kama aina

Konnichi wa!

Welcome to my myspace site! - Im Takuji aka Kama Aina!

info below is taken from Rumraket.net:

BIOGRAPHY & DISCOGRAPHY

Kama Aina is the solo project of the multi-instrumentalist and art activist Takuji Aoyagi from Japan. Kama Aina is a Hawaiian word for "native man" or "islander" and this is indeed a suitable name. This is how Takuji himself desricbes Kama Aina:

"Kama Aina represents me as a fan of music which comes from islands, as well as referring to myself living in an island country. I sometimes think that my music reminds me of a remote island somewhere."



He was born on December 8th in 1971. He is a true multi instrumentalist and crucially, an extensive traveller who throughout his creative life, has endeavoured to seek out and collect sounds and images from the world over, Kama Aina is entirely unique in his approach to music. His wandering tendencies, the deep-seated curiosities he harbours about travel, space, distance and cultures, and the subsequent centrality of ‘place’ to his music, are perhaps not surprising when you consider that Aoyagi’s Tokyo-based childhood was largely spent immersed in Spanish, Portugese and Latin American music. Additional his musical family owned a shop selling classical instruments and encouraged his explorations. All of this combined profoundly forms Kama Aina’s own approach to making music.



The biggest passion for Kama Aina is "island music" especially the music from Hawaii and Cuba. Maybe this is because Kama Aina himself is an Islander. He lives in Tokyo, Japan where he, together with Maher Shahal Hash Baz and Tennicoats, is one of the main figures in the gleaming Japanese scene of innocent, DIY and heartbreaking folk-pop.



Takuji Aoyagi founded his own label Folkcore in 2002 and in Summer of 2004 he released his latest album "Two Fingers", with 10 artists from Japan, the United States, France, and Argentine, including Tommy Guerrero and Josh from Town & Country. The album was called "Two Fingers" since all the pieces could be played with just two fingers.



Also in 2004 Geographic (a sub record label to Domino, driven by The Pastels) released the compilation "Music Activist" of his best works so far.



Takuji Aoyagi is also a member of these 2 groups, Little Creatures and Double Famous.



He has created and played his music (always independently) for a picture book and soundtracks for films, compiled music for albums, and selected music for fashion shows.



He also has talents in acting - the film "Timeless Melody" (2000) directed by Hiroshi Okuhara

, in which he played a leading role in and contributed to the soundtrack, won the Grand Prix at Pusan International Film Festival.



He has since 1998 co-founded and hosted "Book Worm", an open-mike reading event in which people read various short writings like poems articles from paper, critics, and lyrics, with Madoki Yamasaki

.



DISCOGRAPHY

Two Deaths Three Births - 1999 (MIDI Creative) - soundtrack

Pearl Diver - 1999 (TSUMORI CHISATO) - album

Timeless Melody - soundtracks 2000.2 (MIDI Creative) - soundtrack

Kati - 2000.10 (Saidera) - album

Folkcore - 2002.10 (Folkcore) - album

Two Fingers - 2004.8 (Folkcore) - album

Music Activist (best of) - 2004. 9 (Geographic) - best of album

Club Kama Aina - 2006.10 (Rumraket) - album