Saturday, April 19th at 8pm, AvanTokyo and ISSUE Project Room proudly present the world premiere of Respira, a groundbreaking collaboration between pioneering electronic musician Eucademix (a.k.a. Yuka Honda) and Butoh dancer azumi O E. The performance will take place at ISSUE’s 22 Boerum Pl. theater in Brooklyn.
The evening will begin with a solo set by Eucademix, showcasing Honda’s signature approach to sound—navigating unpredictable musical landscapes with fluidity. “I draw on an extensive library of sound palettes from countless genres, improvising transitions that feel natural yet Yuka Honda by Sean Ono Lennon (L); azumi oe courtesy the artist (R) Eucademix (Yuka Honda) & Azumi Oe | Saturday, April 19th, 2025 | ISSUE Project Room surprising,” Honda explains. This methodology traces back to her experience performing John Zorn’s Cobra in the mid-’90s, where musicians responded to cues like “EYES” or “cartoon trades,” producing sounds in rapid, unexpected succession—like flipping TV channels. This concept also shaped her genre-blurring compositions for Cibo Matto’s Viva! La Woman.
The solo performance will expand into a deeply immersive collaboration between Honda and O E. Though both Japanese expatriates and longtime New York residents, their artistic paths only recently converged. Their first duo performance, enhanced by O E’s lighting design, revealed an undeniable chemistry. Rooted in abstract communication, Respira reflects on the tension between silence and chaos, stillness and eruption—ideas drawn from their shared connection to Zen philosophy. The title, meaning “to breathe,” suggests their instinctive synchronicity in performance. Or perhaps Respira is akin to Aurae, the invisible wind nymphs of Greek mythology—perceived only through movement and force. It also evokes the primordial transformation of Earth: when the planet was shrouded in gas, devoid of oxygen, Respira symbolizes the breath that introduced life-sustaining air, shaping the environment for evolution.
Experience this evocative premiere—where sound, movement, and elemental forces converge.
AvanTokyo looks beyond anime and idols, probing Japan’s ‘live houses’ and experimental venues, where creators push new forms of expression unreached by mainstream media. Offering Japanese artists performance and residency opportunities in New York, AvanTokyo facilitates cultural interactions between Japan and the United States.
AvanTokyoはアニメやアイドルに留まらず日本のライブハウスや実験的なベニューを探索し、クリエイターの主流メディアでは到達できない新しい表現をサポートしています。日本のアーティストにニューヨークでのパフォーマンスやレジデンスプログラムの機会を提供し、日米間の文化交流を促進しています。
Founded in 2003, ISSUE Project Room is a pioneering nonprofit performance center, presenting projects by interdisciplinary artists that expand the boundaries of artistic practice and stimulate critical dialogue in the broader community. ISSUE serves as a leading cultural incubator, facilitating the commission and premiere of innovative new works.