大竹研

What Jazz and Taiwanese Hakka Folk Music Have in Common: Japanese Guitarist Ken Otake Talks About His Long-Term Collaboration with Lin Sheng Xiang

A performance back in 2003 brought Ken Ohtake to Taiwan, later contributing to his long-term collaboratoin with folk musician Lin Sheng Xiang. Now most of his activities are in Taiwan. (Photo by Gin Tzeng)
Words by Jessie C.
Taiwan, the small island in Asia, has drawn abundant of outstanding foreign musicians to come and develop their music career, thanks to the multicultural environment and the yummy local food. The Japanese guitarist Ken Ohtake (大竹研) is one of them. His jazz band Tokyo Chuo-Line (東京中央線) just released the debut album One Line in Taiwan this May.

The debut album One Line by Tokyo Chuo-Line, the jazz trio formed by Ken Ohtake, Toru Hayakawa (早川徹), and Noriaki Fukushima (福島紀明).
It’s hard for people to imagine why such a jazz man’s well-known accomplishment in Taiwan, is being the guitarist of a folk outfit called Sheng Xiang Band (生祥樂隊). The band’s leader Lin Sheng Xiang (林生祥) is a famous Hakka singer-songwriter, having received more than five GMA awards, which is considered the equivalent to the Grammy Awards in Mandarin-speaking world. The word “Hakka” mentioned above indicates one of the Taiwanese ethnic groups, whose ancestors came from southeast China in the early days. Deeply rooted in Hakka culture, Sheng Xiang Band’s music often tries to call for a friendly environment for the minorities living in Taiwan.
As a Japanese, Ohtake was unfamiliar with Hakka culture and music. One of the reason why he could work well with Lin Sheng Xiang should be contributed to his past experience. Before coming to Taiwan, Ken had accompanied the legendary Okinawan three strings musician Takashi Hirayasu (平安隆) on guitar for four years. “The songs that Hirayasu played were folk music from long time ago. In the early time, Japanese music didn’t have any concept of chords. However, the guitar that I play is an instrument depending on chords. I learned the way to play the music and instruments that couldn’t be communicated through chords (like the Hakka music) from working with Hirayasu.” Besides, Ohtake and Lin also exchanged their knowledge of music, so they could efficiently understand each other’s logic on writing melodies. Ohtake recalled that while he first met Lin, Lin gave him a 10-CD package of traditional Hakka music and taught him the important elements in Hakka folk music. On the other hand, as a jazz-trained musician, Ohtake told Lin how to compose music in a Western way.
In addition to the concept of chords, there is still difference between the instruments used in Western and Hakka music. “The playing of erhu, the frequently used instrument in Hakka music, is not based on the theory of scales, which means there could be boundless pitches between two adjacent notes,” Ohtake said. It makes him think of the jazz singer Sarah Vaughan. “While Sarah Vaughan was singing the scat part of 'Autumn Leaves', the pitches that she sang were between the notes, so they could not be found on the piano. Afterwards, when I listened to Hakka folk music, I discovered the same feature. I really like that kind of music.” As a result, Ohtake not only worked well with Lin and has been the guitarist in the Sheng Xiang Band for at least five albums. Due to Ohtake's musical preference, he has also devoted himself to the Hakka folk music for more than 10 years.
During the interview, while we talked about folk music, I could feel Ohtake’s passion in it. To know more about his opinion on that genre of music, I asked him “What is folk music to you?” He answered in a comfort pace, “Folk music is like rice and miso soup in Japan.” I couldn’t understand the meaning behind his metaphor at first, so he further explained, “Folk music was born from day-to-day life, such as the weather, language and the emotion in people’s mind and the difficulties in life. It is quite different from pop music. Pop music is more like a commodity while folk music is more like necessity.” Apart from Lin Sheng Xiang’s works, Ohtake also enjoys Taiwanese folk music by Sangpuy (桑布伊), Ilid Kaolo (以莉高露), Yu Jun Wang (王榆鈞), and Xie Ming You (謝銘祐). What folk music attracts him most are the natural feeling and the cultural meaning in it.

