The Japanese pianist with the largest global audience just released the latest Time
The Japanese pianist with the largest global audience. I am talking about Hideyuki Hashimoto. You might still not know who I am referring to. However, the truth is that just the streaming figures I can see on Spotify indicate that five of his songs have over 10 million streams, and “Turn” has over 20 million streams. I know it’s not smart to compare him to other pianists to explain what type of pianist he is. And actually, finding piano pieces with such a large streaming number is nearly impossible.
“I’m facing a dilemma. Even though I wish for more people to listen to my music, I prefer my activities to be quiet. The streaming may fit my attitude, as it offers chances for everyone to listen without me being present.” said Hideyuki, with modesty and unselfishness. Nonethless, his piano compositions draw global interest, leading XXIM Records of Sony Muisc to offer a contract, which resulted in releasing his latest Time.
Hideyuki hails from Osaka, and during his childhood, he was exposed to music through playing the piano and electone. Later, in music school, he studied jazz. He then had backed numerous bands and singers in Kansai area for a while. However, an idea came up to him, leading him to move to Kagawa Pref.
“It was the first album Earth (2012) that I created to sum up activities that I had been doing up to that point. Groping around to create music by myself brought me to that place.”
His music is simple, tuneful (melodious), and feels natural to blend in with the surroundings. I would say it’s not pushy but neutral for everyone to enjoy. His latest Time also highlights his musical preferences lyrically. I think it is intriguing to hear him say he creates music as an extension of improvisation, without using any written scores. According to him, his music is a “spontaneous generation”.
“Playing the piano, along with my intuition, slowly forms music. I would record just my piano playing in this way, which could happen to turn into a finished piece.”
Mostly, his recordings take place at home with his upright piano. However, this recording happened at the studio in Berlin with engineers there.
“If I did this all by myself, it would lead to reflective direction. But this time, my feeling may have shifted outwards. I had a great time at a festival in Milan before, so I'd like to do a tour abroad.”
