, better known as Masa Takumi, is a Japanese Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music producer. He was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in 2014 for ''Best Reggae Album'' and won ''Best Global Music Album'' for his solo album, ''Sakura'', at the

65th Annual Grammy Awards The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It will recognize the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2021, to September 3 ...

in 2023. His music video, ''Deep Down'', was nominated for ''Best Independent Music Video'' at the

Hollywood Music in Media Awards The Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) is an award organization honoring original music (Song and Score) in all forms visual media including film, TV, video games, trailers, commercial advertisements, documentaries, music videos and special pr ...

in 2018. He has written and produced songs for

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

Da Pump is a Japanese boy band made up of lead vocalist, Issa Hentona and MCs Ken Okumoto, Yukinari Tamaki and Shinobu Miyara. The band formed as students at Okinawa Actors School in 1996. They made their debut on the Avex Trax subsidiary avex tune un ...

, Eric Martin, and others. Takumi is an

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

TV series composer, arranger, and musician who is known for composing theme songs, arranging music, and performing on '' Claymore'', ''

Genshiken is a Japanese manga series by Shimoku Kio about a college club for ''otaku'' (extremely obsessed fans of various media) and the lifestyle its members pursue. The title is a shortening of the club's official name, , or "The Society for ...

'', ''

Witchblade ''Witchblade'' is a comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, which ran from November 1995 to October 2015. The series was created by Top Cow founder and owner Marc Silvestri, editor David Wohl, writers ...

'', ''

Peach Girl is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Miwa Ueda. A high school drama centered on character Momo Adachi, her love life, friendships and rivalries, it was published in Japan by Kodansha in '' Bessatsu Friend'' from 1998 to 2003 and collec ...

'' and ''

Koi Kaze is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Motoi Yoshida. It was published in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Evening'' from 2001 to 2004, with its chapters collected in five ''tankōbon'' volumes by Kodansha. The serie ...

'', among others.

Early life and career

Masa Takumi (also known as Masanori Takumi) was born in Osaka, Japan. He started playing the trumpet at eight years old in his elementary school's brass band and started playing the drums and composing music at twelve years old. During his teen years he taught himself to play the guitar, bass, and piano. In 2000, Takumi joined the band, ''Siren'' where he was a songwriter, drummer, and sound producer. The group signed a record deal with BMG Japan but disbanded in 2004 and Takumi decided to pursue composing and producing full-time.

Music career

Takumi is a composer and music producer, and plays the guitar, piano, bass, drums, and the shamisen. In Asia, he has written and arranged songs for major recording artists Exile,

Daigo Daigo may refer to: Buddhism *Daigo (Zen) (大悟), a Buddhist term meaning ''great enlightenment'' or ''great realization'' *Daigo (Shōbōgenzō) (大悟), or ''Great Realization'', a book in Eihei Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō *Daigo Temple (醍醐寺 ...

, Cute,

Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku are a Japanese female idol group. The group's name is officially shortened to . The group was created by 3B Junior, the third section of the talent agency Stardust Promotion. Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku is considered a "little sister" group to anoth ...

(Japan),

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, and

FT Island F.T. Island ( ko, 에프티 아일랜드, or FT아일랜드, short for Five Treasure Island), is a South Korean rock band formed by FNC Entertainment in 2007. The band currently consists of main vocalist Lee Hong-gi, bassist Lee Jae-jin, and d ...

(South Korea), among others. Takumi also composes and produces music for numerous

TV series such as '' Claymore'', ''

'', ''

'', and ''

''. He has worked with US recording artists, writing and producing music for Eric Martin and

Terry Bozzio Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa. He has been featured on nine solo or collaborative albums, 26 albums with Zappa and seven albums with Missing Perso ...

. In 2017, he wrote the song '' Let’s Make A Video'' for ''

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug o ...

'' and wrote ''Reflection'' for

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, '' Trey Day' ...

in 2018. Takumi was nominated for a

in 2014 for the album ''Reggae Connections'', as a member of Sly and Robbie. He released ''Stars Falling'' in 2016, and his 2017 album ''Deep Down'' won a bronze medal for ''Best Contemporary Instrumental Music'' at the Global Music Awards 2018. The music video for ''Deep Down'' was nominated for a

Hollywood Music In Media Awards The Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) is an award organization honoring original music (Song and Score) in all forms visual media including film, TV, video games, trailers, commercial advertisements, documentaries, music videos and special pr ...

for ''Best Independent Music Video'' in 2018. In 2020, Takumi began working working with Domo Music Group and released, ''Heritage'', which received favorable reviews. Takumi's 2021 album release, ''Sakura'', won a Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album in 2023.

Awards

{, class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Nominated work !Category !Award !Result , - , 2023 , , ''Sakura'' , , Best Global Music Album , ,

, , , - , 2018 , , ''Deep Down'' , , Best Independent Music Video, ,

Hollywood Music in Media Award The Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) is an award organization honoring original music (Song and Score) in all forms visual media including film, TV, video games, trailers, commercial advertisements, documentaries, music videos and special pr ...

, , , - , 2018 , , ''Deep Down'' , , Best Contemporary Instrumental Music (Bronze), , Global Music Award , , , - , 2014 , , ''Reggae Connection'' , , Best Reggae Album , ,

, ,

Discography

{, class="wikitable" !Year !Album !Artist !Credit , - , rowspan="1" , 2022 , ''Sakura'' (album) , Masa Takumi , Composer, musician , - , 2020 , ''Heritage'' (album) , Masa Takumi , Composer, musician, producer , - , 2017 , ''Deep Down'' (album) , Masa Takumi , Composer, musician, producer , - , rowspan="1" , 2016 , ''Stars Falling'' (album) , Masa Takumi , Composer, musician, producer , - , rowspan="1" , 2012 , ''Mr. Rock Vocalist'' (album) , Eric Martin , Co-producer, music arranger , -

Music in TV, film and videos

* 2021 – ''Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric: Sonic Jr and Hoopa in the Clash of Ages'' (film) - (featured musician) * 2013 – '' Pokémon: Black & White: Adventures in Unova'' – ending theme (" Te o Tsunagō" sung by

)
* 2007 – '' Claymore'' – (TV series/22 episodes) - original soundtrack * 2006 – ''Gift - Eternal Rainbow'' - (TV series/26 episodes) theme song arrangement * 2006 – ''

Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru , commonly known as , is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Caramel Box and released on January 28, 2005 playable on Windows PCs. The game was later ported to the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable (PSP) with the adult co ...

'' * 2006 – ''

'' - (TV series/24 episodes) music * 2004 – ''

'' - (TV series/12 episodes) - original soundtrack * 2004 – ''

'' (TV mini-series) - music * 2004 – '' Suzuka'' * 2005 – ''

'' - (TV series/25 episodes) music * 2006 – ''

Kujibiki Unbalance is a three-episode original video animation spin-off of ''Genshiken'' series, as well as a series of three light novels by ''Genshiken'' anime collaborator Michiko Yokote. Within the world of ''Genshiken'', however, ''Kujibiki Unbalance'' i ...

'' - music, theme song arrangement

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takumi, Masa Living people 1978 births Grammy Award winners Japanese composers Japanese record producers Japanese male musicians