I'm YUSUKE YABUI, 5D touch keyboard & AR musical instrument performer (cutting-edge electronic musical instrumentalist) / Composer / Arranger / Songwriter / Singer.
I won the grand prize in YAMAHA All Japan Electone (Japanese double deck electronic organ) Concour at the age of 18.
In 2017 I began to perform and compose on several cutting-edge electronic musical instruments (5D touch keyboard, musical gadget, double deck electronic organ, and AR musical instrument and more) with both hands, both feet, right knee at one time.
My playing style is unlike any other in the world. From subtle piano solo song to magnificent orchestra sound, my ‘One man orchestra performance’ with whole body can be just One and Only in the world.
Moreover I've created Japanese-soul music of my own called ‘WAKON Music’, which grafts Japanese traditional music timbre & rhythms on various kinds of music in the world. Sound of ethnic musical instruments such as: shakuhachi bamboo flute, sho flute, and percussion instruments tsuzumi etc. make my music more subtle and more mysterious.
In 2018 I was selected as a finalist at piano section of “Lee Ritenour’s Six String Theory Competition” known as a gate to success for young musicians from all over the world.
The award song was just “Michael Jackson’s Songs Medley” which I arranged in a Japanese-soul style of my own.
I play on the cutting-edge electronic instruments but I also respect traditional music and culture of my own country JAPAN.
So I perform my own cutting-edge new entertainment by wearing Kimono & Hakama (formal Japanese attire of a man) just looks like a “SAMURAI”.
I started playing the electronic organ at the age of 4. Since my childhood, I've just loved making people happy and soothing the souls of people with my performance.
What is more, I've ever loved creating something new on the electronic musical instruments.
That is why I'm a cutting-edge electronic musical instrumentalist, composer and musical entertainer.
We focus on unique composition, performance, and entertainment using cutting-edge electronic musical instruments, especially in concerts, we collaborate with respectable and wonderful artists of different genres, technologists, video creators, lighting designers, etc.
And we’ve often held the concerts in historical structures like Japan Heritage sites, shrines and temples, art museums, aquariums or in the middle of nature. Those concerts have captured audiences so much.
I've always challenged to play cutting-edge new musical instruments and make songs on them.
So, I often had to play those instruments which no one had not played for myself and through trial and error even if I got those musical instruments.
Of course, I also had to resolve the technical issues on playing the new electronic instruments. But it's pretty interesting and exciting for me to learn something new and establish my own performance as a player, composer, and entertainer. I've learnt about that.
There is a new awareness with impression and surprise there, for example, the beauty of the nature and the radiance of life etc.
You can also feel the feeling of being a child. I'm aiming to create such a new music world by performing cutting-edge electronic music instruments.
For example, one of the works related to this award was the theme of the Japanese Sengoku warlord.
In this case, I needed to learn about the history of Sengoku period, the warlord's circuitous story, or drawing on the warlord. I was strongly inspired by the work of a military commander painter.
I composed the theme song of the Sengoku warlord and performing it with various sound effects that expresses the sounds of swords violently crashing into each other, horses neighing, and wind blowing etc.
I perform such a song by playing several cutting-edge instruments with both hands, both feet, right knee at one time.
My own performing style like this is unlike any other in the world. I've never seen such an artist as me so far.
This is a great honor and a great pleasure for me and my team to have won the LIT Talent Awards.
All I do next would be doing my best to create more fascinating and exciting electronic music world.
One of The PLATINUM and GOLD winning song for The LIT Talent Awards, ‘Sengoku Warlord - Like the Wind - ', was the hard and exciting work that I created by playing on the most cutting-edge electronic instruments at one time.
For the past two years it was not easy to get new musical instruments from overseas because of the effects of the Coronavirus. It was also the most difficult for me to get things ready for producing new works with lots of staff members.
On the other hand, however, I was also able to focus on composing songs in such a difficult situation and got chance to enter for The LIT Talent Awards with some best works for me.
My producer always says to me : You need to learn a lot from great and popular artists.
But you also need to establish your own world with 'One and Only Performance' which any artist has not yet explored to find success.
Roland Lamb
By meeting the ROLI Seaboard (the world's first 5D touch keyboard) that he developed, I became aware of the importance of connection between people and music in the more ideal way.
And his own lifestyle has encouraged me to pursued an original style in cutting-edge electronic music world.
I was given the opportunity to reinforce my passion by Roland Lamb.
Sting
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Peter Gabriel
These three great artists heavily have influenced me and given me a great positive energy in the music life of my own.
That is something really wonderful for any musician to create his/her own unique music with the racial traits and identity. And it's also really exciting for any musician to create his/her own unique music by being inspired by every music on this planet. I've learnt from them.
I've ever challenged myself and never given up creating something new in the electronic music day by day.
Goethe said "He who moves not forward, goes backward." This is the ‘key’ for me.
I would like to thank the International Awards Associate for the opportunity for any artist, anywhere in the world to have a chance to show off their best work and fly high around the world.
It’s really inspiring and exciting that anyone is able to have a fair chance to take one step forward to the world.
◼︎ YUSUKE YABUI ◼︎5D touch keyboard & AR musical instrument performer / Multi keyboardist / composer…
(Read more at LIT Talent Awards)
Yusuke Yabui is one of Japan’s most sought-after performer, while he performs dressed like a traditional “Samurai”, which is cooler than ever.
Introducting David Yonan, the Platinum Winner of the 2022 S1 LIT Talent Awards, and his winner interview.