sokamiru: a musical history

sokamiru's first musical love was hip hop and electro in the early-mid 80s. He lived for every new release on the Street Sounds label, and his involvement in breakdancing granted access to an endless supply of jams from pirate radio stations. He also loved the music of Jean-Michel Jarre and was hooked on the Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis. The 80s were in general a fine time for electronic music, and the list of his favorite tunes is vast.

  

Towards the end of the decade, under his sister's influence he started listening to rock, and soon found his niche in thrash metal. In '89 he got his first electric guitar, and started playing in a band with some old school friends. Their love of classic rock and weed rubbed off on him, and he became a very happy professional dropout. Through his guitar teacher he was exposed to jazz, blues, world music and more.

 

sokamiru embraced the explosion of electronic dance music in the early 90s, and fell headlong into the culture. His favorite nights were at the Whirl-Y-Gig in Shoreditch (London), and the Zap and the Shark in Brighton. The clubbing years gave way to a decade of study at various colleges, soundtracked by favorites such as Public Enemy, Jah Wobble and the genius producers on the Ninja Tune label. During his undergrad degree in Cork he rediscovered his love of guitar, and continued playing when he moved to Bristol in 2005. Working full time as an environmentalist he could only squeeze in a little time with synths, and fun little guys like the Kaossilator.

 

When he became an independent author he found more time for music, and in 2017 he discovered the world of modular through the local synth shop Elevator Sound, and began recording music immediately. He then incorporated the MPC  for beatmaking.

 

sokamiru's first album On Out Into is a collection of tracks created as explorations of a wide variety of modules and techniques, principally for his YouTube channel. His second, Into Galactic, is a concept album about his life beyond Earth, back out among the stars. His third, and latest, Hot Wisdom, is inspired by art, mystery and wisdom. He continues to find inspiration in the finest qualities of human nature, and the awe-inspiring nature of existence.