Profile of Kitaro on Famous Like Me

Kitaro (喜多郎) was born in February 4, 1953 as Masanori Takahashi (高橋正則) in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, as the son of shintoistic farmers. His pseudonym "Kitaro" was given later by friends because of a Japanese television cartoon character.

Biography

Early life

In Highschool he loved Soul and Rhythm & Blues. He learned playing E-Guitar and performed with his band "Albatross" on parties and in clubs. His biggest influence in this time was Otis Redding. "Rhythm and blues has a kind a depth, emotions how can I say it? The audience feels something like same kind of emotions from my music. My music is not rhythm and blues, but it feels like soul."

In the early '70s he changed completely to keyboards. He joined the band "Far East Family Band" and toured with them around the world. In Europe he met the german synthesizer musician and Tangerine Dream cofounder Klaus Schulze. Schulze produced two albums for the band and gave Kitaro some tips for the use of synthesizers.

In 1976 he left the band and travelled through Asia (China, Laos, Thailand, India).

Solo career

Back in Japan Kitaro started his solo career in 1977. The first two albums Ten Kai and From the Full Moon Story became cult favorites of fans of the nascent New Age movement. But it was his famous soundtrack for the NHK series "Silk Road" which brought him the international attention.

He struck a worldwide distribution arrangement with Geffen Records in 1986; in 1987 he collaborated with different musicians, e.g. with Micky Hart (Grateful Dead) and Jon Anderson (Yes) and his record sales soared to 10 million worldwide. Besides he was nominated twice for a Grammy and his soundtrack (for the movie "Heaven & Earth") won a 1994 award for best original score. His biggest musical success was the Grammy Award 2001 for his album Thinking of You.

Personal life

Kitaro is a star, but he is very modest. "Nature inspires me. I am only a messenger", he said. "To me, some songs are like clouds, some are like water". Since 1983 his reverence for nature leads Kitaro to annually give thanks to Mother Nature in a special "concert" on Mount Fuji or near his house in Colorado. On the day of the full moon of August he beats on the Taiko drum from dusk to dawn. Frequently his hands become bloodied, but he continues to pound.

From 1983 till 1990 he was married with his first wife Yuki Taoka. Yuki is a daughter of Kazuo Taoka, godfather of Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest Yakuza syndicate. Kitaro and Yuki have a son, Ryunosuke, who lives in Japan. They separated because Kitaro worked most time in the United States while she lived and worked in Japan. In the middle of the 1990s Kitaro married Keiko Matsubara, a musician who played on several of his albums. With her and her son Kitaro lives in Ward, outside Boulder, Colorado (USA) on a 180 acre (730,000 m²) spred and composes in his 2500 square foot (230 m²) home studio "Mochi House" (it is large enough to hold a 70 piece orchestra) his latest songs.

Other works

He has also worked with Virtuoso Guitarist Marty Friedman, formerly of Megadeth.

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