Haco is a Japanese singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist, known for her work with After Dinner and Hoahio, among others. Following formal studies in acoustics, electronic music and recording technology in 1980, Haco came to international attention fronting the group After Dinner (active between 1981–1991), helped by their association with the "

Rock in Opposition Rock in Opposition or RIO was a movement representing a collective of progressive bands in the late 1970s united in their opposition to the music industry that refused to recognise their music. It was initiated by English avant-rock group Hen ...

"-related label

Recommended Records Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected mus ...

. Haco would later appear in '' Step Across the Border'', a 1990 documentary film on

Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

, as well as contributing music to the soundtrack. Haco released her first solo album in 1995, and embarked on her first solo European tour a year later. More recently, Haco has worked with the groups

Mescaline Go-Go Mescaline or mescalin (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) is a naturally occurring psychedelic protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, known for its hallucinogenic effects comparable to those of LSD and psilocybin. Biological sour ...

Happiness Proof Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. Sinc ...

and Hoahio, and has recorded or performed with countless other artists, such as

Otomo Yoshihide is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He mainly plays guitar, turntables, and electronics. He first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the experimental rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked in ...

. In addition to her more conventional album releases Haco has also worked in the fields of sound art; curating exhibitions and installations and establishing the sound art project View Masters (with focus on the environmental sounds of daily life), later beginning the production and curation of a four-year series of View Masters lectures, concerts and workshops in 2002.

Major recorded works

*1984 After Dinner: After Dinner (originally released as Glass Tube in Japan; reissued 1991 with Live Editions) (ReR Megacorp, UK) *1989 After Dinner: Paradise of Replica (reissued 2001 with Paradise of Remixes) (RecRec Music, Switzerland) *1995 Haco (P-Vine, Japan; ReR Megacorp, UK) *1997 Hoahio: Happy Mail (Amoebic, Japan) *1999 Happiness Proof (P-Vine, Japan; ReR Megacorp, UK) *2000 Hoahio: Ohayo! Hoahio! (Tzadik, US) *2003 Haco and Sakamoto Hiromichi: Ash in the Rainbow (ReR Megacorp, UK) *2003 Hoahio: Peek-Ara-Boo (Tzadik, US) *2004 Yesterday's Heroes (Haco and Terre Thaemlitz): 1979 (La Louche, France) *2004 Stereo Bugscope 00 (Improvised Music from Japan, Japan) warded Honorary Mention in digital music category at Prix Ars Electronica 2005, Austria*2005 Synapse (Haco/Ikue Mori/Aki Onda): RAW (CD, Tzadik, US) *2005 Stefano Panunzi feat. Haco: Web Of Memories (A Rose CD) (Emerald Recordings, Italy) *2005 Diane Labrosse, Martin Tetreault, and Haco: Lunch in Nishinomiya (Improvised Music from Japan, Japan) *2007 Riska (Arcangelo/Disk Union, Japan) *2009 Fjieri feat. Haco: Soul Eaters (produced by Richard Barbieri) (Forward Music Italy) *2011 Forever and Ever (Arcangelo/Disk Union, Japan) *2015 Secret Garden (Nuovo Immigrato, Japan) *2017 Qoosui (Someone Good/Room 40, Australia) *2019 Secret Garden (Digital Reissue/Remaster, Haco Bandcamp, Japan) *2021 Novo Naturo (Someone Good/Room 40, Australia, RMSG026/Haco Bandcamp, Japan)

References

External links

HomepageAfter Dinner's page at Prog Archives
Year of birth missing (living people) Japanese composers Japanese women composers Japanese women singers Living people {{Singer-songwriter-stub