Ken Ohtake: “Folk music is like rice and miso soup in Japan.” (Photo by Gin Tzeng)
In recent years, Ohtake focuses on improving his acoustic guitar playing skill and communicating with music in a more genuine way. He is now looking forward to collaborating with a Japanese erhu musician Chiki Sato (里地帰). In the end of October, they performed at the memorial of Taiwanese literature giant Ye Shih Tao (葉石濤). The songs they played were composed according to Ye’s literary works. But no matter Ohtake cooperates with Japanese or Taiwanese musicians and no matter he plays folk or jazz, the true emotion that he pours into the songs is the most significant mark of his music. Though Ohtake is used to wearing a hat while playing guitar on the stage, the smile and concentrated expression could never be hidden away.
BY Taiwan Beats / Nov-02-2017
Related Articles

Review : Bugs of Phonon (聲子蟲) – Understory
Instrumental / PostRock
BY Irfan Popish / Jun-12-2022

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 6 : B E N N / Turoboan
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-14-2022

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 5 : Vice City / Tidaan
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-13-2022

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 4 : Tek / Fata'an
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-12-2022

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 3 : Sonia Calico / Sazasa
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-11-2022

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 2 : A.P.R.A / Dapu
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-10-2022

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 1 : Lemonfacer / Gongliao
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-09-2022

YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA - 八三夭 831
Pop / Rock / Video / YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA
BY taiwanbeats / Mar-28-2022

YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA - Julia 吳卓源
RnB / Video / YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA
BY taiwanbeats / Mar-27-2022

YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA - 盧廣仲 Crowd Lu
Pop / Video / YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA
BY taiwanbeats / Mar-26-2022

YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA - Flesh Juicer
Metal / Video / YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA
BY taiwanbeats / Mar-25-2022

Sorry Youth: Bad Times, Good Times Album Review
Indie / Music Review
BY James Gui / Nov-20-2021

Flesh Juicer Emerge as Biggest Winners at 12th Golden Indie Music Awards
Dance/Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indie / Jazz / Metal / Music Awards / R&B/Soul / Rock
BY Yoke Ming Chong / Nov-19-2021

Flesh Juicer and LINION Score The Most Nominations At The 12th GIMA Awards
Dance/Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indie / Jazz / Music Awards / Pop / R&B/Soul / Rock
BY Yoke Ming Chong / Oct-22-2021

5 Taiwanese Indigenous Artists that You Should Know
Folk / Indigenous / List
BY Amy Chao / Oct-18-2021

Nini Music: Taiwan’s Fretboard Warrior Takes on World
Interview / Pop
BY Jules Quartly / Oct-02-2021

At Long Last, The Rappers Take Center Stage on MTV
Hip-Hop / TV Shows
BY Meredith Schweig / Aug-07-2021

2020 Golden Melody Awards Nominees Announced
Dance/Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indie / Jazz / Music Awards / Pop / R&B / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Jul-16-2020

AMWT Announce Top Ten Albums and Singles of 2019
Dance/Electronic / Hip-Hop / Indie / Indigenous / Music Awards / Pop / R&B
BY Brien John / Jul-14-2020

Shallow Levée: The Village Album Review
Alternative / Music Review
BY Cai Ing / Jul-14-2020

Coronavirus Vs. the Taiwanese Music Industry
COVID-19 / Industry
BY Joe Henley / May-23-2020

Album Review: Longone—Alex Zhang Hungtai, Tseng Kuo Hung
Indie / Music Review
BY Joe Henley / Apr-08-2020

ZANI ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM "PORTAL"
Alternative / New Releases / R&B
BY ANGEL ARLIN / Mar-31-2020

Japan's Music Magazine Features 30 Years of Taiwanese Music in Latest Issue
Alternative / Dance / Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Jazz / Magazine / Metal / R&B / Rock
BY Toshiyuki Seki / Mar-13-2020

CINEMA SESSIONS: Cicada
CINEMA SESSIONS / Instrumental / Video
BY CINEMA SESSIONS / Feb-13-2020

