Ikuo Kakehashi

Ikuo Kakehashi’s passion for music developed early in his life. Of course, he was exposed to many innovative electronic musical instruments being the son of synthesizer pioneer and Roland Corp founder Mr. Ikutaro Kakehashi. However, it was the acoustic percussive instruments that fascinated Ikuo and led him to learn percussive instruments from around the World as well as academic music. His career as a professional musician started in 1985, first playing for a premier singer and helping the band with MIDI gear his father developed. Soon he was working in recording studios providing music for film, video games, animation, and records in addition to leading his own percussion quartet. In the early days of the synthesizer, Ikuo traveled to Brazil to record drum samples of World Music instruments. In recent years he created the aFrame, an electronic percussive instrument that is a hybrid of a bamboo acoustic instrument and DSP technology that implies the future of percussion. Ikuo’s love of music inspires others to play and create music.