Takuro Kikuchi

Born in 1983 in Tokyo, Takuro Kikuchi is a composer and pianist who lives in Sendai, Japan. With influence from his father, who plays classical guitar, Kikuchi has been familiar with music since his early childhood. He learned composition from Akira Kitamura and Kazutoshi Shinomi, piano from Susumu Umetani, Mayumi Kurata, and Rumiko Miura, and solfeggio from Makoto Ishihara.

He first composed music when he was nine years old. He discovered the joy of composition no sooner than he had started playing piano. Based on the classical music he has cultivated since his childhood, he produces unique music with lush sensibilities and rich musical expressions, gently appealing to audiences of all generations. He takes care of the entire production process, from composing, playing, recording, mixing, and mastering, right through to designing the jackets of his CDs.

So far, he has produced five albums. In his first album, Reprendre (2013), poetic development of the music leaves listeners with the impression of watching a film, while his second album, fleur (2014), is an improvisational work with simple sound choices with classical elements. Neun Stuecke fuer Klavier (2015)―his third album―has a beginning that is like looking into an abyss, eventually leading to a grand finale, followed by his fourth album, a nostalgic yet new ambient music collection, The Piano pieces for CASTELLA (2017), which is a collaboration with Shokado in Matsushima. In his latest, improvisational work, Pianoforte (2018), he lets his fingers go freely to illustrate his inner landscape and emotional movement in an exquisite yet bold manner. This album has been selling long-term despite being produced independently. He has also released four albums in the "Seasonal Sound Series," which plays the beautiful four seasons of Japan, only for distribution.

On Billboard JAPAN, Devendra Banhart, a free folk icon from the US, has chosen Kikuchi's “La Renoncule” (from the album fleur) for his Japan-themed playlist.
In November 2018, he performed at the music festival "Le Guess Who? 2018" in the Netherlands as selected by Devendra Banhart. He also appeared on a television program by the Dutch public broadcaster VPRO, which was aired around the Netherlands with a great reception.

He has been expanding his activities both domestically and internationally, with especially high popularity in Europe. He has performed with artists of various genres and continues to showcase a different charm every time.



1983年生まれ。作曲家・ピアニスト。東京生まれ、仙台在住。 クラシックギターを弾く父の影響で、幼少の頃から音楽に親しむ。 作曲を北村昭、四野見和敏、ピアノを梅谷進、倉田まゆみ、三浦るみ子、ソルフェージュを石原真の各氏に師事。

初めての作曲は9歳。ピアノを習い始めると同時に作曲の楽しさを知る。 幼少より培ったクラシックを基盤としながら、その瑞々しい感性と豊潤な表現力で生み出される音色は、世代を問わず聴く者の心に柔らかく響く。作曲、演奏、レコーディング、ミキシング、マスタリングの工程をすべて一人でこなし、CDジャケットのデザインも手がけている。

現在までに5枚のCDアルバムをリリース。 詩的なピアノの旋律が1本の映画を観ているような感覚を覚える1st『Reprendre(2013)』、 音数の少ない静かな旋律が優しく語りかけるような即興アルバム2nd『fleur(2014)』、 深淵を覗き込むような不穏なはじまりから壮大なラストへ疾走する異色作3rd『ピアノのための9つの小品(2015)』、 松島の松華堂菓子店とコラボレーションした、なつかしくてあたらしいアンビエントミュージックアルバム4th『カステラのためのピアノ曲集(2017)』 、弱い音から強い音までを指先の赴くがままに任せ自由自在に操り、心象風景や感情の機微を繊細かつ大胆に表現した即興アルバム5th『Pianoforte(2018)』 が自主制作盤ながらロングセールスを記録中。 その他にも配信限定で、日本の美しい四季を奏でる「季節の音シリーズ」として4枚のアルバムをリリースしている。

Billboard JAPANにて、アメリカ出身フリーフォークの奇才 Devendra Banhart氏による「日本愛に溢れた」プレイリストに「Takuro Kikuchi / 美しい人」が選曲される。

2018年11月にオランダで開催された音楽フェス「Le Guess Who?2018」に、Devendra Banhart氏による選出により出演を果たした。また、オランダ公共放送VPROのテレビプログラムに出演し、オランダ国内にその模様が放映され大きな反響を得る。

国内外問わず活動の幅を広げているが、特にヨーロッパでの人気が高い。これまでに様々なジャンルのアーティストと共演を重ね、その都度、違った魅力を発信し続けている。