Profile
Takashi Kokubo is one of Japan’s leading environmental musicians and sound designers. Since the 1980s, he has pursued sound that reconnects nature and human sensibility, earning international recognition that extends far beyond the realm of music. His work is not “music” in the conventional sense, but the design of entire environments—leaving a profound resonance in the hearts of listeners.
Fascinated from childhood by natural sound and the sonic textures of everyday life, Kokubo developed a strong lifelong interest in expressing sound and music in three dimensions. Harnessing electronic instruments and recording technologies, he created his own soundscapes and released pioneering synthesizer-based works in the 1980s, gaining attention as a musician who “visualizes the voice of the Earth.”
His major works include the Ion Series, which offers restorative experiences for both mind and body, and Oasis of the Wind: Awakening of the Forest, a meditation on the harmony between urban life and nature. These albums are now undergoing a global reappraisal.
Beyond music production, Kokubo has worked widely as a sound designer—creating corporate sound logos, designing acoustic environments for public spaces, and contributing to exhibitions at world expos and museums. Among his most recognizable works is the “wee-wee-wee” alert tone used in Japan’s Earthquake Early Warning system, now a nationally known symbol of social sound design.
Equipped with the Cyborphonic, a binaural microphone system he developed for highly immersive spatial recording, Kokubo has traveled to more than 50 countries, field-recording healing natural soundscapes. These recordings form the Poems of the Earth series, beloved by listeners seeking a deep, nature-resonant auditory experience. They also serve as the foundation for his musical works and installations, guiding audiences into the vast landscape of sound.
In 2020, he appeared on Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980–1990, a compilation released by the U.S. label Light in the Attic. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Historical Album and became a major catalyst for global interest in Japanese environmental music.
At his base, Studio Ion, Kokubo employs a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos system, making it a dedicated space for immersive spatial music creation. Works produced in this studio allow listeners to feel as if they are stepping inside the sound itself.
In recent years, he has developed projects such as Gaiaphilia, Mother Tree, and JOMON DIVA, exploring themes of nature and the cycle of life. He presents immersive installations that integrate music with visual media, scent, and light—offering environmental music as a multisensory art form. He actively collaborates with artists across disciplines, including French painter Clément Denis and perfumer Ugo Charron, fostering cross-border creative partnerships.
His upcoming book, Designing with Sound (working title), to be published by Kodansha, will articulate his philosophy and creative journey as an environmental musician.
Kokubo’s work transcends entertainment; it forms a philosophy that reconnects humans with the natural world. Moving fluidly across music, science, and spirituality, he continues to pioneer a new frontier of “environmental art through listening”—and his evolution shows no signs of slowing.
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“Digital Bach” (with Kazutaka Tasaki) (King Records)
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Composer and sound artist Takashi Kokubo is known for his unique sonic world that blends natural and electronic sounds, exploring an art form that invites listeners to hear space and time. Italian composer and trombonist Andrea Esperti moves freely between classical and ambient music, earning international acclaim for his rich overtones and meditative resonance.
Their collaboration unfolds as a sonic dialogue where East and West, nature and technology intersect—creating an experience akin to a “sound retreat” that liberates the mind through listening.
Composer and sound artist Takashi Kokubo is a sonic explorer who has opened new dimensions in auditory space by blending natural and electronic sounds. Pianist Yumiko Morioka is known for her delicate touch and deeply expressive musicality, with a repertoire spanning from classical to contemporary music.Their collaboration forms a “dialogue of silence and resonance,” where sculpted sound and refined sensibility intertwine. Universal themes—nature, time, memory—are transformed into music that leaves a lasting echo in the listener’s heart.This sound world, born from the harmony of stillness and motion, reason and emotion, is truly deserving of the name “the art of listening.”
Composer and sound artist Takashi Kokubo is a pioneer who has created immersive acoustic environments centered on the fusion of nature and technology. Sound engineer and artist Naoki Tate is known for his exceptional recording techniques and refined sensitivity to sound, continually exploring its physical and psychological dimensions.Their collaboration is not about designing sound, but about allowing sound to be experienced as a place. Through the intersection of precise engineering and deep artistic intuition, they create a new kind of auditory experience—an art form in which the space itself resonates and envelops the listener.
JOMON DIVA is a sound-art project that fuses the spirit of the Jōmon era with contemporary technology. It reconstructs Jōmon sensibilities—ancient prayer, coexistence with nature, the cycle of life—into a modern acoustic expression, creating a listening experience that transcends music itself.Within a three-dimensional immersive sound space, primordial rhythms and electronic tones resonate together, awakening humanity’s inner memory and future sensibility.JOMON DIVA. is an art project of prayer and renewal—reviving “the mysterious sounds of ancient times” for the present day.
Dissatisfied with the limitations of two-channel recording—which cannot fully capture three-dimensional sound information such as height and front-back positioning—Takashi Kokubo developed his own binaural recording device, the Cyborphonic (nicknamed Cyber-kun), in the early 1980s. Designed to replicate the human auditory environment and record more natural sound fields, this device became his constant companion as he traveled to roughly 50 countries around the world, pursuing his life’s work: capturing “natural quiet,” the pure sound of nature free from artificial noise.Kokubo’s quest to preserve the breath of the earth and the voices of the wind in their original form transcended mere recording technique. It is widely regarded today as an artistic endeavor to perceive the resonance between nature and human beings.
Cyberphonic Comfort Channel
AMANE is an ambisonic microphone capable of capturing full three-dimensional sound information from an entire space. It records front–back, up–down, and depth cues that conventional stereo cannot reproduce, delivering an immersive sense of “being there.” Sixteen high-precision microphone units are arranged in a spherical layout, analyzing direction, distance, and reflections in real time. From natural soundscapes and environmental audio to music production and film recording, it captures the space itself.The name AMANE conveys the idea of “waves of sound spreading outward,” embodying a next-generation recording experience that revives the ancient, mysterious voices of the natural world.
Welcome to Immersive-audio world
Sanukite is an extremely rare stone with unique properties, found in Kagawa Prefecture (the former Sanuki region). Formed about 14 million years ago, it originated from lava that flowed during volcanic activity in the region and was then subjected to intense underground pressure over an immense span of time.
Its most distinctive feature is its ability to produce a clear, metallic high tone despite being stone. This unique resonance comes from the pressure-structured formation process. Once crafted, it can be played as a percussion instrument, generating a wide range of tones depending on where and how strongly it is struck.
With no fixed scale and a freely resonating tonal character, Sanukite carries within it the memory of 14 million years and the voice of the earth, offering listeners a profound sense of stillness and mystery.
