Kaito aka Hiroshi Watanabe & Atsushi KobayashiJP
Kaito distinctive style of layering lyrical and melancholic synth phrases and melodies creates a one-of-a-kind sound that ranges from danceable to beatless, balancing an ambient world view. With strong support from listeners worldwide, he has released numerous works on domestic and international labels. Under the name Kaito, he has released seven EPs and eight albums on the German label KOMPAKT since 2001.
In 2014, he performed with the WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne, and in 2016, he became the first Japanese artist to release an album, MULTIVERSE, on Derrick May's Transmat Records. Notable works include the track "GET IT BY YOUR HANDS" featured in Eureka Seven, TAKACHIHO, which offers a modern take on the folk music of Miyazaki Prefecture, and an album created for the illumination of Fukuroda Falls, one of Japan's three great waterfalls in Ibaraki Prefecture. In September 2024, Kaito’s latest album, collection, was released by the Paris-based label InFiné Music.
Atsushi Kobayashi is an artist who unites sound, visuals and mechanicals.He built a career as a creative technologist in a tech company “VT PRO DESIGN” in Los Angeles. His skills span across performing for audio visual live events and fabricating art installations for exhibitions.
He won A' Design Award in 2019 and 2022. Also his robot arm installation ‘Germination’ was invited to Festival X in Dubai in 2023.