Japan Society is proud to present the North American premiere collaboration between two unique artists of international stature: veteran singer/songwriter Akiko Yano and rising Osaka-based electronic DJ/producer Seiho.

With 44 albums under her own name, Yano has collaborated with Pat Metheny, Yellow Magic Orchestra, The Chieftains, Toninho Horta, and many others. Her numerous appearances include the Montreux Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Blue Note and Joe’s Pub in New York. Her most recent US release, akiko, with guitarist Marc Ribot and percussionist Jay Bellerose, was produced by T-Bone Burnett. The New York Times called her “an accomplished, endearing performer who might be a Japanese colleague of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Meredith Monk, introspective yet utterly in control of her materials… With her light touch and assured sense of melody, Ms. Yano is a world-class songwriter.”

Seiho is a charismatic performer who dabbles in ikebana (the Japanese art of flower arranging) onstage as he plays. He has toured internationally, bringing his high-octane sound to appearances with SOPHIE, Flying Lotus, Toro Y Moi, Capital Cities, and others.”Tall and slender with jet black long hair, [Seiho] has an androgynous air accentuated by an acute fashion sense,” observed FACT magazine, comparing Seiho’s most recent album, Collapse, to “a fine art piece or even performance art.” At Japan Society, Yano’s soulful vocal and piano stylings will alternate with Seiho’s thumping bass and airy soundscapes before the two join forces in a duo set that will include a new composition.