca.
Here’s the interview with my notes are below.
[audio:https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Public/Koyama%20Interview%20March%2031.mp3?w=d24254f6]
On knowing what works:

• even though each of his songs are improvised, he does have certain ‘instruments’ he knows work– effects and sounds that work well together

On making mistakes:

• since it’s improvised, he sometimes makes mistakes– paints himself into a corner, as it were. The key to getting out of it, he says, is realizing that the audience doesn’t have a script– fade out and move on, and they probably won’t notice.

On blending in:

• to a certain extent, he has to read the room the same way a DJ does– respond to the energy of the crowd. Recently, he played at a bar where people were noiser than normal. After unsuccesfully trying to sing over the room, he decided to blend in with the ambient noise.

On the journey:

• he’s had some very strong audience response. On his website he includes this excerpt:

“One woman in the audience Saturday said she “visited” a beautiful Caribbean island. For me, the music took me back to the Punjab, India when, on my first morning, I awoke at 5 a.m. to the sounds of chanting in the courtyard. Koyama’s music can be many things. Waves of the ocean lapping on shore or seagulls flying in the air above. The sound of wind on a mountain top. It has a soaring sensation and you wonder what heights it will reach before it ends. You hope it never does.”

On being in the moment:

• he thinks that what people respond to in his music is the present nature of it. Since it’s improvised, he’s tapping into the moment. It’s like meditation– tap into and stay in the present moment. Be in the now.

Again, you can find Doug and his work at koyama.bc.ca. He plays at Cafe Voltaire at Books and Company tonight, and the ArtSpace tomorrow. He then heads across Canada. Details are on his website.
Trois by Doug Koyama

Filed under: music