Rei Harakami, 1970-2011

July 28, 2011 6:09 PM

Rei Harakami, the Kyoto-based Japanese electronic musician from Hiroshima, passed away suddenly on July 27. He was 40 years old.

Known for his collaborations with Akiko Yano as yanokami and for his remixes of works by various artists, he was scheduled to make appearances in various summer festivals this year, including the one he tweeted about 2 hours before he suddenly passed away.

A short video of him fiddling around with a synthesizer.

Joy live at TAICO CLUB camps' 2010.
Yanokami live.
Nijizou.
owari no kisetsu.
come here go there.
Grief & Loss.
sequence_01.
sequence_02.
bioscope.
TV Asahi jingle.

A few of his remixes:
Bara no hana (original version by Quruli.)
Katamari Damacy.
Sakanaction.
Takako Minekawa.


He was also known for his quirky sense of humor, silly tweets and friendly, laid-back character, as can be seen in these videos with U-zhaan, a Japanese tabla player. (Japanese conversation and narration with no subtitles, but not really necessary, I think.)

posted by misozaki (16 comments total)

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posted by Foosnark at 6:20 PM on July 28, 2011

Such joyful music. He will be missed. More Elbow is one that comes to mind.

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posted by gwint at 6:37 PM on July 28, 2011

Wow, I'd never heard of him until now. Thanks for posting. Too bad he's gone.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:26 PM on July 28, 2011

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posted by mykescipark at 8:48 PM on July 28, 2011

That cover he did of Quruli's song was so uplifting; this is sad news.

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posted by Hardcore Poser at 10:09 PM on July 28, 2011

Damn. I was never a huge fan, but I respected him due to his talent. RIP... So how did he die?
posted by symbioid at 10:29 PM on July 28, 2011

OK, googling says cerebral hemorrhage... damn.
posted by symbioid at 10:31 PM on July 28, 2011

Wow. I have his Red Curb album on my iPod and listen to it frequently. RIP.
posted by VikingSword at 10:58 PM on July 28, 2011

I just listened to the yanokami album a few days ago. Sad.
posted by zsazsa at 11:26 PM on July 28, 2011

I'm shocked and sad. Unrest was a beautiful album.

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posted by shortfuse at 1:14 AM on July 29, 2011

Does anyone have a link to a complete discography? Is the Discogs one complete? Thanks.
posted by shortfuse at 1:45 AM on July 29, 2011

.

I heard about this on Ken Ishii's twitter. Didn't even think to post it here. Another big Japanese techno guy died last year. Takashi Yasumi (professionally known as Kagami) apparently had a heart attack at 33. Sad.
posted by mkb at 6:48 AM on July 29, 2011

R.I.P
posted by tection99 at 8:17 AM on July 29, 2011

I am SO sorry to hear this. Loved his music.
posted by dorgla at 10:22 AM on July 29, 2011

aw man... I've been trying to remember this artist's name for five years to listen to his music again.

sigh. goodbye buddy ~*

I love your music that you've left behind..
posted by lemuring at 2:20 PM on July 29, 2011

shortfuse, I think your link pretty much covers everything he's released. Here's what his official site has listed.

Space Shower TV has uploaded a couple more videos as a tribute:

cape
robe @ TAICOCLUB '08.

Ai san san from the Dommune Fukushima! broadcast. I saw the live streaming of this performance, and it was pretty amazing. That's rei singing.
cape, also from the Dommune Fukushima! broadcast.

I was looking forward to finally seeing him live this summer, and still can't believe he's really gone.
posted by misozaki at 11:48 PM on July 29, 2011