Australian Art Orchestra

For almost 30 years, the Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) has been one of Australia’s premier music ensembles, creating music that has helped to define unique approaches to creative music that are distinctly Australian. Now under the Artistic Direction of the creatively fearless Aaron Choulai, the AAO enters a new and exciting era, with works that will reflect Choulai’s cultural and professional connections, exploring music of the Asia-Pacific, jazz and beyond.

Based on Aaron Choulai’s critically acclaimed 2020 release, and reimagined for the Australian Art Orchestra, Raw Denshi explores new pathways of experimentation in hip-hop and improvisation, bringing together two of Tokyo’s most prominent and influential MC’s and the AAO. Featuring pioneers of Japanese hip-hop, Kojoe and Hikaru Tanaka, Raw Denshi combines bilingual rapping and structured and free improvisation, woven together by Choulai’s distinct approach to composition.

The Australian Art Orchestra’s take on Raw Denshi celebrates cultural unity and creative expression through the intersections of Australian and Japanese contemporary languages in rhyming and improvisation.