Kitaro

Just like I heard Vangelis on TV, I was introduced to Kitaro through his wonderful theme for the Silk Road series. I looked forward to the show as it took me to another place and time along with this wonderfully evocative music. It was only a few months ago that I actually purchased the Silk Road soundtrack CD.

Just like with my other major influences Tangerine Dream and Vangelis, I didn’t own any Kitaro records for a long time. I guess because most record stores file him under New Age (along with whale music and incense burners) and I was not in that place. It wasn’t till I found his wonderfully powerful Live In America CD that I started to explore what made him so strong a composer/performer.

One interesting thing was that I had a Kitaro cassette on loan from the library (I really don’t remember which but I think it was from the mid-80’s) but in some parts it rememded me a lot of my own work at the time. Some of the sounds used were almost interchangeable with mine. Maybe we both used the same instrument or something. Either way it was a bizarre moment.

I don’t ever model my work on Kitaro as musically he is a bit different from me but his sense of magic and drama along with a tasteful use of electronics makes him a true master.