Kawol SamarQandi solo improv

Kawol SamarQandi solo improv at Yokohama AIREGIN episode 56 - The Boundary Between Words and Music -

Kawol SamarQandi / acoustic guitar, voice, reading

The 56th Solo Improv, which will be my second solo live performance and live streaming (using Japanese streaming services) of 2026.
In a corner of the world, where more and more selfishness, violence, and division are so fierce that we want to cover our eyes, I am increasingly on a journey to find the whereabouts of "poor music," which is also a prayer. It is also a path of deepening listening.
Free improvisation in a well-established jazz club, using only a faltering guitar and a trembling voice, with new sounds and thoughts.
This time, I will weave in readings by myself as well, wandering along the boundary between words and music.

Kawol SamarQandi  biography /

he was born in the port town on October 7.
as a child, the first music he listened to was the noise of
shortwave radio and hymns.
he began writing poetry at the age of 6.
he began to playing guitar and singing at the age of 12.
he began composing at the age of 14.
he joined the fringe of the Tokyo new wave music scene
at the age of 17. then he has performed as
a odd singer-songwriter in a variety of venues.
mid-20s, he wandered about
North Africa (Tunisia) and the Mediterranean region
and studied Arabic traditional music under Mr. Ali Sriti.
After performing theater solo concert, festivals,
TV appearances, etc. there, returned to Japan,
he did a lot of commercial work (e.g. “City pop”) as
a guitarist, arranger, composer, lyric writer and vocalist
in recording studios, on the airwaves, and on tour.
in 1997, he launched his private label PLAKA for EARDRUM.
in the new century,
he began his lifework of creating non-nationality “poor” music
by improvising with only his faltering guitar and trembling voice.
and he collaborates with musicians across borders
(sometimes face to face, sometimes on the Internet)
to make works and to perform in various places.
in 2007, he formed REFUGEES with Mary Meacha Goldfish.
in August 2021, Ramble Records released vinyl record album
“silence, notes and structures 1”.
in April 2024, he was invited by the Sharjah Art Foundation
to perform solo and REFUGEES concerts and workshops in UAE.
same month, Ramble Records released CD album
“Noli me tangere”.
in October 2025, he and Meacha were visit to perform in Athens, Greece.
in December 2025, he will release a brand new vinyl record album called
“energeia” recorded in a historical place in Sharjah, UAE.
in March 2026,
he and Meacha are scheduled to perform in Wellington, New Zealand.

the will to keep listening attentively to the world through
the austerely and beautiful silences, notes and structures of improvisation.