BAND

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Members

Issei Takami: Guitar, Guitar synth born on March 20, 1965
He took up the guitar at the age of 13 under the influence of his elder brother. He has absorbed the essence of many genres, which are reflected in his guitar style.Favorite artists: Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Miles Davis
Shin Ichikawa: Bass, Pedal synth born on April 20, 1961
His interest in music was stimulated by the Beatles when he was 13 years old and he began playing the bass at the age of 16. For the first 6 albums, he was also the main vocalist of the band. After turning to instrumental music in 2007, he plays bass and pedal synth.Favorite artists: The Beatles, John Coltrane, Pablo Casals
Max Hiraishi: Drums born on January 14, 1963
He began the guitar at the age of 12 after awakening to rock music and moved over to drums when he was 17. He aspires to a tight and heavy rhythmic feel.Favorite artists: Carmine Appice, Jeff Porcaro, Led Zeppelin
Band Profile
Baraka is an ancient Sufi word meaning “breath of life” or “blessing”
BARAKA was formed in Tokyo in 1997 with three members, Issei (guitar and guitar synth), Shin (bass and pedal synth) and Max (drums).The band’s blood is “edge rock”, including prog rock, jazz, funk, and blues. They create their own unique musical idiom in which an aggressive and thrilling presentation is combined with a freewheeling performance style made possible by their simple lineup which is trio.

Their stage performance is full of the powerful sound and tight ensemble. BARAKA has played over 600 gigs all over Japan as well as abroad such as Britain, Canada, America, Australia and some continental European countries as well as Asia where they have met with the highest praise.

The band produced 15 albums in its 23 years of existence.
In 2007, they recorded their first all instrumental album “BARAKA VII” and this 7th album was released from Musea Records on October 2007.

They performed 20th anniversary gig at Tokyo International Forum on November 2, 2017. They joined the Cruise to the Edge, the world’s greatest Progressive Rock Festival, in 2018 and 2019, with the Prog Rock Legends such as YES and FOCUS.

Recently, they have been performing unplugged gigs as well.

Some OVERSEAS FESTIVALS BARAKA JOINED

Nxne Music Festival (2002/Canada)

Prog’ Sud (2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2019/France)

Madrid Art Music Festival (2008/Spain)

Music Crescendo (2009/France)

Jogja Jazz Festival (2013, 2019/Indonesia)

Indonesian Music Expo (2013/Indonesia)

Cruise to the Edge (2018, 2019/U.S.A. Mexico)

Akicon (2019/Austria)