Kato Hideki

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Kato Hideki (b. 1962 in Nagoya, Japan; 加藤英樹, family name Kato) is a Japanese musician and composer. He was a seminal member of the Tokyo Noise music scene of the late 80s and early 90s, collaborating with Japanese experimental musicians such as Otomo Yoshihide, Tatsuya Yoshida, Makigami Koichi, and Yamatsuka Eye. He led his own bands, Player Piano and Bass Army. He was a member of the original Ground Zero with Otomo and Uemura Masahiro. In 1992 Kato moved to New York where he still resides.

Since coming to New York, has recorded and performed with the likes of John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Christian Marclay, Calvin Weston, Eyvind Kang, Billy Martin (percussionist), Nicolas Collins, Zeena Parkins, James Pugliese, John King, Michael Schumacher, and many others.

His collaborations include Dying Ground, Billy Martin's Socket, Phase III, Italian DOC Remix, and the Crescent Moon Trio. He has an electronic duo with James Fei.

In 1995 he formed Death Ambient with Ikue Mori and Fred Frith and released three CDs on the Tzadik label, the latest, "Drunken Forest," in 2007.

In 2004 he formed a new trio, Green Zone, with Otomo Yoshihide and Uemura Masahiro--the lineup of the original Ground Zero, but this time with Kato as leader. The band name comes from the 10 km² area in central Baghdad during the US-Iraq war. The pieces Kato wrote for this trio were inspired by the US invasion of Iraq.

His newest project is a quartet with Calvin Weston, Charlie Burnham and Briggan Krause.

Kato's music has become more political since he emigrated to the US. His current works focus on pollution and global warming. He describes his music as "documentary without pictures."

Recordings

• Karada wa Oto o Dasu Mono /Bass Army (Trigram) - Dual Bass trio with the original Ruins bassist & Ground Zero drummer
• Hope & Despair (Extreme) - An acoustic CD with musicians in NYC and Japan
• Death Ambient (Tzadik, 1995) - The first Death Ambient CD with Ikue Mori & Fred Frith
• Sieves (Improvised Music from Japan, 1993) - Electro-Acoustic Duo with James Fei
• Turbulent Zone (Music for Expanded Ears, 1998) - Solo Electric Bass CD, using Prime Number tuning
• Synaesthesia (Tzadik, 1999) - The second Death Ambient CD
• Green Zone (doubtmusic, 2005) - The trio with the original Ground Zero crew
• Drunken Forest (Tzadik, 2007) - Third Death Ambient release, produced by Kato
• Byat (Callithump, 2008) - Second Green Zone release, produced by Kato, mastered by Kato and James Fei

External links

• Kato Hideki official site