| B i o g r a p h y |
Joji Hirota
was born in Hokkaido in North Japan. At the age of eleven, he
began a lifelong study of percussion and has been composing from the
age of thirteen. In 1972 he came to England at the invitation of
Stomu Yamas'ta to become the director and percussionist of the Red
Buddah Theatre and has lived here ever since. In 1977 he became
the musical director and percussionist for the Lindsay Kemp Dance
Company. With them Joji toured extensively throughout Europe, Mexico,
Canada and the USA, South America and Japan.
He met Ant for the first time In 1980 when they worked together on the music for the TV series Rule Britannia. This collaboration has continued to produce some outstanding music on a regular basis on album releases as well as Library and Television soundtrack work.
Joji has played on numerous sessions for a wide variety of artists. In 1991 he formed Trisan with former Clannad member Pol Brennan and Chinese flautist Guo Yue and they recorded an acclaimed album for Realworld. The group toured Europe, Canada and Japan. In November 1992, Trisan recorded their first album, which obtained the No.1 nomination by Tower Records New York in 1993 for best contemporary instrumental music. In 1993, the group toured the USA.
In February 2004, Joji received a commendation from Ambassador Orita for his contribution to the introduction of Japanese culture in UK through the medium of Taiko drumming and other musical activities.
Joji has recorded several solo albums, including The Gate which features an eclectic mix of emotional vocals interwoven with taiko drumming, shakuhachi and string quintet. His latest album is Japanese Folk Songs which features hauntingly beautiful melodies that create images of traditional life in Japan.
Joji continues to work on a number of diverse musical projects and also performs live concerts on a regular basis.
2008 sees the release of Wildlife which features highlights from several of the Television projects he has collaborated with Ant on over the years.