Biography
Those acquainted with performances by the Japanese avant-garde vocalist might expect theatrical roots that stretch to 1973 and his affiliation with Tokyo Kid Brothers. Shortly afterward his stage work encompassed a run of the musical The City across New York and London, plus engagements in the British capital alongside the company Lumiere & Son in Tip Top Condition, a piece that demanded performers embody peak physical shape. By the mid-1980s he had launched his own troupe, Ulysses, and steered it through an array of productions that he both helmed and appeared in. Several of these stage pieces supplied the seeds for his eventual entry into the boundary-pushing ensemble Hikashu, whose first release, 20 Seiki No Owari Ni, arrived in 1979. Four subsequent Hikashu albums emerged on the Toshiba imprint, while Makigami’s earliest solo recordings surfaced in 1982.
Although music gradually claimed a larger share of his energies, theatrical commitments persisted. A notable 1987 partnership with Spanish playwright F. Arrabal placed him in the cast of Daitenrei or Le Grand Ceremonial under the author’s own direction. That same year he took part in Kafka, the chamber opera composed by Takahashi Yuji. His dual focus on music and drama naturally extended to ballet; he joined former Royal Ballet director Nicholas Dickson to establish the ensemble Tutuland Academy. Toward the close of the decade, international avant-garde encounters multiplied, among them a Los Angeles appearance alongside live computer artist Carl Stone. Hikashu maintained its schedule while adopting the altered spelling Hikasu, an adjustment that earned the group repeated mentions on the proofreading “hit list” for five consecutive years. Makigami pressed forward with intense vocal explorations, sharing stages with David Moss in New York City before accepting the role of lead singer in Umezu Kazutoki’s klezmer outfit Betzuni Nanmo Klezmer.
During the 1990s he collaborated with Derek Bailey, Ikue Mori, Samm Bennett, Fred Frith, Otomo Yoshihide, Senba Kiyohiko, and Yokota Yoshimi. In 1994 he produced the debut album of Mongolian vocalist Solongo and continued specialized tours with Hikasu. A key avant-garde theater venture with New York’s Richard Foreman led to Makigami’s direction of the Tokyo staging of The Mind King. Theater work in 1997 featured appearances in two further Takahashi Yuji pieces, Kisyokyo and Nemonogatari; the following year he authored and staged the Japanese production Xomyc. Late-decade musical partnerships included outings with cellist Erik Friedlander, accordionist Ted Reichman, and trumpeter Frank London. In 2000 he initiated another Foreman project and presented a concert series in New Zealand.
Although music gradually claimed a larger share of his energies, theatrical commitments persisted. A notable 1987 partnership with Spanish playwright F. Arrabal placed him in the cast of Daitenrei or Le Grand Ceremonial under the author’s own direction. That same year he took part in Kafka, the chamber opera composed by Takahashi Yuji. His dual focus on music and drama naturally extended to ballet; he joined former Royal Ballet director Nicholas Dickson to establish the ensemble Tutuland Academy. Toward the close of the decade, international avant-garde encounters multiplied, among them a Los Angeles appearance alongside live computer artist Carl Stone. Hikashu maintained its schedule while adopting the altered spelling Hikasu, an adjustment that earned the group repeated mentions on the proofreading “hit list” for five consecutive years. Makigami pressed forward with intense vocal explorations, sharing stages with David Moss in New York City before accepting the role of lead singer in Umezu Kazutoki’s klezmer outfit Betzuni Nanmo Klezmer.
During the 1990s he collaborated with Derek Bailey, Ikue Mori, Samm Bennett, Fred Frith, Otomo Yoshihide, Senba Kiyohiko, and Yokota Yoshimi. In 1994 he produced the debut album of Mongolian vocalist Solongo and continued specialized tours with Hikasu. A key avant-garde theater venture with New York’s Richard Foreman led to Makigami’s direction of the Tokyo staging of The Mind King. Theater work in 1997 featured appearances in two further Takahashi Yuji pieces, Kisyokyo and Nemonogatari; the following year he authored and staged the Japanese production Xomyc. Late-decade musical partnerships included outings with cellist Erik Friedlander, accordionist Ted Reichman, and trumpeter Frank London. In 2000 he initiated another Foreman project and presented a concert series in New Zealand.
Albums
