Osamu Kitajima (喜多嶋修), also known by the pseudonym Justin Heathcliff, is a Japanese musician, producer, composer, and

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

History

After studying the classical guitar and the piano as a child, in the 1960s Kitajima was a member of his cousin

Yūzō Kayama is a Japanese popular musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Life and career Son of mid-twentieth century film star Ken Uehara,and actress Yoko Kozakura, ( ja) Kayama graduated from Keio University. Yuzo Kayama signed with Toho and made hi ...

's band The Launchers. After graduating from Keio University, and already a successful composer of TV and advertising jingles, he moved for one year to the UK in 1971, which brought him in to contact with British folk and psychedelic rock. Inspired in particular by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

Tyrannosaurus Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

and Syd Barrett, he dubbed himself as 'Justin Heathcliff' (picked for its English-sounding quality) and issued his lone eponymous album. Released only in Japan, the album became highly prized in collector's circles for its good-natured idiosyncrasy and casual melodicism. After this album, he dropped the pseudonym and in 1974 released his debut album, ''Benzaiten'' (Island Records), under his own name. This instrumental

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

album was melodically rich and can be defined as a mix of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

and traditional Japanese music. The album also featured

Haruomi Hosono , sometimes credited as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is considered to be one of the most influential musicians in Japanese pop music history, credited with shaping the sound of Japanese pop f ...

and it utilized various electronic equipment such as a synthesizer, rhythm machine, electronic drums,

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

s, and

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

. In 1974, he moved to the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

area, USA, where he signed a contract with Island Records Later he opened the East Quest Studios there. In 1991, Kitajima released his critically acclaimed album ''Behind the Light'' in the USA (Higher Octave Music), again under his own name. In it, he blended elements of

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

and traditional Japanese music, e.g. he used the sounds of

koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...

and shakuhachi. Wishing to explore the expanding world of dance and electronica music, Kitajima began his collaboration with instrumentalist/composer/producer Chris Mancinelli. During the early 1990s the production team initiated a partnership by producing and arranging the albums of many artists in the Asian markets for Warner Bros, Sony Music, Toshiba-EMI, and Pony Canyon Records. These included remixes for the Warner Bros. release of Mari Henmi's "Mon Cheri Mari" and a highly revered re-mix of the all-time classic song " Sukiyaki" by Japanese legend

Kyu Sakamoto was a Japanese singer and actor. He was best known outside Japan for his international hit song "Ue o Muite Arukō" (known as " Sukiyaki" in English-speaking markets), which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies. It reached numbe ...

for Sony Music. These collaborations lead to a record deal with the Virgin/CyberOctave label and the ground breaking release of ''Beyond the Circle''. The guys also found time to create the underground smash Fabulous Breaker Boys techno/surf release which was a #1 seller on the now infamous Napster and mp3.com websites. Following this was a project recorded for Miles Copeland's Ark21/mondorhythmica label entitled ''Two Bridges Crossing'' (2004). This music was also featured on the label's acclaimed compilation series ''Zen and the Art of Chilling'' (2002). Copeland shuttered the record label but the project was later released independently. Kitajima began to receive even wider interest in the West when the track "You Know What I Mean" was featured on the Asian volume of the '' Love, Peace & Poetry'' compilation series in 1999, and has since been reissued on CD. After releasing the album, Kitajima has continued to work under his own name. Now associated more closely with

New Age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather than tr ...

than pop, he currently resides and works in

. In 2000, he founded East Quest Records, Inc., a record company. In 2004, he earned a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

music therapy Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music t ...

Personal life

He married Yōko Naitō in 1970. They have three children; one of their daughters, Mai Kitajima, is an actress.

Discography (selection)

* Justin Heathcliff – ''Justin Heathcliff'' (1971) * Fumio & Osamu – ''Shinchuugoku'' (1972) (フミオ* & オサム* – 新中国) * ''Benzaiten'' (1974) (弁才天) * ''Osamu'' (1977) (オサム) * ''Masterless Samurai'' (1978) (素浪人) * ''Dragon King'' (1979) * ''Face to Face'' (1983) * ''The Source'' (1986) * ''Passages'' (1987) * ''In Minds Way'' (1987) * ''FM Shrine'' (1987) * ''California Roll'' (1988) * ''Sweet Chaos'' (1990) * ''Mandala'' (1991) (曼荼羅) * ''Behind the Light'' (1992) * ''Beyond the Circle'' (1996, EP) * ''Breath of Jade'' (2001) * ''Two Bridges Crossed'' (w/ Chris Mancinelli) (2004) * ''The Sound of Angel'' (2004) * ''Epitome'' (2009) * ''The Sacred Land: NHK HD Documentary Soundtrack '' (2010) * ''Over the Brink'' (2013) * ''Torii In The Sea'' (2019) * ''Around the Edges'' (2020)

References

External links

Dr. Osamu Kitajima's Website

*
Osamu Kitajima biography by Craig Harris, discography and album reviews, credits & releases
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Osamu Kitajima discography, album releases & credits
at Discogs.com
Osamu Kitajima albums to be listened
as stream at Spotify.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitajima, Osamu New-age musicians Ambient musicians Japanese male singer-songwriters Japanese singer-songwriters Living people 1949 births Musicians from Kanagawa Prefecture Jingle composers