Greetings, fellow kindr-, I mean, day-walkers. I hope you're having a fangtastic Thursday!
Today's Bento Box Artist of the week is a listener-submitted artist (thank you Rachel!), Shigeo Sekitō.
Shigeo Sekitō 関藤繁生 (fl. 1967 - 2021) was a Japanese electone (Yahama branded electric organ) player. Considered by many one of the most gifted and outstanding players in the Electone community thanks to his fresh, energetic, rhythmic and sometimes humorous style of playing. Sekitō was active until his death in June 2021 from Colorectal Cancer.
Shigeo Sekitō released a four-LP album set titled Special Sound Series for the iconic Nippon Columbia from 1975 to 1977. On the first chapter of this series, Sekitō revisits, in his own colourful style, compositions such as "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" by Stevie Wonder, "Oh, My Love" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, "Andalucia" by Ernesto Lecuona, alongside some of his own composition such as "My Sweet Girl" and the title track "Catch In Alice", creating a blend of easy-listening jazz with funk and soul influences.
Sekitō's parents were both primary-school teachers, and he had two sisters who were both are pianists. He learned piano since infancy, and began to compose at the age of 17. He majored in composition in Osaka Education College, from Osaka Kyoiku University's Special Music Course Composition Department. Later, he was introduced to a new instrument called the Yamaha Electone, which was Yamaha's newly debut electronic transistor organs in the late 1950s (1958-1959) and the 1960s. A while later, he made his debut at the 1967 Electone Grand Prix. He was actively engaged in numerous concerts and recordings, both at home and abroad, practicing up to 14 to 15 hours a day.
According to the New Straits Times, Sekitō had released ten albums by 1991 and averaged two concerts per month, using the rest of his time to teach piano to students. In 1991, Sekitō performed arrangements of works by Mozart and Beethoven on his EL 90 Electone at the World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur. Sekitō began the concert by playing his own arrangement of the Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo.
"The Word II," which gained instant worldwide recognition after being sampled by Mac DeMarco in "Chamber of Reflection" and by Travis Scott and Quavo's unit HUNCHO JACK in "How U Feel." Shigeo Seikito's seminal work, which includes that track, is the most widely listened-to electone piece in the world, drawing attention from a diverse range of audiences including hip-hop, Balearic, and dream pop enthusiasts.
Mentioned: The Devil Is Real MV.