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Hakushi Hasegawa
Hakushi Hasegawa (Japanese: 長谷川白紙, Hepburn: Hasegawa Hakushi, born December 21, 1998)[1] is a Japanese singer-songwriter born in Tokyo, Japan.[2] After releasing music on Soundcloud,[5] and signing to netlabel Maltine Records they made their debut with the release of their first EP iPhone Six Plus in 2016. They followed this up with Somoku Hodo in 2018 and Air Ni Ni in 2019. In 2023 Hasagawa signed to American record label Brainfeeder and released their third album Mahōgakkō in 2024. Hasegawa identies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.[6] Early lifeHakushi Hasegawa was born in Tokyo, Japan on December 21, 1998.[1][2] They began taking piano lessons at a young age and later in life found themself in online chatrooms discussing electronic music. There they were introduced to artists such as Nyolfen.[7] CareerOn August 31, 2016, Hasegawa would release their debut single Hadairo No Kawa (肌色の川, Flesh Colored River) on Soundcloud,[5] which would go viral in Japan, grabbing the attention of the founder of Maltine Records, Tomohiro Konuta, who would sign them to the label.[7] A year later Hasegawa would release their debut EP, iPhone Six Plus, through Maltine Records.[3] This in turn got them the attention of independent record label Musicmine, which oversaw the release of Hasegawa's follow-up EP Somoku Hodo (2018). Less than a year later Hasegawa released their debut album Air Ni Ni which garnered positive reviews, with multiple domestic outlets calling it their "Album of the Year".[2] Hasegawa performed at the Secret Sky Festival held by American musician Porter Robinson as a response to the restrictions COVID-19 put on live music.[2] In May of 2020, Hasegawa released Bones of Dreams Attacked!. Described as a "stylistic U-Turn",[6] the entire album is composed of stripped back cover versions of J-pop and J-rock songs as well as a cover of "A Whole New World" from Disney's 1992 film Aladdin.[7] Artists covered include bands such as Sōtaisei Riron, Sakanaction and Sambomaster, among others.[6][8] After drawing the attention of American producer Flying Lotus he invited Hasegawa to perform at his 2021 online live-music event The Hit. In July of 2023 Hasegawa announced their signing to Flying Lotus' record label Brainfeeder.[8] They are the first Japanese act to be signed by the label.[7] In July 2023 Hasegawa released the single "Mouth Flash", enlisting the video production group Tsuribu Tokyo for a music video.[4] May 2024 saw the release of two singles for the upcoming album: "Boy's Texture" and "Departed". Both of which were accompanied by music videos animated by digital artist Gauspel.[9][10] "Departed" also landed on Pitchfork's "Selects", a weekly curated playlist.[11] On July 24, 2024, Hasegawa released their third album Mahōgakkō. In an interview for Bandcamp, Hasegawa talks about their newfound interest in experimenting with their voice, citing Alvin Lucier's I am sitting in a room as inspiration. In the same interview they describe Mahōgakkō as "meaner" than their earlier work and voicing the prediction that it will "likely go down as [their] most disorganized, distorted [and] chaotic album".[7] InfluencesHasegawa cites labelmates Iglooghost, Jameszoo, Thundercat and Hiatus Kaiyote as musical and creative influences.[12][8] DiscographyStudio Albums
EPs
Singles
References
External LinksInformation related to Hakushi Hasegawa |
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