Ramblin' with a Muddy Basin Rambler
Alternative / Interview / Jazz
BY Joe Henley / Jan-25-2020

Deciphering the Soul Behind ABAO's Latest Album KINAKAIYAN
Electronic / Indigenous / Music Review / R&B
BY Evan Vitkovski / Jan-13-2020

CINEMA SESSIONS: Tokyo Chuo-Line
CINEMA SESSIONS / Jazz / Video
BY CINEMA SESSIONS / Jan-08-2020

2019 Simple Urban+: Nine Days of Non-Stop Music Right Next to Taipei 101
Electronic / festival / Folk / Hip-Hop / Music Festivals / Pop / R&B / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Nov-26-2019

Dance Your Heart Out to NekoJam's Debut Album NKJ_1
Electronic / Interview
BY Evan Vitkovski / Nov-26-2019

First Time in GIMA History: Best Album Awarded to Jazz Masterpiece City Animal
Alternative / Awards / Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Jazz / Pop / R&B / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Nov-17-2019

TAIPEI DANCE: DISCO/POP/EARLY MILLENIUM
Electronic / Mix / Pop
BY ANGEL ARLIN / Nov-01-2019

CINEMA SESSIONS: Undecimber Fin.
CINEMA SESSIONS / Rock / Video
BY CINEMA SESSIONS / Oct-25-2019

2019 GIMA Nomination List
Alternative / Awards / Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Jazz / Pop / R&B
BY Taiwan Beats / Oct-04-2019

HEARTING Online: First-Ever Social Platform Founded by an Indie Band
Folk / News
BY Taiwan Beats / Sep-24-2019

RayRay Takes Over EDM with an 'Alien Invasion'
Electronic / Music Review
BY Evan Vitkovski / Sep-19-2019

9m88, Xiao Bing Chih, 831 Attracted World Attention at 20th Summer Sonic
Live Recap / Pop / R&B / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Sep-16-2019

LIVE RECAP: Shout Out Festival
Alternative / Folk / Hip-Hop / Music Festivals / Rock
BY wèi wáng / Sep-12-2019

Taiwan Indie Artists Leave a Lasting Impression in Toronto
Electronic / Live Recap / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Jul-09-2019

CINEMA SESSIONS: XICO x Dizparity
CINEMA SESSIONS / Electronic / Video
BY CINEMA SESSIONS / Jul-04-2019

Jolin Tsai Dominates: 2019 Golden Melody Awards Winner List
Awards / Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Jazz / Pop / R&B / Rock / Traditional
BY Brien John / Jun-30-2019

CINEMA SESSIONS: Elephant Gym
CINEMA SESSIONS / Rock / Video
BY CINEMA SESSIONS / Jun-18-2019

L8ching: The Urban Millennial and His Taiwanese Chill R&B
Interview / R&B
BY Jessie Chiu / May-27-2019

2019 Golden Melody Awards Nominations: Jolin Tsai and Sandy Lam Leads
Awards / Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Jazz / Pop / R&B / Rock / Soundtrack / Traditional
BY Brien John / May-20-2019

Urban Nomad: A Film and Music Festival with an Indie Attitude
Electronic / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Jazz / Music Festivals / Pop / R&B / Rock
BY Joe Henley / Apr-08-2019

Unconventional Convention: Future Proof’s 冢虎 Zhonghu
Electronic / Music Review
BY Father Moo / Mar-22-2019

SPOTLIGHT ON: My Skin Against Your Skin 激膚
Rock / SPOTLIGHT ON / Video
BY Brien John / Mar-12-2019

Six Taiwanese Artists to Check Out at SXSW 2019
Electronic / Music Festivals / Rock
BY Andrew Hsieh / Mar-05-2019

Warm Up Fest 2019, Turning it Up in Taipei
Electronic / Hip-Hop / Music Festivals / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Jan-25-2019

21-Year-Old R&B Newcomer LINION Debuts with Single "Room 335"
New Releases / R&B
BY Brien John / Dec-07-2018

