Drummer, singer, flute player and composer, Joji Hirota easily defies definition. Trained as a classical musician in Japan, he has spent over half his life in England, freely combining musical instruments and influences to create a music that is significantly his own. His flute sounds like singing, his singing sounds instrumental, and his drums sound like nothing on earth.
Joji Hirota was born in Hokkaido in Northern Japan. His father played the shakuhachi flute and gave him his first flute, a small child’s version, when he was five years old. Joji began to study percussion at the age of eleven, and by the time he was thirteen he was composing original music. Consequently, he then went on to study at the Kyoto Municipal Arts University.
In 1972, Joji was invited to be Musical Director and Percussionist of the Red Buddha Theatre in England by the influential Stomu Yamashta. Joji himself said, if not for that invitation, he might have stayed with the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra playing Beethoven’s 5th Symphony for the rest of his life. This was a key move that led Joji, in 1987, to become Musical Director and Solo Percussionist for the Lindsay Kemp Dance Company that presented shows in Europe, Canada, South America, and Japan. In 1991, the company won the Time Out award for Best Dance Company for their production 0nnagata, for which Joji wrote and performed the music.
Joji relocated to England and has lived there ever since. The serious interest in traditional world music in the West inspired him to explore the folk music of his own culture, long before it was taken seriously back in Japan. He denies that he is mixing traditions. “I happen to be a Japanese man – but as a musician, I am drawing on all these traditions to create my own style.“
In 1992, Joji collaborated with Clannad’s founder Pól Brennan and Chinese flutist Guo Yue to form Trísan.
Joji Hirota worked on three major projects: –
1) Solo-based Japanese percussion performances, with drums and shakuhachi.
Sometimes the program also included vocal performances of Japanese folk songs. In Great Britain, Joji often performed with Mark Alcock and James Barrow as ‘Joji Hirota and The Taiko Drummers’. In continental Europe and the rest of the world, Joji performed as part of the WOMAD Festivals.
2) The world percussion duet Taiko To Tabla’ with Peter Lorkett.
A fusion of percussion from all over the world – contemporary music with drum-based percussion, combining traditional techniques and sounds with modern influences. The instruments included Taiko drums, tablas, congas, bongos, jembe, drum kit, gongs, and many hand percussion instruments. The duet recorded their first live concert in February 1998 at The Brugge Festival in Belgium, which was released on CD on Nov. 9.
3) The collaboration with The String Orchestra.
The String Orchestra consists of Dai Emanuel and Deborah Widdup on violin, Andrew Brown on viola, Caroline Dale on cello and Clare Tyack on double bass. Joji arranged and performed Japanese folk music for The String Orchestra – involving traditional Japanese singing, shakuhachi flute and Japanese drum-based percussion – blending pure folk melody with new classical string harmonies. Joji also composed classical music especially for the Orchestra, which occasionally includes the involvement of special guest musicians.
In addition to these projects, Joji has composed and performed for Anglia TV’s series of ‘Survival’ wildlife programs, in collaboration with former Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips. This collaboration work has also extended to numerous pieces of library music.
In 2009, Joji Hirota & Hiten Ryu Daiko released “Japanese Drums” with Hiten Ryu Daiko, a new group of 5 talented musicians. He said: “I have endeavored to create Taiko music in a new contemporary style, trying not to lose the grace and high energy of the traditional Taiko music from its heritage, and I believe I have achieved this with my Taiko team, as you will hear on these recordings.”
In March 2011, as the great earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan, Joji responded by creating the production Beyond the Requiem and holding charity concerts based on his arrangements of
Tohoku folk songs. Joji has since given annual concerts with The London Metropolitan Orchestra together with The London Taiko Drummers to commemorate that tragic day.
In 2012, Joji received a commendation by the Emperor and Empress of Japan, in thanks for his activities around the world.
Joji’s “Japanese Folk Songs II” album was released in 2013, and “Japanese Taiko” by Joji and The London Taiko Drummers followed in 2016.
Joji’s music and performances have contributed to, and been used in, various films, one such being Martin Scorsese’s Silence in 2017. He also recorded music for The Last Samurai, 47 Ronin, Wes Anderson’s
Isle of Dogs and for Sony PlayStation’s Ghost of Tsushima.
In 2020, Joji produced the album Taiko Do for the first Italian taiko group KyoShinDo.
In 2021, Joji released “Prayer’s Tale” inspired by the great themes of nature, the cosmos, and humanity itself. The album was Joji’s invitation to share his view of the world through his talent for creating musical soundscapes and triggering emotions through the nuances of sound and performance.
On “Prayer’s Tale”, Joji Hirota played taiko drums (ohdaiko, shimedaiko, kotsuzumi, ohkawa), Japanese/Asian percussion (kin [prayer bells], bells, wind gongs, wind chimes) voice, shakuhachi, birds and insects whistle, and music boxes. He was joined by Yoshinori Hayashi on miyadaiko and ohdaiko jiuchi on the musical piece The Sound of Earth.
(headline image: Joji Hirota – Photo by Vincent Goodsell)
Discography:
The Wheel Of Fortune (Inner City Records, 1981)
Rain Forest Dream (Saydisc, 1990)
Travelogues 4, with Anthony Phillips (Atmosphere, 1993)
Red Ribbon, with Guo Yue (Riverboat Records, 1994)
Missing Links Volume 3: Time And Tide, with Anthony Phillips (Blueprint, 1997)
The Gate (Real World Records, 1999)
Nature + Wildlife (The Natural World), with Anthony Phillips (Themes International Music, 1999)
Taiko To Tabla: Live At The Bruges Festival 1998 (2002)
Taiko To Tabla, with Pete Lockett (ARC Music, 2004)
Japanese Folk Songs (ARC Music, 2007)
Masters Of Percussion, with Hossam Ramzy, Sarwar Sabri, Emmanuel Tagoe (ARC Music, 2008)
Japanese Drums (ARC Music, 2009)
Japanese Folksongs 2 (ARC Music, 2013)
Prayer’s Tale (ARC Music, 2021)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.