Kitaro life and biography

Masanori Takahashi, better known as Kitarō is a Grammy and Golden Globe award-winning Japanese musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist.

Kitaro's style is the epitome of the contemplative, highly melodic synthesizer music often associated with the new-age movement. Interestingly enough, this famous Japanese composer taught himself to play electric guitar in high school -- inspired by the R&B music of Otis Redding. In the early '70s, Kitaro formed the Far East Family Band, which released two albums of progressive rock. In 1972, however, he met the innovative German synthesist Klaus Schulze during a trip to Europe. Kitaro was hooked. He built his first synthesizer and began experimenting with all kinds of unusual sounds. His first solo album, Astral Voyage, appeared in 1978 and quickly gained a cult following. Two years later, he produced the first of several soundtracks for Silk Road, a Japanese television documentary series that ran for five years. Several albums of music from Silk Road were released to a growing international contingent of fans who admired his combination of lush, majestic textures and gentle, almost naive, melodies. Kitaro, however, was still considered an underground artist in America until he signed with Geffen Records in 1986, which re-released seven of his earlier albums and gave him the support to expand his scope in many ways. For instance, after years of creating albums in the privacy of his home studio near Japan's Mt. Fuji, Kitaro produced his 1987 release, The Light of the Spirit, with the help of Mickey Hart. The album featured an array of American musicians and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best New-Age Performance category. That same year, Kitaro also made his first live tour of North America and sold two million albums in the U.S. alone. Kitaro's style had changed as well, becoming more theatrical and assertive while retaining a certain level of innocence and purity. His more recent recordings also show a renewed interest in the rock and pop elements that originally attracted him to music in the late '60s; in 1998, he also released the soundtrack to Cirque Ingenieux, a production bound for the Broadway stage. Thinking of You followed a year later; Ancient appeared in spring 2001. It was well received, leading to a sequel of sorts in the like-minded Ancient Journey in 2002. His contributions on the soundtrack to the controversial Chinese drama The Soong Sisters came out the same year, as did a live album and DVD.

Discography:

1978 - Ten Kai/Astral Voyage/Astral Voyager/Astral Trip
1979 - Full Moon Story/Daichi
1979 - Oasis
1980 - Silk Road (a.k.a. The Soghdian Merchants on VHS)
1980 - Silk Road II
1980 - In Person/In Person Digital (Live)
1980 - Silk Road Suite (conducted by Paul Buckmaster with The London Symphony Orchestra)
1981 - Silk Road III: Tunhuang/Tonko/Dunhuang
1981 - Best of Kitaro vol 1
1982 - World of Kitaro (conducted by John Lubbock with London Philharmonic Orchestra)
1981 - Radio House Ginga
1981 - Ki
1982 - Utopia (Maxi 45rmp Picture Disc - Same Music as Radio House ginga)
1982 - Millennia/Queen Millennia
1982 - Angel Queen (Ending song from the Queen Millenia Movie - Vocals By Dara Sedaka)
1983 - Silk Road IV: Tenjiku/India
1983 - Portopia '81/Portpier Matsushita Kan (Single included in Noah's Ark)
1983 - Aura No Saiten
1984 - Silver Cloud/Cloud
1984 - Caravan (Single - Vocals by Pages)
1984 - Live in Asia/Asia Super Tour Live/Asia (Live)
1986 - Toward the West/Endless Journey/Saihou: Journey of Silk Road
1986 - Tenku
1987 - The Light of the Spirit
1988 - Ten Years/Best of Ten Years
1990 - Kojiki
1991 - Live in America
1992 - Dream/Lady of Dreams (with Jon Anderson)
1993 - Heaven and Earth
1994 - Mandala
1994 - Tokusen II (CD 1 Best Of, CD 2 Live in Osaka)
1995 - An Enchanted Evening (Live)
1996 - Peace On Earth
1996 - Kitaro World of Music (Yu-Xiao Guang plays Kitaro's music )
1997 - Cirque Ingenieux
1998 - Gaia-Onbashira
1998 - Six Musical Portraits (best of)
1998 - Romantic Ballads
1999 - Best of Kitaro vol 2
1999 - Thinking of You
2000 - The Soong Sisters
2000 - The Essential Collection (Japan only)
2000 - Nile (Single included in Ancient)
2001 - Ancient
2001 - Endless Journey (best of)
2001 - Healing Forest (best of)
2001 - Noah's Ark (best of)
2002 - An Ancient Journey
2002 - Daylight, Moonlight in Yakushiji/Yakushi-Ji (Live)
2002 - Mizu Ni Inorte
2002 - Asian Cafe/Ashu Chakan (best of)
2003 - Best of Silk Road
2003 - Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai
2004 - Shikoku 88 Places
2005 - Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Volume 2
2006 - Spiritual Garden
2007 - Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Volume 3
2008 - The Definitive Collection (best of)
2008 - Toyo's Camera (best of - soundtrack)
2009 - Impressions Of The West Lake
2010 - Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Volume 4

Other albums

All Roads Lead To Rome
Across The Karakum Desert
Across The Pamir
Deep Forest
In Silent
In Search Of Wisdom
Mu Land
Morning Light
Tamayura (2001 DVD)
Tento Chi
Vertigo
Sleep Vol.1
Sleep Vol.2

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