Album Notes

Organic Electro Ambient – written, recorded, programmed, arranged and mixed intimately on her own, Yoko K. presents the hypnotic soundscape that inscribes seemingly contradicting characteristics in harmony: electronic yet organic, serene yet fierce, futuristic yet nostalgic, innocent yet sensual. Yoko K. is an electro music vocalist/composer from Japan, whose first self-produced album 012906 will be released in July 2006 on Asahra Music.

As a recipient of the 2006-7 New Media and Audio Grant from the Washington DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Yoko co-founded a creative art group asymmetric affinity d.c. and co-produced innovative audio-visual artworks, including "012906" featured at the Experimental Media Series at Corcoran Gallery of Art. In May 2006, Yoko produced and performed original incidental music for Frank Warren's PostSecret Show at the Old Town Theatre to benefit the 1-800-Suicide help line.

Born in Nagano, Japan, Yoko began the classical study of the piano at the age of three. While living throughout Japan, Yoko studied the clarinet, saxophone, drums, and voice, and eventually started to sing in jazz venues and clubs at the age of sixteen. Her musical influence stems from classical and jazz to electronica and underground house music. After moving to the United States on her own, Yoko has collaborated with producers worldwide such as T-Kolai in the Sudan/US (Asahra Music), Light 4 Lines in Japan (KhaiMar Music), Holmes Ives in the US (Ova Records), and Dalminjo in Norway (Deeplay Music), and performed in venues such as Club Five, Bar Nun, DC9, Del Ray Artisans Gallery and American University.

In February 2005, Yoko faced the sudden loss of an important person in her life. It was this shock, ironically, which seems to have unlocked her innate potential as a composer and a producer. Ever since, she continues to write music everyday. Nicolas Laget, the founder of Asahra Music, once described Yoko as a "healer." "The definition of a healer," Laget says, "is such that – only through healing others, she is able to heal herself."

Yoko is also keen on using her music as a way of promoting cross-cultural understanding and tolerance. Yoko has recently performed for the Peacebuilding and Development Institute at American University, and her ongoing projects include the multi-lingual music project "amahoro.net" which features a narrative of the1994 Rwanda Genocide. Yoko currently lives in Washington DC, USA.