Hoppy Kamiyama

about

Hoppy Kamiyama is a Japanese singer, musician, composer, and record producer. He has often been compared to Brian Eno. Kamiyama is best known for his role in the 1980s J-Pop band Pink and his independent record label God Mountain. Kamiyama's interest in music began at age three. His father exposed him to classical music and arranged for him to take piano lessons. Even as an elementary school pupil, Kamiyama felt confined by the music he was forced to play. He began to deviate from his assigned lessons and started to play the works of his favorite composers: Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Bartok, in defiance of the instructions of his music teacher. At age 11, Kamiyama abandoned his ambitions to become a classical pianist after attending a performance of Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos 2 and 3 by Alexis Weissenberg. Kamiyama was overwhelmed by the power of Weissenberg's performance and decided that the grand piano was instrument designed for large, Western body types, not Asians. In elementary school, Kamiyama began composing in classical and modern classical styles. However, by the time he entered junior high school, progressive rock became popular and the influence of bands such as Pink Floyd, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Gentle Giant weighed heavily on him. In 1978, Kamiyama joined Hero, a band comprised of members of Yonin Bayashi and the Anzen Band. In addition to Hero, Kamiyama performed in Yonin Bayashi and ES Island. In the mid-1980s, Kamiyama joined

you might also explore

top songs

albums

A Meaningful Meaningnessless

Japanese Independent Music

Chipfarm

Ongaku-o 2: Welcome To Forbidden Paradise

▥

A Navel City / No One Is There

Hypnotique

Juice & Tremolo: The Works of Chamber Music

▥

Groovallegiance

音楽王2: Welcome to Forbidden Paradise

Nympho Has Some Great Elements

▥

Welcome to Forbidden Paradise

Slut

similar artists