The sounds Seiho draws from ring familiar, but the Osaka artist blends them into new sonic shapes all his own. He connects jittery r ‘n’ b to traditional Japanese instrumentation, or fuses intricate jazz patterns with life-affirming rave. The end result is a colorful style all his own. He brings disparate genres from around the globe together to form his own sonic interzone.

He’s merged seemingly disjointed worlds together since the start. Seiho started making music on his cell phone as a kid, but soon dove into jazz as a high schooler by playing the trumpet. As he grew as an artist, Seiho started bridging his musical interests together, leading to his debut album Mercury, a spacey affair finding Albert-Ayers-ish jazz patterns and psychedelic beats intertwined. True to his nature, Seiho didn’t stop there. The young producer veered into more hyperactive territory, pitching vocals and using space for maximum effect. The end result was his second album Abstraktsex, a whirlwind collection of future-thinking sounds. And while doing all this, he’s also spent time on the more pop-oriented project Sugar’s Campaign with longtime friend and fellow producer Avec Avec.

Seiho’s frantic approach to creating music has earned him plenty of attention. He’s played some of Japan’s biggest venues and festivals, including the celebrated Fuji Rock Festival, and also had shows across the United States and Europe. Yet despite a rising profile, Seiho has stayed as restless as ever, exploring new sounds and ways to incorporate them into his music. He’s always chasing down a new idea, to create something uniquely Seiho.

Patrick St. Michel