In June 2014, as Koki Nakano prepared for a concert at the Maison de la Culture du Japon a Paris, he was more nervous than usual. The Fukuoka-born pianist had played countless live shows before, both as a solo artist and with his electro-rock band Gas Law, but this time was different. In the audience to watch his concert was Laurent Bizot, executive producer and founder of highly-respected French independent record label No Format!. The concert would change Nakano’s life, initiating his eventual move to France.
“The main reason I headed out to Paris was because of the label,” Nakano says. “I’d been a fan of No Format! since I was 18. It’s an organization that invests in original music projects but is extremely selective in terms of artists. I knew my performance had to be flawless if there was any chance of me being signed. My manager arranged for Bizot to come and I put my case to him after the concert. He said my playing was great, but too classical and was, therefore, interested in listening to more of my work.”
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.