Kotaro Oshio

INTRODUCTION OF MY IDOL - KOTARO OSHIO (1)

Kotaro Oshio was born in Osaka, Japan on February 1st, 1968. While there are many solo guitar players who play nylon-string guitar, Oshio took the challenge of mastering a steel-string acoustic guitar in a highly unique style. It was Oshio’s strong desire to bring out the maximum capacity of an acoustic guitar that impelled him to boldly employ various techniques such as open tuning and tapping. Oshio artfully infuses those inventive techniques into the emotional core of each of the songs on “STARTING POINT” - rather than overpowering, Oshio's astonishing technique enhances his lyrical interpretations. From the whimsical to the bittersweet, Oshio brings science and poetry into perfect harmony.

Listening to his music for the first time, one would think there are a number of different musicians performing together in a room - but in reality, it’s just Oshio alone that does absolutely everything on one acoustic guitar. His music is full of emotions backed with state-of-the-art technique, often treated with percussive arrangement. Oshio not only performs self-penned original tunes, but he also covers great music of various fields, from movie themes to animation themes to nursery rhymes to school songs.

Oshio's music

Oshio's music is classified within various categories including pop, new age, and jazz. He became internationally renown after performing a live jam session with B.B. King at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 2002, and his style has drawn comparisons with other highly regarded musicians such as Michael Hedges. Oshio's musical technique includes fingerpicking, tap harmonics, and a unique strumming style referred to as a "nail attack" in which he slaps the strings with the nails of his middle and ring fingers.

While his albums include mostly original material, Oshio is also well known for his covers and movie soundtracks. His unique skill in interpretation and arrangement can be heard in tracks such as "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" from his album "Starting Point".

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Discography

* Love Strings (March 24th, 2001 in Japan)

* Oshio Kotaro (October 11th, 2002 in Japan)

* Starting Point (July 10th, 2002 in Japan)

* Dramatic (June 18th, 2003 in Japan)

* Be Happy (June 23rd, 2004 in Japan)

* Bolero! Be Happy Live (December 15th, 2004 in Japan)

* Panorama (September 7th, 2005 in Japan)

* Color of Life (November 29th, 2006 in Japan)

* Blue Sky, Kotaro Oshio Best CD (Jan 31st, 2007 in Japan)

* Nature Spirit (Jan 1st, 2008 in Japan)

* You & Me (Oct 1st, 2008 in Japan)