Kento Masuda


Kento Masuda is an award-winning Japanese composer and recording artist. He is a member of The Recording Academy, and his work has been described as "one of this world's artistic treasures." As an exclusive player for KAWAI pianos, Masuda is the sole player of the one million dollar Crystal Grand Piano.

Biography

Early life

Kento Masuda began playing keyboards at the age of 5. While preferring to compose his own music instead of playing standard repertoires, Masuda took part in a variety of contests for talented young musicians. By the age of 10, he began winning competitions including the Junior Original Competition of Yamaha Music Foundation.

Early music career

From 1990, Masuda began conducting professional public performances as YAMAHA's employed musician at age of 17, while playing classical and modern compositions for events, ceremony halls and Yamaha shop on 5th Ave in New York. Just a year later Masuda released his original first album "Wheel of Fortune". Between 1993 and 1995, Masuda lived in New York where he worked in the area of music production. His success at such a young age set the foundation for a lifetime of performances, composing, and music production.
During this time, Masuda worked on several musical projects and jobs, including radio, game, and TV/CM music offerings in Tokyo. These were written, arranged, and performed on keyboards by Masuda. Masuda also produced his original solo album entitled "MYOJYOW" on 19 June 1998. Since then he has used the alias "Kent Masuda". "MYOJYOW" was audio mastered by Bobby Hata. On 26 October 1999, Masuda released "MEMORIES". Both albums were submitted in the U.S. which resulted in Masuda receiving positive feedback from major companies, including Steve Vai's management office of Sepetys Entertainment Group in Santa Monica. CEO Ruta Sepetys suggested that Masuda join forces with recording artist Steve Vai, but Masuda chose to remain a solo artist.

2000s

In 2000, Masuda established his own publishing company and label, Kent on Music, Inc. as well as producing and recording studio "Externalnet" in Tokyo. The 6th album "HANDS" released on August 26, 2003, was mixed with a producer Tadashi Namba and mastered by Bobby Hata in Los Angeles CA. Masuda used the alias "KENT" on the 1st edition of this album. The album was promoted to MIDEM in Cannes, France. It then entered the European music market, particularly among German audiences, which led to Masuda's interview with Klassik Radio Hamburg. Additionally, program sponsor Galerie ATTA's owner Ruth Atta along with artist Delphine Charat, who painted Masuda's portrait, showed the connection of music to painting to masterpiece.
In 2005, Masuda signed with JPMC Records, a Swiss label based in New York and became a member of the ASCAP. Since then, he has used no alias and only uses his real name of "Kento Masuda". His 7th album, "GlobeSounds," was released on 13 June 2006, and mixed with Grammy-nominated producer Charles Eller and Lane Gibson. "GlobeSounds" was mastered by Bobby Hata. During the recording of "GlobeSounds", Hon. Ambassador Madeleine M. Kunin visited at Eller's music studio in Charlotte, Vermont, US.
In 2007, Masuda's music has enjoyed continued growth from Myspace and Last.FM along with recent airplay on radio stations internationally. His catalog of compositions and recordings has been featured on MTV, NME Magazine, and BBC Music. In 2009, Masuda created several music videos: "So We Are" "Shine On" a documentary film "Down to Earth" which describe his album "GlobeSounds" and "Musical Notation and Concrete Poetry".

