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Intimate Distance: Andean Music in Japan. By Michelle Bigenho. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2012. [xii, 230 p. ISBN 9780822352204 (hard- cover), $79.95; ISBN 9780822352358 (paperback), $22.95.] Illustrations, bibliography, index.
Anthropologist Michelle Bigenho special- izes in the study of Bolivian culture and music. After becoming proficient at playing a number of Bolivian music genres during the years she conducted research there, she toured Japan with a Bolivian band. Her experience while touring serves as a start- ing point for Intimate Distance: Andean Music in Japan.
Bigenho's book explores the various ways transnational music practices bring the Japanese closer to Bolivians. One of the au- thor's initial claims is that, beyond a taste for so-called "Andean music," Japanese people's interest in this musical culture re- flects both their impression of sharing com- mon ancestry with Bolivians and an attrac- tion for the Other. The similarities and differences that Bolivians and Japanese be- lieve exist between their cultures, as well as the "pull of desire toward difference and the contrasting distance that [they] still [want to] maintain" (p. 2), lead the author to explore the idea of "intimate distance." She expands this notion of intimate dis- tance as she analyzes her own involvement as a United States citizen playing Bolivian music in Japan.
For Bigenho, thinking in terms of inti- mate distance means considering how ex- changes between people who belong to countries with unequal economic power represent more than simply forms of com- modification, exoticism, and appropria- tion. The author argues that a focus on these elements neglects important aspects of individual experiences. Rather, she pro- poses to analyze these dynamics as transcul- tural systems of desire and to take into ac- count both their material and affective economies. The numerous short case stud- ies of musicians and bands that the author presents throughout the book effectively support her point. Bigenho generally man- ages to maintain a good balance, demon- strating how commodification and exoti- cism are also occasionally present in some of the contexts that she discusses.
After an introductory chapter, Bigenho offers an overview of how Andean music has travelled to Japan. More importantly, she addresses the topic of indigeneity, which is central to her work. According to her, Bolivian music is closely connected...