Bix & Marki Spring 2019 Tour Report

à la rivière à Yukuhashi en 2019

On this tour, we were accompanied by our friend Ariane Chesaux, who lives in Brussels. Bohemian and free-spirited, she works on healing and relaxation with percussions, sounds, bells, singing bowls and movement. Before the tour, we were open for anything to happen!

  • Ariane Chesaux Website : Click here !
  • Ariane's Blog of "Travel in Japan" : Click here !

  • At the bus stop in Hokudan, March 2019
    We arrived on the island of Awajishima in the morning and rehearsed while waiting for the bus.

    We never have time enough to rehearse before leaving on a tour…


    Sunday 17 March 2019  Nagasawa Eco Centre
    Hyogo-ken Awaji-shi Nagasawa 620-2
    https://www.facebook.com/nijino8wa
    à Nagasawa Eco center en mars 2019
    We were very happy to support organic products and this little community called Nijinowa, playing our songs in this organic market. It was the first time we played our songs with Ariane and she wrapped them in her acoustic soundscape.

    Au temple d'Awajishima en mars 2019
    We went to see a beautiful dance of young ‘Miko’ in the sanctuary next to the old school.

    Live de l'Awajishima en mars 2019
    It was the first time Bix did a reading in Japanese of a short-story she had written, translated by Tsubaki Riyo. Ariane read it in French, while illustrating it with her sounds. The rehearsal that Ariane and Bix had in the train from Kyoto to Kobe worked out very well.

    Tuesday 19 March 2019  FSN bar (chez Philippe )
    Kyoto-shi Nakagyo-ku East of Kawaramachi-Rokkaku
    Rokkaku terrace bld 3F   Tel 090 5064 0642
    https://www.facebook.com/chezphilippefsn/
    Live at FNS in March 2019
    The weather got warmer than the previous days. Ariane created her sounds and danced to our music. Two students came to see us and they said that they hadn’t heard acoustic instruments being played for a long time. Frenchman Philippe’s bar was welcoming and artistic as always. He and Ariane spoke French together and there were French, American and Japanese people in the audience. The mix of cultures made the bar's atmosphere more relaxing !

    Wednesday 20 March 2019 Bistrot Café de Paris
    Kobe-shi Cyuou-ku Yamamoto-dori 1-7-21   Tel 078-241-9448
    http://cafe-de-paris.jp/
    https://www.facebook.com/bistrotcafedeparis/
    Live at Cafe de Paris in March 2019
    We chose mostly soft and slow songs to play with Ariane, while people had dinner. We met wonderful people who all listened to us in deep silence.

    Live at Cafe de Paris in March 2019
    A nice picture taken by Alim, one of the brothers who run the restaurant and the shop.

    Live at Cafe de Paris in March 2019
    She danced in between the tables.

    In the train from Okayama in 2019
    In the express train going to our next destination : Shikoku, eating the train lunch-bento ‘Ekiben’ !




    On the Seto Ohashi bridge in 2019
    The Great Seto Bridge.
    We had been many times to Shikoku but it was the first time for us to cross the 13km long bridge.



    Friday 22 March 2019   Kuu Shokudou
    Ehime-ken Shikoku Cyuou-shi Mishima miyagawa 2-2-33  
    Tel 0896-24-6269   https://kuushilyokudou.jimdo.com/
    Live at Kuu in Spring 2019
    We love to come to this wonderful, creative place filled with works of art and of objets that is Kuu Shokudo, which means Kuu’s little restaurant. Our music goes very well with the energy of the place. Kuu invited us to sleep on the 2nd floor of the house, in a tatami room where she had prepared futons, tea, snacks and towels. So nice of her! There are paintings of hers all over the walls upstairs. A fairy-talish night !

    Saturday 23 March 2019  Le Puy
    Ehime-ken Imabari-shi Sakaemachi 1-2-3 2F   Tel 0898 33 2623
    Live at Le Puy in Spring 2019
    We often come to Le Puy and the owner Hiroyuki san is very open and kind, as well as the customers. There was not much space for Ariane to dance, but she did ! The atmosphere was more concentrated and calm than usual...

    Live at Le puy 2019 Bekka
    The Imabari duo Bekka played two songs, as they did last time too ! We love to play the same evening as other local artists.

