Artist Profile
GraptusI named myself Graptus, after a kaiju, a monster I dreamed up when I was little. I was born in Tokyo, raised in Okinawa, and I started making music here in Kyoto at the age of fourteen. I write, compose, sing, and play every instrument myself. My lyrics are half in English and half in Japanese. I love the classic rock of Oasis and Radiohead, and I fold the jazz theory I learned studying saxophone under a mentor into the way I build my songs. My ears have been shaped by everyone from Ryuichi Sakamoto to King Gnu to Creephyp, and I want to make a sound that refuses to sit inside any single genre.
What I care about most is the sound of the guitar. I want every solo and every cutting rhythm not to blend into the mix, but to strike a chord in whoever is listening. My debut single Kyusuijo, which means water station, came out of my love for the sound of the Ovation guitar my father bought me. It is a song about the walk home from junior high on a summer day. This September I released six songs, everything I had, one after another as singles.
Someday I want to direct a kaiju film and write its theme song myself. I tried to form a band, but in the end I recorded every part alone. There is just one thing I am reaching for. To connect with music lovers around the world, live, on a stage. A solo artist of fourteen, who grew up away from the big cities, I am starting to make my noise from Kyoto.
Active Area: Kyoto, KyotoOrigin: OkinawaBirthday: 2011/12/24Start Year: 2026