Ryoji Oba

Obi (pseudonym) was a trained Nohkan (Japanese classical flute) player in the Noh theatre (Japan's oldest performing arts), before moving to Europe produced several local pop artists in his home country. In Amsterdam he worked on the music accompanying Joel Ryan's novel The Number Readers, in Cologne he collaborated with Japanese artist Miwa on a project in which vocals were combined with music randomly generated by computers. Later based in London, he established his own AO Records label. Obi' s output as a producer or remixer includes Suzuki K1 & 7.5 cc's Satellite Serenade, Akiko Kanazawa's Tanto-Bushi and Secret Squirrel by The Saxophonettes. He also teamed up with the classic counter tenor singer Slava and worked on a "garage ambient" project baptised Medium Fruit.