2010s

Masuda's 8th album "Light Speed+" was released on 11 September 2010. With a strong emphasis and weight on composition, Masuda also showcased his unique style with a full-length synthesis album. After that, Masuda received honorable mention in the "International Songwriting Competition", with "Tree" in the instrumental category. This was followed by achieving an honorable mention in 2012 in the same category.
In 2011, Masuda composed music for renowned designer Yohji Yamamoto's Femme Autumn Winter 2011–2012 Paris Fashion Week fashion show which featured his compositions "Hands" and "Little Tokyo Poetry". They continued to collaborate on Masuda's creative short music film "Godsend Rondo" directed by Tomo Oya in Hokkaido. In this film Masuda dressed in Yamamoto's Ready-to-wear collection. The film "Godsend Rondo" has already been viewed worldwide by over 100,000 on YouTube and this work has won numerous awards.
On 26 September 2012, Masuda's first piano solo album and piano book "All in the Silence" was released, followed by two live performances "Force in the Silence" and "Force in the Silence 2" at Musicasa Acoustic Concert Hall in Tokyo, Japan. His performances featured classic pieces that highlighted his career thus far, with themes that touch upon the many feelings of life along with those unspoken but shared thoughts that transcend all borders.
On 16 April 2014, Kento Masuda released his 10th album "Loved One," which was produced by Masuda and multiple award-winning Miami producer Gary Vandy. "Loved One" was recorded at Gary Vandy's Studio Center in Miami, which has produced recordings that have won 8 Grammy awards along with multiple platinum albums. "Loved One" features musicians Paul Messina and Kevin Marcus Sylvester and utilizes the HQCD process for superior sound quality.
On 14 November 2014, Masuda, along with Japanese singer/songwriter Hiroko Tsuji, Italian harpist Fabius Constable, soprano Donatella Bortone, and Lebanese and Arab lutist Ghazi Makhoul, performed in the dynamic and multi-cultural concert "5 ELEMENTS LIVE" at CASA DEI DIRITTI in Milan, Italy. This unique evening of music connected the sounds and voices of the east and west, while producers and collaborators Masuda and Constable shared their vision that music is both absolute and life affirming.
On 6December 2014, Masuda performed at the "Associazione dei Cavalieri di San Silvestro" celebration of Monumentalis Ecclesiae Sancti Silvestri Societas in Tivoli, Italy.
On 8 February 2015, Kento Masuda attended the prestigious 57th GRAMMY Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles. Kento had four official submissions for this year's GRAMMY consideration from his latest album, "Loved One", produced by Kento and Gary Vandy. 2015 continued to be a landmark year for Kento, as he was nominated to the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for his 2002 composition "Tree," a classic piece in Kento's repertoire. He also received global recognition of the Global Music Awards and was honored as a winner with a silver medal for "Addicted" from his latest release "Loved One".
On 5 July 2017, Kento Masuda received an Artisan World Festival Peace International Initiative "Music, Performance & Humanitarian" Award at the United Nations in New York. This selection is based on his continued engagement with the performing arts and commitment to humanitarian projects that promote cultural diversity, cultural preservation, and world peace in addition to your innovative contribution in music. This group is a part of New Generation In Action an organization supported by the United Nations with Special Consultative Status with the United Nations for Economic and Social Development.

Style and influence

Masuda's composing style is characterized by intricate keyboard lines with obvious melodies, deep percussion grooves, and layers of rhythm and sound that draw the listener into a whole new world with each note. From his interview, Masuda says that he was influenced by both Johann Sebastian Bach; "His music theory has a major impact on everything, even today". And Alan Menken; "The music of Disney films has so much magic in himself and always promises a happy ending".

Discography

Studio albums

TitleRelease date
1stWheel of Fortune December 24, 1992
2ndFouren February 14, 1995
3rdMYOJYOW June 19, 1998
4thMEMORIES October 26, 1999
5thMusic Magic October 18, 2000
6thHANDS August 26, 2003
7thGlobeSounds June 13, 2006
8thLight Speed+ September 11, 2010
9thAll in the Silence September 26, 2012
10thLoved One April 16, 2014

Music film

TitleRelease date
1stGodsend Rondo November 11, 2011

Piano book

TitleRelease date
1stHands : solo piano 2003
2ndAll in the Silence September 26, 2012

Credit works

Album

Awards and nominations

YearAwardNominated WorkCategoryResult
2010International Songwriting Competition"Tree"Instrumental
2012International Songwriting Competition"Externalnet"Instrumental
2012International Songwriting Competition"Tree"Instrumental
2013International Songwriting Competition"Tree"Instrumental
2014International Songwriting Competition"Oath Path"Instrumental
2014International Songwriting Competition"Addicted"Instrumental
2014International Songwriting Competition"Tree"Instrumental
2015Hollywood Music in Media Awards"Tree"World
2015Global Music Awards"Addicted"Composition
2015Global Music Awards"Loved One"Album
2016American Songwriting Awards"Oath Path"Instrumental
2016American Songwriting Awards"Tree"World
2016Hollywood Music in Media Awards"Addicted"Jazz
2017Accolade Global Film Competition"Godsend Rondo"Arts / Cultural / Performance / Plays
2017Best Shorts Competition"Godsend Rondo"Arts / Cultural / Performance / Plays
2017Los Angeles Film Awards"Godsend Rondo"Music Video
2017Festigious International Film Festival"Godsend Rondo"Music Video
2017Top Shorts Film Festival"Godsend Rondo"Music Video
2017New York Film Awards"Godsend Rondo"Music Video
2017Hollywood Music in Media Awards"Little Tokyo Poetry"Instrumental
2017Actors Awards Los Angeles"Godsend Rondo"Music Video

Honorary titles