Masakatsu Takagi

高木正勝

Masakatsu Takagi at a Nuit Blanche for Toyota in Paris, France in 2006

Background information
Born|  (1979-10-03) October 3, 1979 (age 45)
Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Genres|

* Classical
* Ambient
* Film score
* Glitch
* Electronic

Occupation(s)| Musician, Composer, Visual Artist
Instrument|

* Piano

Years active| 2001-present
Website| http://www.takagimasakatsu.com/

Musical artist

Masakatsu Takagi (高木 正勝, Takagi Masakatsu, born 1979) is a musician and visual artist from Kameoka, Kyoto, Japan.[1] He is well known for writing scores for director Mamoru Hosoda's films, alongside his solo work.

## Career

[edit]

Takagi's work as a visual artist has been showcased at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, and the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art.[2][3] His work was noticed by Apple Inc., and he was featured in a 3-minute promotional video for the company about how Takagi creates his videos on a Macintosh system, and Apple Pro software, including Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. He also uses Adobe After Effects and Adobe Photoshop in his videos.[4]

From a period in 2003 to 2004 he toured with David Sylvian on the "Fire in the Forest" Tour, creating visuals to accompany the performances. The two later collaborated on the track "Exit/Delete" from Coieda (2004).[5]

In 2011, Takagi's song "Nijiko" was used in a video for an Intel's "Museum of Me".[6][7] The video won six awards at the 2012 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.[8][9]

He wrote the score for Mamoru Hosoda's films Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015) and Mirai (2018).[10] His score for Wolf Children was selected as "iTunes Best Soundtrack of 2012" in Japan.[11] He also wrote the music for the Studio Ghibli documentary The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013).

Shortly after moving to a small village in Hyogo, Japan, Takagi recorded Kagayaki (2014), blending his background in classical music with Japanese folk music. The album was recorded in nature and among the local villagers, who sing on the album. It is his most critically acclaimed solo work and is ranked number one on the website Rate Your Music's New Age charts.[12]

In 2018 he began the Marginalia series, a series of improvised piano performances from his private studio in Hyogo recorded with the windows open to capture the sound of the local nature and wildlife.[13] These recordings are released on Bandcamp and Spotify, and the works have resulted in five studio albums.[14]

## Personal life

[edit]

Takagi was born in Kameoka, Kyoto, Japan on October 3, 1979, and began playing music and creating visual art at an early age. As his interest in visual art grew, he began creating music videos for his musician friends, and video projections to be displayed in art galleries.[15] He later attended Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, graduating with English.

In 2013 Takagi moved to a village in Hyogo, Japan, where he lives with his wife and children.[13] He spends his free time renovating old folk houses and cultivating his own vegetable garden.[16]

## Discography

[edit]

### Studio albums

[edit]

Title  | Year

|

pia | 2001
opus pia | 2002
eating | 2002
JOURNAL FOR PEOPLE | 2002
eating 2 | 2003
rehome  | 2003
sail  | 2003
world is so beautiful  | 2003
COIEDA  | 2004
AIR'S NOTE  | 2006
BLOOMY GIRLS  | 2006
Private/Public  | 2007
Tai Rei Tei Rio  | 2009
Ymene  | 2010
Niyodo  | 2011
Tama Tama  | 2011
Wolf Children[17] | 2012
Omusuhi  | 2013
Kagayaki  | 2014
The Boy and the Beast[17] | 2015
Mirai  | 2018
Maginalia  | 2018
Maginalia II  | 2019
Maginalia III  | 2021
Maginalia IV  | 2021
Okaeri Mone[17] | 2021
Maginalia V  | 2023
Gifts From The Kitchen[18] | 2024
Worlds Apart[19] | 2024

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 柴, 那典 (October 28, 2014). "山奥で暮らす高木正勝が届ける、人生を変える「感じ方」の授業". Cinra.net (in Japanese). Retrieved August 20, 2018.
2. ^ "Takagi Masakatsu". www.takagimasakatsu.com. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
3. ^ "Anomaly". anomalytokyo.com. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
4. ^ "Pro: Takagi Masakatsu". Apple Inc. Archived from the original on January 20, 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
5. ^ "Exit/Delete". Vista. 2018-11-30. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
6. ^ "Takagi Masakatsu". www.takagimasakatsu.com. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
7. ^ The Museum of Me. 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2024-11-09 - via YouTube.
8. ^ "2012 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Awardinners". adforum. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
9. ^ "Intel's Jayant Murty on the award-winning 'Museum of Me' | Marketing". Campaign Asia. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
10. ^ "映画「未来のミライ」劇中曲を高木正勝が生演奏、上白石萌歌＆細田守のリクエストで". Natalie (in Japanese). July 16, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
11. ^ "『おおかみこどもの雨と雪』サントラが"iTunes BESTof2012"ベストALに選出!". マイナビニュース (in Japanese). 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
12. ^ "New Age Top-Ranked albums". Rate Your Music. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
13. ^ a b "A conversation With takagi Masakatsu - LibertyClub" (in Italian). 2024-07-12. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
14. ^ "Masakatsu Takagi". www.takagimasakatsu.com. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
15. ^ "On communicating with nature through your art". thecreativeindependent.com. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
16. ^ 中津, 海麻子 (April 14, 2017). "「おおかみこども」の音楽が生まれるまで模索１０年 高木正勝（前編）". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved August 20, 2018.
17. ^ a b c "おかえりモネ：音楽は「おおかみこども」高木正勝が担当 清原果耶主演の次期朝ドラ". Mantan-web. March 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
18. ^ Gifts From The Kitchen - Original Soundtrack by Masakatsu Takagi, 2024-05-31, retrieved 2024-10-19
19. ^ Worlds Apart - Original Soundtrack by Masakatsu Takagi, 2024-06-08, retrieved 2024-10-19

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Spain
* Netherlands

Artists|

* ULAN
* MusicBrainz

Other|

* IdRef

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