School of Rock
Random article All articles A–Z
2 languages

Kitaro

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Kitaro's real name is Masanori Takahashi, and he was born in 1953 in Toyohashi, Japan, into a farming family. His parents wanted him to take an ordinary job, but he simply did not turn up and so convinced them that he had to make music. At high school he played electric guitar in a band that played rhythm and blues by Otis Redding and songs by The Beatles. In Tokyo he discovered the synthesizer, and he became keyboardist of the progressive rock band Far East Family Band.

Music and breakthrough

In 1975 he met the German electronic musician Klaus Schulze, who produced two albums by the band and gave Kitaro tips for working with synthesizers. A year later Kitaro travelled through China, Laos, Thailand and India, and in 1977 he began a solo career. His great breakthrough came with the music for Silk Road, a documentary series by the Japanese broadcaster NHK that was broadcast from 1980. He made that music mainly with a Minimoog and Korg synthesizers, and demanded that the series be broadcast in stereo. The soundtracks sold millions of copies.

Influence

Kitaro's music is instrumental, calm and melodic, with long, floating sounds and influences from Asian music. He is regarded as one of the best-known names in new age. He won a Golden Globe for the film music of Heaven & Earth (1993) and a Grammy for the album Thinking of You. In this way Kitaro shows how the synthesizer can also express calm and space.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Theme from Silk Road and notice the soft, floating synthesizer sounds on which a simple melody slowly builds. Can you hear how the music conjures up images of a long journey through a wide landscape?

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Mentioned in other articles

See also

Categories: ArtistsSynthesizer orchestra, ambient and new age