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Who they are

• Makoto Sakamoto

  Kyushu, Japan · 5 bookings since Aug 2025

  “Makoto Sakamoto is a Japanese sound artist and improvisational performer based in Berlin, working at the intersection of electronic and experimental music.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  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. 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.
  Bandcamp ↗Discography ↗

  Recently at Madame Claude · often with Chuu, Francesco Mancori, Makoto Inoue, none of them here that night

• AVtØmaty

  5 bookings since Mar 2026

  often with Andrea Ludovic, Gotopo, DJ Strawberry, none of them here that night

• 20:00 ~ 20:45 1ntelivizi0n (pzo streaming)

• live A/V

  3 bookings since Sep 2025

  Last at Pas Berlin in Sep 2025 · often with Significant Other, 20:50 Mug Live, Karine, none of them here that night

• 23:30 ~ End

• the SpaceAgeCollapse

  2 bookings since Mar 2026

  often with 18:00_Doors, 19:00_K4uket, Andrea Ludovic, none of them here that night