Midori Takada

Midori Takada (born December 21, 1951 ) is a Japanese composer and percussionist. She has been described as a pioneer of ambient and minimalist music.

Early career and Mkwaju Ensemble Takada graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts and began her musical career as a percussionist with the Berlin RIAS Symphonie-Orchester in the mid-1970s. She channeled these influences into the group Mkwaju Ensemble which she formed with Joe Hisaishi, Yoji Sadanari, Junko Arase and Hideki Matsutake. Mkwaju Ensemble released two albums in 1981, Mkwaju and Ki-Motion, The album was not commercially popular upon release, but became a collector's item in the late 2010s thanks to online sharing through YouTube and other sites. Pitchfork awarded the album 'Best new reissue' and it became the second best-selling release of 2017 on Discogs. She also recorded two new collaborative releases, Le Renard Bleu with electronic artist Lafawndah and An Eternal Moment with saxophonist Kang Tae Hwan.

In 2020, Takada was approached by filmmaker Otto Bell who wanted to use Through The Looking Glass as the soundtrack for his documentary, The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima. Takada instead decided to compose a new original score which she performs for the film.

Discography Through The Looking Glass (1983) Nebula (1987), with Mayumi Miyata Lunar Cruise (1990), with Masahiko Satoh Tree of Life (1999) Le Renard Bleu (2018), with Lafawndah An Eternal Moment (2019), with Kang Tae Hwan あなたに出会うまで / Until I Met You (2025), with Jakob Bro

Theatrical work Musical performance in Electra, directed by Tadashi Suzuki and Satoshi Miyagi, first performed in 1996, ACM Theatre, Art Tower Mito, Japan Musical performance in King Lear, directed by Tadashi Suzuki.

Film Score The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima, 2020