Today is a sad day for all at CSMB as we mark the passing of our highly respected alumnus Dr. Kazuhiro Kanazawa. Kazzer as he was known to his many friends passed away this previous Saturday. Amongst his many achievements Dr. Kanazawa was recently honored with the prestigious Richmond-Goldstein award for services to marine biology and for his tireless work in the fight against the Japanese whaling industry. In a quote from an interview in last months Aquasonic magazine Dr. Kanazawa was discussing his feelings about his native Japan's whaling problem; "When I was a young man I used to love the taste of whale meat, it's so soft and delicious. I love the way it oozes through your teeth when you squoosh it back and forth like jelly. When I went on a family holiday at 14 we took a boat trip and in the water ahead of me I saw a giant beast emerging from the inky black wash. I had never encountered such a majestic creature and when it fully revealed itself I was in awe. I swore that day that I would protect these misunderstood giants of the deep."
It was later in life that Dr. Kanazawa discovered whale music, eerie sonar style recordings of whales which he effortlessly blended with Nu Rave and Grime. At the age of 61 he started DJing around the world under the name DJ Kojiki, it was during this period that he was exposed to the darker side of the life of a touring DJ and got mixed up in narcotics and a hard living lifestyle. On Saturday 17th January 2009 at 4:30am Dr. Kanazawa was rushed to hospital having suffered a cardiac arrest. A post mortem revealed massive amounts of cocaine, ketamine, mdma and ironically a final meal of deliciously prepared whale meat sashimi. Although this could all be viewed as somewhat of a massive fall from grace, all of us at CSMB are sending our thoughts and prayers to the Kanazawa family. We hope deeply that his great work in the fields of Marine Biology and Nu Rave/Whale Music mash-ups will be forever remembered.
Rolling with on my hump backs, or rolling on my Megaptera novaeangliae it original title (rejected by the his record label as they thought it would alienate dyslexic people) was a seminal album. Released in early 2006, It clearly marked a new trend in whale music DJing. Probably one of the best albums of the 21st century.
ReplyDeleteR.I.P. Dr. Kazuhiro Kanazawa.