Kento Masuda

(born June 29, 1973 in Katori, Chiba, Japan) is an international composer, musician and artist. His MusicAL career spans over 20 years and has also led to a career in music creation that began in the 2000s. He enjoys an international audience with music that encompasses a diverse sound which includes mixed musical styles and unique orchestrations. Masuda is also a member of the National Association of Recording Industry Professionals (NARIP) and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (The Recording Academy).

Biography

Early life

Kento Masuda began playing keyboards at the age of 5. While preferring to compose his own music instead of playing standard repertoires, Masuda took part in a variety of contests for talented young musicians. By the age of 10, he began winning competitions including the Junior Original Competition of Yamaha Music Foundation.

Early music career

From 1990 on, Masuda began conducting professional public performances as YAMAHA's employed musician at age of 17, while playing classical and modern compositions for events, ceremony halls and Yamaha shop on 5th Ave in New York. Between 1993 and 1995, Kento lived in New York where he worked in the area of music production. His success at such a young age set the foundation for a lifetime of performances, composing, and music production.

During this time, Masuda worked on several musical projects and jobs, including radio, game, and TV/CM music offerings in Tokyo. These were written (both music and lyrics), arranged, and performed on keyboards by Masuda. Masuda also produced his original solo album entitled “MYOJYOW” (a non-standard transliteration of 明星, the Japanese word for "Morning Star" or Venus) on June 19, 1998. Since then he has used the alias “Kent Masuda“. “MYOJYOW” was audio mastered by Bobby Hata. On October 26, 1999, Masuda released "MEMORIES". Both albums were submitted in the U.S. which resulted in Masuda receiving positive feedback from major companies, including Steve Vai's management office of Sepetys Entertainment Group in Santa Monica. CEO Ruta Sepetys (who is also a music producer) suggested that Masuda join forces with recording artist Steve Vai, but Masuda chose to remain a solo artist.

2000s

In 2000, Masuda established his own publishing company and label, Kent on Music, Inc. (ASCAP) as well as producing and recording studio "Externalnet" in Tokyo. He uses MIDI Master keyboard KORG's OASYS with Apple Computer's Logic Pro and Avid Technology's Pro Tools system which are interactive with final mix studios and audio mastering.

The 3rd album “HANDS” released on August 26, 2003, was mixed with a producer Tadashi Namba and mastered by Bobby Hata in Los Angeles CA. Masuda used the alias "KENT" on the 1st edition of this album. The album was promoted to MIDEM in Cannes, France. It then entered the European music market, particularly among German audiences, which led to Masuda’s interview with Klassik Radio Hamburg. Additionally, program sponsor Galerie ATTA's owner Ruth Atta along with artist Delphine Charat (who painted Masuda’s portrait, showed the connection of music to painting to masterpiece.

In 2005, Masuda signed with JPMC Records, a Swiss label based in New York and became a member of the ASCAP. Since then, he has used no alias and only uses his real name of "Kento Masuda". His 4th album, “GlobeSounds,” was released on June 13, 2006 and mixed with Grammy-nominated producer Charles Eller and Lane Gibson. “GlobeSounds” was mastered by Bobby Hata. According to Eller, “Kento is an artist as well as an INCredible craftsman at writing highly imaginative music that defies categorization in a good way. The music has extremely lush textures that work by defining intricate themes that evolve throughout each spellbinding composition.” During the recording of “GlobeSounds”, Hon. Ambassador Madeleine M. Kunin visited at Eller's music studio in Charlotte, VT.

In 2007, Masuda's music has enjoyed continued growth from myspace and Last.FM along with recent airplay on radio stations internationally. His catalog of compositions and recordings has been featured on MTV, NME Magazine, and BBC Music. In 2009, Masuda created several music videos: "So We Are" "Shine On" a documentary film "Down to Earth" which describe his album “GlobeSounds” and "Musical Notation and Concrete Poetry" (featuring the author Diana Macs and the Portuguese poet, Luís Adriano Carlos.

