Kitaro
My favorite albums are Mandara and Kojiki! The Silk Road is also good!
Kitaro, formerly known as Takahashi Masanori, Kitaro is his former nickname, which is related to a Japanese cartoon character at the time.
Kitaro was born in a farm family in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, Japan in 1953. He taught himself guitar in high school and formed the "Albatross" band with his friends. Then he joined the "FarEastFamilyBand" founded by Tomi Miyashita and toured around the world. In 1972, I met Klaus Schulze of "Tangerine Dream" in Germany and felt the magic of electronic synthesizers.
It can be said that Kitaro, who began to study electronic synthesis music as early as the 1970s, is the chief representative of New Age music. His works have the unique style of the pioneer of Japanese New Age music.
Integrating classical, pop, and jazz into electronic music, this Eastern charm that is different from Western music has made Kitaro recognized by more and more listeners around the world since the release of his first work "Heaven" (Of course many people are more familiar with his music than he is).
In 1978, Kitaro started his activities as an independent musician and released his first album "Tianjie". "The Earth" and "OASIS" were released in 1979. In 1980, Kitaro served as the music producer for the NHK program "Silk Road". The program was well received. The theme song composed by Kitaro was loved by everyone and became one of Kitaro's masterpieces. In the same year, he released the collections "Silk Road 1" and "Silk Road 2". The live recordings during the performance also received favorable reviews, and Kitaro suddenly became popular. In 1981, he released the albums "Dunhuang" and "Qi". The following year, he toured 30 cities across Japan and conducted an Asian tour, becoming the first Japanese musician to perform in Taiwan and mainland China.
The launch of the "Silk Road" series and the release of the masterpiece "Dunhuang" have made domestic audiences feel cordial. With such a special liking for Chinese-themed music, it’s no wonder that Mr. Kitaro has always insisted that “Chinese culture is the root of Japanese culture.”
In 1980, Kitaro signed a contract with Geffen Records in the United States (his current record company is Domo Records), and Kitaro's album officially entered the United States. In 1993 and 1997, Kitaro completed two original soundtracks: "Heaven and Earth" and "Song Dynasty". The former won the Golden Globe Award for Best Film Score, while the latter won the Taiwan Golden Horse Award and the Hong Kong Film Awards. During Kitaro's music career, *** was nominated for multiple Grammy Awards. Kitaro, who has never received any music education and cannot even read music notation, used to record music in his own way (somewhat similar to drawings), but he is indeed a versatile musician. In addition to playing guitar, bass, keyboard, flute and He composes, arranges, and produces in addition to many other instruments.
Kitaro’s later style was different from his early days, and the use of musical instruments was more extensive. Some people say that it lacked the tranquility of the early period. However, no matter in the past, present or future, no matter how the style of music changes, Kitaro’s compositions Our intentions and care for nature will never change.
Immersed in Kitaro's musical universe, you will find yourself intoxicated by the flowing rhythm of all things in nature. As long as you close your eyes and listen, unexpected and beautiful sounds of nature will emerge.
If you are turning on the stereo and listening to Kitaro at this moment, have you noticed any changes in the music flowing around you? Please feel the same this time - your deep breath...
Jishen's is also good, I like it very much, it has a strong style of ancient primitive tribes, elegant and deep.
Hoshi Yoshiaki was born in Wakayanagi Town, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan on March 16, 1946 (Miyagi belongs to the northeastern region of Japan, and Wakayanagi Town is located in the northern part of Miyagi Prefecture, adjacent to Iwate Prefecture). He is the son of seven children. The youngest son. His home is located in a secluded rural area, and it takes more than an hour to walk to school. His father sometimes played the shakuhachi (Japanese flute), which should be his earliest musical enlightenment. When he was in the first grade of elementary school, he loved the organ played by music teacher Kiyo Sugawara, and he dreamed of becoming a musician ever since.
When he was 18 years old, Yoshiaki Hoshi came to Tokyo with the dream of becoming a jazz pianist.
After that, he came into contact with electronic instruments that could produce various timbres and became fascinated by them. In 1971, when he was 25 years old, he won the top prize in the JVC National Electronic Keyboard Competition. After working hard in Tokyo for almost ten years, he felt unprecedented physical and mental fatigue. Just when he was planning to take a good rest, he received a call from Morioka (the capital of Iwate Prefecture, not far to the north is the famous scenic spot Himekamiyama in Iwate Prefecture). (1124 meters above sea level), Yoshiaki Hoshi's studio is on the shore of Lake Tanase at the foot of Himegami Mountain, where "Himegami" is named). He worked as an electronic keyboard teacher, so he came to Iwate and came into contact with the traditional culture of Tohoku. At the same time, Xing Jizhao began to explore a new self.
