Chihei Hatakeyama

Represented in EU, UK, North + South America

Chihei Hatakeyama is a sound artist, an organizer and mastering engineer who was born in 1978, and lives in Tokyo. He has performed for years under his given name and also as one half of the electroacoustic duo Opitope, along with Tomoyoshi Date. Hatakeyama got involved in playing music through strumming a electric guitar in a few rock-oriented bands in his teenage years. Subsequently a laptop computer superseded his bands as his main platform. Hatakeyama polychromes memory-evoking soundscapes with various recorded materials of acoustic instruments such as guitars, vibraphone, and piano; mostly played by hand and processed time and time again via laptop. His first album Minima Moralia was commissioned for release by the Chicago-based label kranky in early 2006.

Since then his many albums have been released by Room 40, Under The Spire, Hibernate Records, Magic Book Records, Home Nomal, OwnRecords, Spekk, Dronarivm, Constellation Tatsu, Glacial Movements Records and his own label White Paddy Mountain. In 2013 Hatakeyama founded the record label White Paddy Montain, which has since released over 40 recordings by some of the most accomplished musicians and modern ambient musicians, Shoegazer and folk musicians in Japan.

Recent years Hatakeyama continues to evolve his sound by analog synthesizer, modular synthesizer and compact guitar effector. Hatakeyama approaches some modular synthesizer and electric guitar drone projects with an expectation of new directions.



SELECT RELEASES:

2022 – The Ancient Forrest [White Paddy Mountain]
2021 – Void XXIV [White Paddy Mountain]
2021 – Void XXIII [White Paddy Mountain]
2021 – Late Spring [White Paddy Mountain]
2021 – Void XXII [White Paddy Mountain]
2020 – Autumn Breeze [White Paddy Mountain]
2019 – Forgotten Hill [Room40]
2019 – Ghost Woods [White Paddy Mountain]
2018 – Butterfly’s Summer And Vanished [White Paddy Mountain]
2017 – Heavy Snow [White Paddy Mountain]
2017 – Mirage [Room40]
2015 – Moonlight Reflecting over Mountains [Room40]
2015 – Mirror [White Paddy Mountain]
2006 – Minima Moralia [Kranky]
COMPLETE WORKS

PRESS:

Opus Zine reviews Void XXIII
Electronic Beats Feature
A Strangely Isolated Place Feature + Mix
Tiny Mix Tapes Reviews “Forgotten Hill”
Photo Essay By Chihei for Self Titled Mag
XLR8R Announces Forgotten Hill for Room40