2010s

Masuda's 5th album "Light Speed+" was released on September 11, 2010. With a strong emphasis and weight on composition, Masuda also showcased his unique style with a full-length synthesis album. After that, Masuda received honorable mention in the "International Songwriting Competition", with "Tree" (from the album "GlobeSounds") in the instrumental category. This was followed by achieving an honorable mention in 2012 in the same category.

In 2011, Masuda composed music for renowned designer Yohji Yamamoto's Femme Autumn Winter 2011–2012 Paris Fashion Week fashion show which featured his compositions "Hands" and "Little Tokyo Poetry". They continued to collaborate on Masuda's creative short music film "Godsend Rondo" directed by Tomo Oya in Hokkaido. In this film Masuda dressed in Yamamoto's Ready-to-wear collection. The film "Godsend Rondo" has already been viewed world-wide by over 100,000 on YouTube.

On September 26, 2012, Masuda’s first piano solo album and piano book “All in the Silence” was released, followed by two live performances “Force in the Silence” and “Force in the Silence 2” at Musicasa Acoustic Concert Hall in Tokyo, Japan. His performances featured classic pieces that highlighted his career thus far, with themes that touch upon the many feelings of life along with those unspoken but shared thoughts that transcend all borders.

On April 16, 2014, Kento Masuda released his 7th album “Loved One,” which was produced by Masuda and multiple award-winning Miami producer Gary Vandy. “Loved One” was recorded at Gary Vandy’s Studio Center in Miami, which has produced recordings that have won 8 Grammy awards along with multiple platinum albums. “Loved One” features musicians Paul Messina (Flashpoint) and Kevin Marcus Sylvester (Black Violin) and utilizes the HQCD process for superior sound quality. According to Vandy, "Kento Masuda is one of this world's artistic treasures. His music is at once sonically spiritual and visually expressive. You can literally see his music. The blend of smooth melodies and rhythmic grooves transports the listener to an environment that allows them to participate in his sculpture of sound."

Personal life

Masuda is a member of the Freemasonry in Gran Loggia d'Italia degli Alam.

Style and influence

Masuda's adventurous composing style is characterized by intricate keyboard lines with obvious melodies, deep percussion grooves, and massive layers of rhythm and sound that draw the listener into a whole new world with each passing note which takes the listener down a new and unchartered path in the world of cinematographic sound that truly stretches the imagination with its incredible and ambitious palette of sounds.

From his interview, Masuda says that he was influenced by both Johann Sebastian Bach; "His music theory has a major impact on everything, even today". And Alan Menken; "The music of Disney films has so much magic in himself and always promises a happy ending".

On his official Web site, Masuda states he relates to artists such as: Steve Vai, Ruta Sepetys, T. S. Monk, Alexandra Nechita, Olivia Lufkin, Marié Digby, Nichole Hatton, Justin Davis, Yohji Yamamoto.

From the MTV site, Masuda’s music is listed as being similar to the following artists: Kitaro, Hans Zimmer, Ludovico Einaudi, Jon Hopkins, Harold Budd, Jim Brickman, Mike Oldfield, John Tesh, Hauschka, Jon Hassell, Yanni, Tangerine Dream, Rick Wakeman, Enya, Clannad, Secret Garden, Alan Silvestri, Gavin Bryars, Mannheim Steamroller, Joe Hisaishi, William Orbit, Jordan Rudess, Andreas Vollenweider, Brian Eno, Ryuichi SakamotoKlaus Schulze, Terry Riley, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Schiller, Deep Forest, Vangelis, George Winston, Michael Hedges.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music Videos

1. "So We Are"
2. "Shine On"
3. "Godsend Rondo"
4. "7"
5. "Down to Earth"
6. "Musical Notation and Concrete Poetry"
7. "Kento Masuda Documentary Speech '12"

Bibliography

Piano book

Awards and nominations