Dig Deep into Taiwan's Unique Hip Hop Scene
Hip-Hop / MUSICANIMATION / Video
BY Brien John / Nov-28-2018

The Music Wonders of the Indigenous People in Taiwan
Indigenous / MUSICANIMATION / Video
BY Brien John / Nov-28-2018

DJ Ground Wonders Why "Miss DJ" Shows More Tits Than Talents
Hip-Hop / It's Taiwan Pop! / Video
BY Brien John / Sep-28-2018

RayRay Drops Debut EP 'Purple Alien' on Barong Family
Dance / Electronic / New Releases
BY Brien John / Sep-18-2018

Psych-Folk Group Prairie WWWW Drops New Album Pán
Experimental / Folk / New Releases
BY Brien John / Sep-11-2018

Young Rapper K-HOW Honors Hometown "VASA"
Hip-Hop / It's Taiwan Pop! / Video
BY Brien John / Aug-31-2018

A 60-Second Animation Montage of Music in Taiwan, Where the Finest Happens
Dance / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Metal / MUSICANIMATION / Pop / Rock / Video
BY Brien John / Aug-07-2018
-300x150.png)
SPOTLIGHT ON | CosmosPeople 宇宙人
midem / Pop / SPOTLIGHT ON / Video
BY Brien John / Jun-04-2018

SPOTLIGHT ON | ABAO 阿爆
Canadian Music Week / Indigenous / R&B/Soul / SPOTLIGHT ON / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / May-09-2018

SPOTLIGHT ON | Dizparity
Canadian Music Week / Electronic / SPOTLIGHT ON / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / May-09-2018

SPOTLIGHT ON | JADE EYES 孔雀眼
Canadian Music Week / Electronic / SPOTLIGHT ON / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / May-09-2018

2017 Golden Melody Awards: Full Winner List
Golden Melody Awards
BY Taiwan Beats / Jun-24-2017

Midem 2017 Taiwan Artists: The Chairman
midem / The Chairman
BY Taiwan Beats / Jun-01-2017

Midem 2017 Taiwan Artists: DJ QuestionMark
DJ QuestionMark / midem / PROJECT APJ / SEMIFUSA / Spinbox
BY Taiwan Beats / Jun-01-2017

TheCube Launched New Website About Taiwanese Modern Sound Cultures
Culture / database / TheCube
BY Taiwan Beats / May-26-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: DJ QuestionMark
DJ QuestionMark / PROJECT APJ / SEMIFUSA / Spinbox / SXSW
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-11-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: Miss Ko
Hip-Hop / Miss Ko / Rap / SXSW
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-10-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: Matzka
Matzka / Reggae / SXSW
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-10-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: Hello Nico
Black Market Music / Hello Nico / SXSW
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-10-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: Zooey Wonder (黃玠瑋)
SXSW / Zooey Wonder
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-10-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: JADE EYES (孔雀眼)
Electronic / JADE EYES / SXSW
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-10-2017

Interview with Bingham Yeh/Other than melisma
Bingham Yeh / Days like these / The Voice of China
BY daig1202 / May-16-2016

Interviewing G.U.T.S: Our Mainstream Is Self-Created
Chang Zhen Yue / MC Hotdog / MJ116
BY Taiwan Beats / May-06-2016

Yen-J & The Tic Tac Are Making Their Show on CMW
CMW / The Tic Tac / Yen-j
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-25-2016

Indie Rock Band 1976 Kicks off 20th anniversary Tour
1976 / IndieRock / Tour
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-25-2016

Claire Kuo Launches New Album “La Vita è Bella” on Singles’ Day
Claire Kuo / La Vita è Bella / 郭靜
BY Sophia / Nov-12-2015

Popu Lady's Elimination Contest, Surviving in the Showbiz Jungle
AKB48 / Gossip Girls / Popu Lady / 特色文章
BY Taiwan Beats / Nov-10-2015

Bobby Chen’s Latest Duet Music Video is One to Remember
Bobby Chen / PiA / 陳昇
BY Sophia / Nov-10-2015

Interview with Hao-en/A Man Made Complete by Music(2)
Daniel Ho / Hao-en / Legends of Passage
BY Taiwan Beats / Nov-09-2015

