Compositions and Improvisations for Shamisen
Joshua Weitzel startet to play the japanese instrument Shamisen at the age of 20. He has since used the instrument extensively for his work in improvised and experimental music. Joshua practices traditional shamisen but usually does not play traditional japanese music live and considers his playing to be a European perspective on contemporary Shamisen. He is not part of a traditional school but has taken lessons from various teachers in the styles of Kouta, Jiuta and Gidayu and considers Kouta-Master Ryota Saito his main teacher and mentor regarding the instrument. The two also form the “Contemporary Shamisen Duo”, having released a CD-R on Kendra Steiner Records in 2017.
Joshua uses a wide array of traditional techniques, mixing different bridges (koma), bachi (plectrums). tunings, and playing styles as well as contemporary extended techniques that utilise vibrating devices and preparations, breath, unusuall tunings and further extended techniques. In 2022 and 2023 he received a grant from the Musikfonds of the Federal Republic of Germany to further develop his language on Shamisen.