The rebirth of a legend of the ambient genre – Kaito – Track Premiere

A musician, photographer, and DJ from the Japanese electronic scene, Hiroshi Watanabe, based in Saitama near Tokyo, has been a prolific figure for twenty-five years, exploring most major genres of electronic music through more than twenty albums. He proudly becomes the very first Japanese artist of InFiné.

After Ryuichi Sakamoto, he is one of the very few Japanese artists who have gained the favor of Western audiences, alongside notable names such as Cornelius, Towa Tei, DJ Krush, Ken Ishii, Susumu Yokota, and more recently Hiroshi Yoshimura.

In Europe, he is best known for his project Kaito, which began in 2001 under the prestigious Kompakt label. The name Kaito, in addition to being the name of his son born the same year, carries a double meaning in Japanese, signifying both «universe» and «secret.» These references hint at a spirituality visible in his photographic work and contribute to the elements that make Japanese artists masters of the ambient genre.

The collaboration between Kaito and the InFiné label began with his participation in the compilation «Music Activists 2020 (From Home)», which supported artists affected by the Covid crisis, followed by a remix for the single «Motion» by Rone and Vanessa Wagner in 2023. These initial contributions lead to a new album featuring nine tracks of ambient music.

Kaito’s new album ‘Collection’ comprises nine ambient and melodic tracks composed during the Covid-19 pandemic. These compositions present a majestic minimal and harmonious therapy in response to the world’s adversities, showcasing the producer’s return to the peak of his art. ‘Collection’ gathers a handful of Kaito’s EPs and singles, initially released on the artist’s Bandcamp profile between 2020 and 2022, before being remastered by another genre legend, the German Rashad Becker, and release 

In the grand tradition of the ambient genre, this new album consists of atmospheric tracks marked by sustained synthesizer notes, floating and reverberating soundscapes, sometimes enriched with more hypnotic sequences. Beyond these textures and atmospheres, what primarily distinguishes Kaito is his melodic approach and mastery of harmonic progressions on strings or keyboards, inspired by the jazz and classical music that shaped his education