AGORA “AGORA”

All sounds, cover art and text: AGORA
Mastering: Taku Unami
Graphic Design: Grégory Ambos
Release: ato.archives
ata013

ata012-14 are curated by the film artist Tetsuya Maruyama.

-Excerpt from the text on the tape sleeve-
It has been over 20 years since I began recording the fleeting, everyday sounds of life onto cassette tapes. Since 2002, I have lived in and visited many places, capturing sounds from Lisbon, Buffalo, Lake Atitlán, Port-au-Prince, Riga, Belém, Istanbul, New York, Kingston, Buenos Aires, Yokohama, Tangier, Montevideo, Detroit, and Paramaribo. In Rio de Janeiro, where I have lived for 13 years, I have recorded around 50 tapes — an average of fewer than four tapes per year. This feels like a surprisingly small amount. Perhaps the novelty of the sounds faded as I became accustomed to the city, and now I find myself carrying a tape recorder only when I travel or visit unfamiliar places. Compared to the early days, when I recorded without much thought, I now feel I need a specific “reason” to press the record button.

AGORA
Born in Athens, raised in Yokohama, and currently based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Spends daily life at Ipanema Beach, enduring a heat index over 60°C, cracking coconuts with a pinky, eating the flesh inside, and diving into the ocean — on repeat. Always accompanied by a loyal German Shepherd (definitely four years old). The soundtrack to his bicycle ride near the beach is Baden Powell.
Connected with Tetsuya Maruyama, curator of the upcoming tape release, through this very dog. (Both Maruyama and the dog were drawn to strange objects found on the street.)
Far removed from the feverish energy of Carnival — where sweat, beer, and urine fill the air — AGORA is a part-time artist who quietly experiments with cassette tapes in a dimly lit room.

アテネ生まれ横浜育ち、現在ブラジル・リオデジャネイロ在住。 体感温度60度を超える天気のイパネマ海岸で、ココナッツを小指で砕いてその中の果肉を食べて海に入る、を繰り返す毎日を過ごすのが日課。それを横で見守るのは愛犬のジャーマンシェパード（どう考えても4歳）。今回リリースされるテープのキュレーターを務めたTetsuya Maruyamaとはこの愛犬を通じて知り合った（愛犬とMaruyamaは道端に落ちていた奇妙なオブジェを拾っていた）。海辺を自転車で走るときのサウンドトラックは何を隠そうバーデン・パウエル。汗、ビール、小便の匂いが充満するカーニバルの熱気からはほど遠い、薄暗い部屋で淡々とカセットテープでの実験を繰り返すパートタイムアーティストがAGORAなのである。