Interview with Hao-en/A Man Made Complete by Music(1)
Daniel Ho / Hao-en / Legends of Passage
BY Taiwan Beats / Nov-09-2015

Fans are Looking Forward to Tanya Chua's New Album “Aphasia(失語者)”.
Aphasia / Tanya Chua / 特色文章
BY Sophia / Nov-05-2015

Taiwan Beats(臺灣之夜)was featured at New York’s CMJ Music Marathon on Oct 13th. Soft ...
Boxing / CMJ / io / SOB’s / Soft Lipa / Taiwan Beats / Treya
BY Taiwan Beats / Oct-26-2015

Reliving Your 'Boyhood’ and Remembering Your Dreams with Victor Wong (品冠)
Adulthood / Boyhood / Victor Wong / 品冠
BY Sophia / Oct-14-2015

Landy Wen 'Love Myself' Metamorphosing into a Sexier, Stronger, New Woman
I'm Alright / Landy Wen / Love Myself / PDA / 溫嵐
BY Sophia / Oct-13-2015

Who did it better/Hebe Tien(田馥甄)- 'A Little Happiness'(小幸運)
A Little Happiness / cover / Hebe / Our Times / 小幸運
BY Asian Pop Weekly / Oct-07-2015

Sodagreen came back from Berlin with new album "Winter Endless"
Berlin / everything / Sodagreen / Winter Endless
BY Sophia / Oct-03-2015

Rene Liu(劉若英)/Wish You Well
Rene Liu / Understood / Wish You Well / 劉若英
BY Sophia / Sep-23-2015

Review Joanna Wang's "Bob Music"
Bob Music / Joanna Wang / 王若琳
BY Asian Pop Weekly / Sep-18-2015

Nicholas Teo(張棟樑)/There’s No If
Idol Singer / long vacation / Nicholas Teo / There’s No If / 張棟樑
BY Sophia / Sep-16-2015

Unstoppable 3-Epochal Times
Andrew Tan / Bii / Dino Lee / Epochal Times / Ian
BY Sophia / Sep-08-2015

Fang Wu(吳汶芳)/《Chaos, but Beautiful》
Chaos but Beautiful / Fang Wu / 吳汶芳 / 汶亂卻美好著
BY Sophia / Sep-03-2015

Mayday "Her Story" Album Review
Her Story / Mayday / 女也
BY Asian Pop Weekly / Sep-02-2015

Concert - Behind the Scenes Series (1-2) The Director
concert / director
BY Taiwan Beats / Aug-25-2015

Concert - Behind the Scenes Series (1-1) The Director
concert / director
BY Taiwan Beats / Aug-24-2015

Leo Ku(古巨基)/We(我們)
Finding You was My Greatest Success / Leo Ku / We / 古巨基
BY Sophia / Aug-20-2015

Who Did It Better? Jolin Tsai-‘Play我呸’
cover / Jolin / Play / 蔡依林
BY Asian Pop Weekly / Aug-18-2015

Interview with Jia(家家)/I’m the kind of person who needs time to adapt.
Jia / 家家
BY Taiwan Beats / Aug-12-2015

Interview with Magic Power:A Band Blended with Positive Power and Passion
Magic Power / midem / Super Hero / 魔幻力量
BY Sophia / Aug-11-2015

It’s all here. The new singles composed by the three Adonis of Eagle Music
Bii / Dino / Eagle Music / Ian
BY Sophia / Aug-09-2015

Interview/Q & A with Men Envy Children小男孩樂團
everything / Men Envy Children
BY Taiwan Beats / Jul-21-2015

'Taiwan Beats'- Taiwanese Music hits the world
DJ code / My Skin Against Your Skin / Waa Wei
BY Duke / Jun-05-2015

Tree Jr.: Asking Right Questions for a Better Music Industry
indie / Streetvoice / Taiwan / Taiwan music / Tree Jr.
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-27-2015

It is hardcore this time – How I see Amit
A-mei / Amit / concert
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-20-2015