    Sunday 24 March 2019  Cafe & bar KANADE
    Ehime-ken Kita-gun Uchiko-cho Uchiko 1914   Tel 0893-44-7527
    https://www.facebook.com/kanade2014
    at Kanade in Spring 2019
    In Uchiko the cherry blossoms were wonderful. In Kanade, there were lots of people downstairs and upstairs, maybe because it was a cherry blossom Sunday. We played with Mr. Tamai on saxophone and it was a strong meeting between Ariane and his music, in connection to ours ! Thank you to all our friends who come to see us each time…


    Sur le bateau à Tawatahama en mars 2019
    Here we left the island of Shikoku for the island of Kyushu.

    Bix on the boat in Spring 2019
    During the tour, as always, Bix worked on sorting out pictures and upload on FB to comment our tour every day when possible. Here on the ferry boat.

    at train station in Usuki, Spring 2019
    When we arrived to the little port of Usuki, in Kyushu, we met Heimo at the Tourist Office of the town. He is an organic farmer in Usuki and originally comes from Austria. He would like to organize a concert for us in Usuki the next time we come ! That would be great.

    Monday 25 March 2019  Wam am cafe
    Ooita-shi Oote-machi 3-6-3   Tel 090-7155-1633
    Facebook Wam am cafe facebook
    Wam am cafe en mars 2019
    There were French speakers in the audience… How nice that everybody start dancing at the end on the butterfly song ‘ Papillon migrateur’ … liberated by the mysterious sounds of Ariane’s singing bowls, her scratching the paper and amplifying it to our melodies. After the concert, the owner of Wam Am invited us to a fabulous dinner, all together.

    Tuesday 26 March 2019  Café Brassens
    Saga-shi Gofuku Motomachi 2-24 north side of 656 Hiroba  
    Tel 0952 97 9378   https://www.facebook.com/cafebrassens
    Live at Cafe Brassens in 2019
    It was our 8th time at Café Brassens and we are always so happy to play there. This time Ariane danced in between books, our music and paintings on the walls. The reading with Bix called ‘The tent’ was read every night and here too. It was a little link to the lyrics of the songs, which often are about a meeting, a fragility, the search for a home, a silence. A lady in the audience told Mr. Sonoda that she felt spirituality, something between Shinto, Buddhism and Christianity in our performance. We felt that too!

    Live at Cafe Brassens in 2019
    Inspired by Ariane, Bix danced too.

    At Yoshinogari in March 2019
    We had a day off in Saga the next day. While Marki gave a guitar lesson, Ariane and Bix were invited to go to see the Yoshinogari historical site, with its ditches and reconstructed houses from the Japanese Yayoi period, 2000 years ago.

    At Yoshinogari in March 2019
    It is incredible that they had such warehouses on pilotis at that time, in the Yayoi period.

    Thursday 28 March 2019  Hajime Shokudo (in Hajime gallery)
    Kumamoto-shi Higashi-ku Nishikigaoka 17-5 2F Tel 096-365-0363
    http://hajimegallery.jp/pg147.html
    Live at Hajime shokudou in 2019
    We played on the terrace, in the garden, on the 2nd floor of a design and architect office. It was such a pleasure to have fresh air, nature, organic food and beautiful tableware. Last time we played in Kumamoto was in the restaurant Dorobushi which owner wanted more quietness and nature and became the chef of this gallery-café instead. We loved it.

    Live at Hajime shokudou in 2019
    It looked like this from inside.

    Live at Hajime shokudou in 2019
    Vibrations with the bowls among the audience, in the open air.

    Friday afternoon 29 March 2019  Happy mama Project
    Fukuoka-ken Oomuta-shi Ogawa-cho 30-1 Sugahara Hospital Community Support Center   Happy-mama-project Facebook
    Sugawara hospital Tetoteno Tamago 3F en mars 2019
    We played for babies and their Mums. Thank you so much to Miho and Souichirou who often organize events in Oomuta, for us and the Happy Mama Project.

    Lecture pour Happy mama en 2019
    Doing a children book reading (a Japanese book in French), illustrated by our sounds and music.

    Pour Happy mama a Omuta en 2019
    Bix danced as a rabbit.