The Tohoku region is the birthplace of Yamato civilization. The ancient land has been passed down for thousands of years with the traditional culture that originated from the Jomon period. The everlasting clear and bone-clear wind circulates among the towering mountains. The breeze brings out countless long and profound memories. Yoshiaki Hoshi was first impressed by the representative folk song of Iwate Prefecture, "Nanbu Ushiobi", as well as other traditional arts and folk customs of Tohoku and the hearts of people living in the inland areas. Compared with the black spiritual songs, the source of jazz music that he has been engaged in before, Xing Yizhao calls the folk music of the Northeast "Northern spiritual songs." These simple and colorful folk arts have become Xing Jizhao's main source of creative inspiration.
In 1980, "Himegami Hikaru" was formed, and the first work "Oku no Homichi" was broadcast as the background music of a radio program, attracting attention and inquiries from listeners. In February 1981, "Himegami Hikaru" released the single "Oku no Homichi" and made its official debut. Half a year later, its first album of the same name was released. In 1984, the band changed its name to "Hemokami" and became a group with only Hoshi Yoshiaki.
The style of Ji Shen’s works is pure and mellow, full of human reverence and love for God or nature. On the one hand, it has a profound national character, and on the other hand, it uses a large number of electronic music elements, hip-hop and house rhythms. Waiting for modern musical expression (very typical of newage, Xing Yizhao is originally an electronic keyboard master). This music is alive because it is permeated with real history and cultural customs. When listening to it, you can feel the clear sound of the divine wind flowing from the distant Ou Mountains and Kitakami Highlands, calling us who live in the city. People, summoning the souls of human ancestors who are closest to nature.
Since his debut more than 20 years ago, Himegami’s music has been widely used as the BGM of TV shows and the theme songs of movies and TV shows. Many people unknowingly heard Himegami's music while watching the show and were attracted to it. The most famous is the Maxi Single "神々の诗" released in 1998 (the theme song of the documentary "神々の诗" of the same name broadcast by TBS at 8pm on Sunday). The album "縄文海流" (the third in the Kaze no Jōmon series released since 1996) containing this song also won the Planning Award at the Japan Record Awards (the 40th session) that year. In 2000, the theme song "Hitomi of the Future" composed for TBS's documentary series "Hitomi of the Future", which reflects the lives of children around the world, also won a lot of praise.
As one of the leading figures in Japan's New Age scene, Himegami devotes considerable energy to concerts. Starting with the Pure Land Mandala Concert at Hiraizumi Moetsuji Temple, Himegami's popularity has been ignited throughout Japan. Himegami holds most of his concerts in the wild, with repeated successes. In addition to the aforementioned Hiraizumi Dharma Concert, the more famous ones include the Koiwai Farm Concert, the Sannai Maruyama Jomon Cultural Heritage Concert in Aomori Prefecture, and the Sato Tsugaru Concert in Aomori Prefecture. Thirteen Lakes Concert. In addition to being committed to reflecting the country's local traditional culture and creating Japan's new national music for its people, Himegami is also actively developing overseas, attracting musical elements from other countries, such as the famous mainland erhu, which has collaborated with Himegami several times. Performer's permission (that's "花かんざし" in Kaze no Jomon). In the autumn of 2000, concerts held in Egypt and Israel to commemorate Himegami's 20th anniversary made the world feel Himegami even more. "Millennium Corridor", released after returning to China, absorbed local music from the Middle East, giving it a unique flavor.
Since 1995, Hoshiyoshiaki's eldest son Hoshiyoshiki has also joined Himegami as a concert accompanist. In addition, he also organized a choir "Himegami Voice" that specializes in Northeastern folk songs. Himegami is not just Hoshi Yoshiaki, but "Himegami Ichi".
On January 29, 2003, the long-awaited first album "青い花" after switching to Toshiba EMI was finally released, which included three songs "海明かり", "雨のかんざし", " "コキリコ" is a work composed by Hoshiyoshiaki who re-arranged local folk songs, and the rest are original works. Yoshiaki Hoshi has set his sights on various parts of Japan. For example, the title song "Blue Flower" is derived from traditional Okinawan folk songs. The entire album is full of beautiful lyrical melodies, conveying human joy, joy, sadness, and the magnificence and ethereal nature of nature to the listener's heart, making people feel a lot.
After Yoshiaki Hoshi released his 22nd album "The Wind of the Wind" in April 2004, he prepared to start a nationwide concert tour. In June, due to poor health, he was hospitalized in Morioka City. Therefore, "Hemokami" continued to tour concerts under a new system centered on Yoshiki Hoshi. At 1:21 a.m. on October 1, 2004, Yoshiaki Hoshi died of heart failure at the Morioka City Hospital in Iwate Prefecture at the age of 58. His funeral was held quietly on October 24, 2004 at Moetsuji Temple in Hiraizumi Town.
