Makoto Sakamoto
Makoto Sakamoto is a Japanese sound artist and improvisational performer based in Berlin, working at the intersection of electronic and experimental music. He explores the relationship between sound, space, and human perception, often using real-time synthesis across multiple hardware synthesizers. His improvisational approach invites people unexpected incidents, blending waveforms and electronics sound textures into tactile, raw sonic experiences. This method emphasizes the immediacy and physicality of sound, resulting in performances and compositions that are both responsive and immersive.
Since 2007, Makoto has been active as Sub Human Bros, a Detroit-inspired techno unit formed with his brother Yutaka Sakamoto. From 2016, he has gradually shifted his focus as a solo artist toward abstract expression, layered harmonics, ambient structures, and noise-driven forms that unfold into deep soundscape. He has collaborated with artists such as violinist Hoshiko Yamane (Tangerine Dream) in a live duo, and is a founding member of the experimental noise trio Noctiluca, alongside pianist Rieko Okuda and guitarist Tatsumi Ryusui, exploring free improvisation and sonic experimentation. His collaborative installation works include ATOMIC MASSAGE (2022), created with Russian contemporary artist Andrei Molodkin for the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum, and BLOOD LINE (2021), installed at St. John’s Church in London.
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While improvisation remains to both his solo and collaborative performances, Makoto is also dedicated to composing and producing recorded works. This dual focus allows him to navigate sound through both spontaneous expression and intentional structure.
Makoto also moves fluidly across disciplines. In collaboration with art director Simone Serlenga, his team Overlapping Studio Berlin has received multiple accolades in recent years, including top prizes at the Biosphere Prize, DM Awards, and recognition from the BBBank Awards. These achievements highlight his ability to bridge underground sound art with the world of commercial work, challenging conventional boundaries and exploring new creative territories. Additionally, tracks from his latest album emollient—“RAIN” “DRAMA” “TRUST” and “YOU”—were for FENÔMENO, a 2024 stage performance by Brazilian contemporary performer Aun Helden, staged in Roma, Italy.
He is currently developing a hybrid approach that merges intuitive improvisation with structured composition. Whether in performance, installation, or recorded format, his aim is to shape sound as a responsive, spatial, and physical phenomenon sensitive to its environment and to the presence of others.
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The nights
2026
- Sun 9 AugTheater im Delphifirst time
- Wed 4 MarKwiafirst time
- Wed 21 Janroom not announced
2025 — 2 nights
- Sat 20 Sep 2025room not announcedarchives sonores
- Mon 25 Aug 2025Madame Claudefirst time
Who they play with
Four nights on the books, and no name on more than one of them.
- Mon 25 Aug 2025Acrartep
- Sat 20 Sep 2025Nicolas Bougaïeff · Izumi Yamamoto · Avi Caspi · Kotaro Horiguchi *live
- Wed 21 Jan 2026Makoto Inoue · Jiu-q · Francesco Mancori · Chuu
- Wed 4 Mar 2026AVtØmaty · 20:00 ~ 20:45 1ntelivizi0n (pzo streaming) · live A/V · 23:30 ~ End · the SpaceAgeCollapse
14 people have stood on one of these bills; none has stood on two.
The nights, the rooms and the bills are the listings themselves. The biography is Resident Advisor's. Nothing on this page was written for it.