    Pour Happy mama a Omuta en 2019
    Ariane among Mums and babies laying down in total relaxation.

    Friday evening 29 March 2019 Bar Sakura at Daifuku
    Fukuoka-ken Oomuta-shi Yumei-machi 2-1-3   Tel 0944-53-3333
    Bar Sakurahttps://www.facebook.com/chiharu.sakurai.33 http://daifuku-sweets.com/shop/
    https://www.facebook.com/pg/re.daihuku/

    Daifuku en mars 2019
    In the evening we played at the Daifuku restaurant, at the Bar Sakura event. Bar Sakura is a monthly meeting between freelance workers etc. to meet other people and create contacts and projects in the city.
    Daifuku en mars 2019
    We were meeting people, chatting and eating. Everybody brought drinks and food and this kind of concept is apparently in the wind in Fukuoka Pref. Daifuku was so kind to accept the event and our concert.

    Saturday 30 March 2019  Mori no Kyujitu
    Fukuoka-ken Yukuhashi-shi Kanda-cho 2-12 Mansaku-town 1F
    Tel 0930 26 0028   https://www.facebook.com/ItariaLiaoLiSennoXiuRi/
    https://moribosco.exblog.jp/
    Mori no Kyujitsu en mars 2019
    The owners had asked Bix if she wanted to exhibit some paintings during our concert and Bix accepted with great pleasure. On the day of the concert there were lots of people for this ‘Art Event’. Here, Ariane is dancing
    Kanna danse en mars 2019
    Kanna was a waitress on that evening, and suddenly she started to dance... she is actually a contemporary dancer. Together with Ariane’s sounds and our music people started obviously to feel free and excited.

    Kanna danse en mars 2019
    The owner herself, Chiho san, started to dance too. She is a great contemporary dancer, Bix knew her and had performed with her 20 years ago in Kyoto... The audience stood up, shouted and laughed. Mori no Kyujitsu wraps delicious food with art, music and dance … that is soooo nice.

    Sunday 31 March 2019  Kuroneko-ya Coffee shop
    Fukuoka-shi Cyuou-ku daimyou 1-5-5 Gekkou Bld   Tel 092-725-5050
    https://www.facebook.com/dejavukuronekoya
    Live at Kuroneko-ya in Spring 2019
    This was the last concert we played with Ariane in the tour. We developed little by little a way of playing, with an upcoming feeling of freedom.

    Danse de Kanayo in Spring 2019 at Kuroneko-ya in Spring 2019
    Our friend Kanayo started dancing too (to the left) And one of the managers of Kuronekoya too… (to the right)

    Wednesday 3 April 2019  Senri-Hankyu 5F
    Osaka-fu Toyonaka-shi Shinsenri Higashimachi 1-5-1 Tel 06-6831-1221
    http://www.hankyu-dept.co.jp/senri/
    Live at Senri-hankyu in Spring 2019
    We played the last concert of this tour in the French Week of the dept store Hankyu, in Senri, Osaka. We were a little sad not to play with Ariane, but felt that playing for and with various people in different places is a pleasure that opens up to new horizons.
    Danse de Kanayo in Spring 2019
    It was still a new event in that place and we noticed that our concert was surprising for people, in a positive way. Here at the Café de Paris stand. We played in a corner, so people who wanted to listen to us could sit down and do so.

    Bix had a Spring cold during the trip but now she was doing very fine.

    a Demachiyanagi Kyoto in 2018

    We met Ariane for the first time at the birthday party of a common harp player friend, in 2000 in Brussels. Ariane was interested in Japanese acupressure - Shiatsu, and flower arrangement - Ikebana. In Brussels we organized Japan-Brussels parties together, also in connection to our (Bix & Marki) school. Ariane developed little by little her sound world of vibration, healing and freeing noise. This trip was her 2nd to Japan. She came with her bowl and bells and it became a creative challenge to put our songs together with her soundscape. We really think that Ariane managed very well to play in unknown places, for unknown audiences speaking an unknown language almost every night for these 2 weeks of the tour. Let’s play again another time, Ariane, and thank you to you all for having followed us on our Spring Tour 2019 !

    23. Spring Tour 2019




    flags-jp.gif日本語 flags-en.gif flags-en.jpgfrançais