Author Archives for TheKyotoConnection 
There is a building in Yamashina that I have walked past many times during our visits to Kyoto. I first noticed it during our trip last year, while walking along the streets of this neighborhood that has become so special to us. Through its large windows, I could see groups... Read More
Saturday, October 3, was a particularly special day during our stay in Kyoto. In the afternoon, I had the wonderful opportunity to record music with soprano Sayo Teranishi at Amida-ji Temple in Yamashina, and that same evening, another exciting experience was waiting for us: participating in PechaKucha Night Kyoto at UrBANGUILD.... Read More
One of the dreams I had before coming to Japan was to have the opportunity to play music in a Japanese temple. I had no particular place in mind, and certainly no idea how something like that could happen. But during our stay in Kyoto, that dream came true in... Read More
One of the things we hoped would happen during this trip was to meet artists in Kyoto with whom we could create new connections and, hopefully, make music. Sometimes those connections develop faster than expected. We met pianist, composer and Kyoto Tachibana University professor Masafumi Komatsu at K-Connection, the event we organized... Read More
When we started planning this trip, one of the ideas I was most excited about was organizing an event in Kyoto that would allow us to meet and connect with local and international artists living in the city. We called it K-Connection, with a very simple idea behind it: Artists connected by... Read More
A few months before traveling to Japan, I was browsing a Facebook group for Kyoto expats when I came across a post about Contact Improvisation dance sessions with live music. I immediately sent a message introducing The Kyoto Connection and explaining that we would be in Kyoto in September. I... Read More
On September 23, just one day after arriving in Kyoto, we had a very special date waiting for us at Café Frosch, a beautiful café in the Nishijin area of Kyoto, very close to Kitano Tenmangū Shrine. This was an important day for us, and one that will probably stay... Read More
A few months ago, while looking for information about Kawamata, the town in Fukushima where Cosquín en Japón takes place and where Jesica will be performing during this tour, I came across an album called “Ambient Kawamata” by Ritsuko Matsumoto, a Japanese marimba player who had dedicated an entire record... Read More
As an artist, that’s the only question that prevents my creative decisions from becoming noise in a world already full of everything.
K-CONNECTION is a free community gathering celebrating creativity inspired by Kyoto. Twenty years ago, I started The Kyoto Connection, a musical project inspired by a city that I had never visited. Over the years, Kyoto became much more than a place. It became a source of inspiration, friendship, and unexpected... Read More
We are incredibly happy to announce our return to Japan! From September 17 to October 17, 2026, we’ll be traveling across Japan to share our music, reconnect with dear friends, collaborate with inspiring people, and write a new chapter in the love story between The Kyoto Connection and Japan. Several... Read More
In the final days of our stay in Kyoto, we discovered Murin-an by chance while wandering through the city. As soon as we entered, we found ourselves immersed in one of the most beautiful landscapes of our entire journey through Japan. There, I recorded the gentle sound of water flowing... Read More
Yamashina Flow is a piece born from long walks along the quiet canal of Yamashina, in Kyoto. I spent long moments contemplating the canal from Anshu Bridge, the symbolic home of The Kyoto Connection, and wandering though the hidden temples that quietly rest in the surrounding forest. This track is... Read More
Presenting “Whispers of Bishamondo”, a piece born from a very special place in Kyoto. Bishamondō Temple, resting quietly beside the Yamashina canal, is one of the most meaningful temples I’ve ever encountered. It was there where I could clearly hear that subtle inner voice that has been calling me to... Read More
I’ll be in Japan starting mid-September, and I couldn’t be more excited to share it. This time I’m arriving with some cool projects: hosting a multicultural event in Kyoto, recording a new album in Yamashina, and continuing to meet great people along the way. I’ll also be available for performances... Read More
Don’t lose sight of that.
Japan left me with a handful of strange signs during our 2025 visit. And now, a year later, some of them feel even more mysterious than they did at the time. I’ve spent much of this past year writing, researching, and documenting those experiences—moments that, I can now say, changed... Read More
Every now and then, it experiences a resurgence in listeners around the world—amassing over 4 million streams since its release in 2018. What might explain this? Algorithmic influence, surely. But it’s also possible to draw a parallel between difficult times—pandemics, wars, moments of global uncertainty—and a rise in its listening.... Read More
Twenty years ago, I released *The First Voyage* — The Kyoto Connection’s first album under the Alternarama name. Back then, it was just a hobby to me. What I didn’t know was that this creative process was opening a new timeline in my universe, one filled with great moments, beautiful... Read More
Those who say that “AI music is soulless” don’t understand that part of the soul of music comes from the listener, not the creator… PS: I don’t use AI for my music, I don’t like AI-generated music but I can understand people enjoying it, either creating or listening.
But thats the beauty of the game. Since no ones reading, I can write with more freedom. Still, the fact that this is public opens up the possibility that maybe someone, someday, somewhere in the world, will read these lines. And thats what makes the game magical. The same thing... Read More
Everyone taking photos of the full moon only to discover that the photograph doesn’t look as beautiful as the real thing. Take your picture, but don’t forget to enjoy what’s real… Wells, anyway, here is mine:
Picked up my foldable bike from storage today. It’s probably been sitting there for the last five years. A little air in the tires, a bit of WD-40, and it was ready to ride. How could I have forgotten the beautiful feeling of the air on my face? Note to... Read More
I’ve used many operating systems over the years, but for some strange reason, System 7 has always had a special place in my heart. It feels like home. And I say “for some strange reason” because I never owned a computer that could run it natively. My first Macintosh was... Read More
Finished writing the draft of my new book. Now comes the editing part… or the infinite part. Editing is making the text better. And any text could always be better. Better than what? You may be asking… Just better. You know what I’m talking about. So, for the next few... Read More
Vibe-coded a simple TO-DO app in PHP and HTML3 so I can manage my tasks from any of my retro computers. Will I use it regularly? We’ll see…
For many years it was hard for me to accept the role of art in my life. It was hard to believe that I, too, am an artist. That had a huge impact on my projects: the lack of confidence, the low self-esteem, and the place I gave them in... Read More
Vacation is coming to an end. Today I told my daughter: I don’t want the holidays to be over. I don’t want you to grow up. I wish we could stay here, just the two of us, forever.
Today I achieved the unimaginable: posting to Bluesky from my System 7 modern setup (iPad 4 + Basilisk II). This is my first post. How do I do it? I managed to ChatGPT-code an HTML 3 interface for my blog at thekyotoconnection.com so I can write from Internet Explorer 3... Read More
Today I’ve been putting some love to my Bluesky Account. After more than 10 years on Twitter (and +1400 followers), it stopped making sense to me to publish in a platform that doesn’t want to show my content to my own followers and also is full of politics/shitty/slop content. So... Read More