‘Mad professor’ to play guitar festival

An eccentric Japanese musician-cum-inventor who’s been described as the “mad professor of home-made instruments” is set to liven up the classrooms of a West Cork school where he will perform as part of the Clonakilty Guitar Festival.

ICHI, a musician and film-maker, not only creates his own musical instruments from detritus scavenged in landfills — he also wears them.

A one-man band who dangles his eccentric creations from his arms and shoulders, ICHI has attracted much international attention for his colourful performances where he dresses as everything from a computer character to an upside-down mouth.