Himegami "Hoshi Yoshiaki" is Japan's new century music godfather as famous as Kitaro. If Kitaro's music is a majestic, pure and ethereal timeless masterpiece, then Hoshi Yoshiaki's music contains national music. Feng's quality sketch. In the early years, Himegami's music exuded the ultimate ethereal beauty of Japanese culture. Later, it developed into Japanese aboriginal music and began to become tribal, describing the original features and customs of Northeastern Japan in detail through rigorous electronic sounds. His music style has a strong ethnic flavor and is unique. It combines science fiction, religion, tribe, mystery and other elements to perform convincing music. His music is an infinite magic that makes people want to stop! This "Blue Flower" perfectly combines the characteristics of his early and late stages, and adopts a musical route without any modification, which can be called his unique musical world.
The most influential Japanese new age music composers are Kitaro Kitaro and Himekami Himekami, but the former is more famous in the international music scene, mainly because of the albums produced and released by Kitaro More so, he can be said to be a prolific composer. Himegami has released relatively few albums compared to Kitaro, but all of his creations are definitely of high quality. Every detail is almost perfect, including no superfluous sound segments. His music has beautiful melodies and emotional lyrics. As a Japanese, the music he composed sometimes had a more Chinese classical flavor than the music of local Chinese composers. In early Hong Kong and Taiwan costume dramas, there were many amazing soundtracks from Himegami's albums, and they often Unfortunately, the same piece of music is often used in different films. For example, whenever there is a romantic plot or scene, the track from Himegami's "MOON WATER" will be used. If When there are scenes about life and death, "a strong man is gone and never comes back", the song usually used is "Yan", a song from HOMURA.
He is a priest who uses music to pray for modern people. He uses pure electronic synthesizers to express the most primitive praise of human beings, not to specific nature, but to the things conceived in nature. god. Kitaro inherited the spirit of Shintoism, and Himegami inherited the tradition and culture of Shintoism. He tried to use music to nourish the dry hearts of modern people and awaken their awe and respect for nature.
He is also a folklorist and has unearthed Jomon music that has been almost forgotten by people ("Jomon" means knotting knots to record events, a distant era when Japanese civilization was still in its infancy). Let this ancient cultural heritage shine again in front of the world. Maybe you will be surprised that this is very different from the current Japanese music, but this is the real musical source of Japanese civilization and a precious wealth that belongs to mankind.
Himegami’s music evaluation:
Jigami’s album creations are absolutely of high quality, every detail is almost perfect, and there is no unnecessary burden. The sound segment is included. His music generally does not use nature-related materials and is more melodic and lyrical. As a Japanese, the music he composed actually has a more Chinese classical flavor than the music of local Chinese composers. Just like the classic song in Bertolucci's movie "The Last Emperor" that won several Oscars The palace interlude was written by a foreign composer from Hollywood, but it has a strong Chinese flavor.
In the early Hong Kong and Taiwan costume dramas, there were many amazing soundtracks from Ji Shen's albums, and they were often used in different films. The same piece of music was often used in different films. When a plot or scene appears, songs from Himegami's "MOON WATER" will be used. If there is a scene about life and death, or "a strong man is gone and never comes back" type scenes, usually "Fire" will be used. ", a song from HOMURA. He is a theologian. From the moment I heard "Poetry of the Gods," I knew he was a priest who used music to pray for modern people. He also uses pure electronic synthesizers to express mankind's most primitive praise, but it is not to specific nature, but to the gods bred in nature. Kitaro inherited the spirit of Shintoism, and Himegami inherited the tradition and culture of Shintoism. He tried to use music to nourish the dry hearts of modern people and awaken their awe and respect for nature.
Himegami is a folklorist. "Jomon" means tying knots to record events. It is from a distant era when Japanese civilization was still in its infancy. He unearthed Jomon music, which had been almost forgotten by people, and made this ancient cultural heritage shine again in front of the world. Maybe you will be surprised that this is so different from the current Japanese music. Maybe you may even find it as hard to accept as hearing it. But this is the real source of music of Japanese civilization, and like Kun Opera, it is a precious treasure that belongs to mankind.
Himegami is a priest who uses music to pray for modern people. He uses pure electronic synthesizers to express the most primitive praise of human beings, not to specific nature, but to the things that are nurtured in nature. God. Kitaro inherited the spirit of Shintoism, and Himegami inherited the tradition and culture of Shintoism. He tried to use music to nourish the dry hearts of modern people and awaken their awe and respect for nature.