Recently, Kitaro made his own debut in the Republic of China. Anticipating his arrival, his sound technicians came to Taiwan early to arrange the setting for his performance.
Kitaro has sharp-cut features-narrow eyes, high cheekbones, straight nose, poker-chip lips—but an added thick, black moustache and long straggly hair make him look more like a would-be radical at Berkely.
At his concert, he wore a red vest over a white longsleeve dress shirt. As he performed, eyes closed, he radiated peace. But occasionally, he shook his hair or raised his right hand, one finger pointing skyward, breaking the mood. He was giving instructions to his accompanists, or directing his audience to someplace far away.
Kitaro's electronic synthesizers link to the strings and two sets of drums to produce a tremendous amount of sound-sometimes like the crash of ocean waves, other times like a gentler flow.
During the concert, lasers spun around the auditorium. Smoky green light spread behind the band, adding a mysterious atmosphere to the performance and bringing visual enjoyment to the audience.
Kitaro, at 30, is a Japanese idol of electronic music. For many years, he has been a wanderer in Asia-Thailand, Nepal, India-searching for inspiration for his music.
In Japan, he lives like a hermit in a habitation remote from modern civilization. He grows what he needs and keeps his life as simple as possible. Not so his music.
In 1978 he put out his first album, Ten Kai (Astral Trip), which assured him a box seat in Japanese music circles. Two years later, Japan's NHK-TV invited him to compose a theme for its new program Silk Road. Both the program and the music have been major successes. Soon after, as a matter of fact, the London Symphony, London Royal Philharmonic, and the Los Angeles Symphony performed Silk Road, The World of Kitaro, and Angel Queen Symphony, respectively, assuring his international reputation.
Electronic music is supposed to be cold and inhuman, but combining his with the Indian sitar, the Japanese biawa and shakurachi, and the Spanish quito and bells, Kitaro has given a live vitality to his sound. His intention is to bring back ancient voices and natural rhythms, via modern electronics.
Appreciators of his works range from classic music followers to taxi drivers. They like his melodious sound and peaceful tides. However, many serious music critics classify his music as commercial, charge that it lacks variety, and relegate it to background enjoyment with a cup of coffee or tea. Said one, "You don't have to concentrate on Kitaro's music; you are free at his concerts to concentrate on laser effects."
As in the other arts, the professionalists enjoy music that the average person doesn't care to understand, and the ordinary listener opts for the music that is downgraded by the professionalists. But whether the critics care to concentrate on Kitaro's music or merely sip to it, is really not a matter of consequence as long as people in general cast an ear his way.