KAZUFUMI KODAMA BIOGRAFIA

2001 BiographyJapan’s ability to take an alien idea, gobble it up and regurgitate it smelling sweeter and fresher than the original is a well studied and catalogued cultural phenomenon. Kazufumi Kodama was born in Japan’s Fukui prefecture where he grew up grooving to Christian hymns and marching band music before becoming a face on the local rock scene. By the time the punk revolution hit the shores of Japan Kodama was living in Tokyo and, high on the zeitgeist of iconoclasm and discovery, he began discovering the irresistible charms of Jamaican music and falling head over heels for the sounds of Bob Marley, Linton Kwesi Johnson, UB40, King Tubby and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry amongst others. He considers reggae to be "the music of musics". With his fearless and irrepressible creativity Kodama teamed up fellow musician Yashiki Gota to form Mute Beat. Their aim was to make dub music that would go boldly into hitherto unexplored music territories. Over the next decade Mute Beat released a string of cassettes and 12" singles that had dubheads raving the world over and they were privileged to work with heroes like King Tubby, Lee Perry and Lloyd ‘Bushwackie’ Barnes.Since leaving Mute Beat in 1990, Kodama has produced two solo albums, the second entitled ‘Requiem Dub’ reaping praise around the world. There’s no doubt that Kodama has a highly original creative brain which has applied itself not only to music but also to painting, acting, etching and composing over the years. Armed with his trumpet he approaches the dub genre with both deep love and an even deeper understanding. It’s no surprise that "Echo" is his middle name.Biography by Andy Morgan, May 20012001 Short BiographyBlending reggae roots with jazz influences and oriental melodies, trumpet player 'Echo' Kodama is a post-punk Japanese dub reggae legend. Funny old world, eh?

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