Announced by the organizers of Otakon 2013, a convention held in Baltimore, Maryland, the prolific composer Yoko Kanno will be attending Otakon to play a concert. The performance will be entitled Piano Me, as she will play piano solos while surrounded by live experimental visuals and animations.
Some of the tracks that Kanno is playing will be familiar to longtime fans. According to Otakon’s description for the coming performance, it is supposed to remind us of the “beauty and wonder” of timeless music coming from a single piano. You can watch a sample from the video below:
As Kanno sends her love for Otakon at the end of the video, the convention will take place from August 9 to the 11th, which is the Sunday when she performs. Yoko Kanno has appeared at several conventions in the past such as Anime Expo in 2010, New York Anime Festival (now New York Comic Con) in 2000, and previously at Otakon in 1999.
Yoko Kanno is most famous for scoring soundtracks from anime such as Cowboy Bebop, The Vision of Escaflowne, Wolf’s Rain, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and many more, including Kids on the Slope, which was directed by Cowboy Bebop‘s Shinichiro Watanabe. She composed music for the recent film Petal Dance, by Hiroshi Ishikawa, who is currently working on Short Piece by Katsuhiro Otomo. Otomo’s film Memories was also scored by Kanno. She has collaborated with many bands and musicians, and is preparing her label PIANO, with various tracks that will be released this Summer.
So, is anyone planning to attend Otakon this year? No special ticket is required to see the show, as it is included with an attendees’ membership.
Share your thoughts below.
