In the heart of Kyoto, a city renowned for its timeless beauty and rich artistic heritage, a singular musician is crafting a sound that is both deeply personal and daringly experimental. Kita Kouhei—a sound artist, composer, and master of the rare Array Mbira–builds immersive soundscapes that seamlessly blend the organic textures of live instruments with the limitless possibilities of electronic music, creating a world that is uniquely that of his own (and his cats).
Kouhei’s artistic sensibility was forged in a childhood of intense curiosity. He begged to start piano lessons at the tender age of three, whilst simultaneously spending his days immersed in the visual world, painting in a class run by his mother. This foundation in music and visual art was later sharpened by a career as a sought-after professional drummer in the Kansai music scene.
However, a move to Tokyo brought profound upheaval. A period of personal crisis, including a divorce and an obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnosis, coincided with a growing dissatisfaction with his role as a session musician. Feeling an urgent need to express his own vision, he returned to Kyoto to focus on his own solo work.
This period of transformation led to a powerful creative rebirth. In Kyoto, he founded his own production company, studio guzli, achieving commercial success and even a prestigious Galaxy Award for his work on documentaries and avant-garde theatre. Yet, this was merely a prelude. Driven by a powerful urge to finally synthesise the painter’s eye of his childhood with his vast musical expertise, he began his solo journey in earnest.
The result has been a staggering outpouring of creativity. Through his own label, neuf, Kouhei has released over fifteen albums in just a few short years; he appears to be an artist in constant, restless motion.
Today, Kouhei’s life in Kyoto is a balance of prolific creation and quiet dedication. He teaches music from his private studio, and his life was irrevocably changed by a chance meeting with a “fateful kitten,” the first of two feline companions (Cello and Viola) who have become central to his world and feature in his work. Now a devoted cat lover, this simple detail offers a glimpse into the man behind the complex soundscapes—an artist who finds profound beauty in the overlooked corners of the everyday. Kita Kouhei remains a pioneering figure, a sonic architect building beautiful, strange new worlds from the intricate corridors of his own life.
Recommended:
9th Album: New Species – Neospecies (April 2023) Neospecies pushes into uncharted territory, incorporating more complex electronic processing and unconventional rhythms. The tracks are all inspired by various plants.
14th Album: Bouquet as the World (February 2025) “…a sequel to the previous album “Children of the In-Between World”. It depicts the sorrows that dot everyone’s daily life, the cries that are drowned out by the great currents of the world, and the small, powerless hopes and loves that are faintly but surely present. The production of this work was mainly done in a gallery in Kyoto, and most of the recordings were made using an old piano there.”
15th Album: Idealism III – ideology III (April 2025) The final and conclusive statement of the trilogy, Idealism III. “The sound is pleasantly layered with the watery tones of ArrayMbira, delicate and warm kalimba, analog synths clothed in cloudy textures, old tape noises, and field recordings of everyday scenes. In addition, this work is a new attempt to fuse “ethnic music” and “ambient music”. Utilising his sensitivity and skills as a percussionist, he features drums, cajón, djembe, and other instruments, allowing the audience to enjoy the sound of various percussions.”