Kikagaku Moyo Drummer Go Kurosawa Drops Debut Solo Record This Friday

Go Kurosawa has announced his first solo album, soft shakes, which arrives on vinyl this Friday through Guruguru Brain. The digital version follows on September 5th. The album presents eight tracks recorded entirely by Kurosawa himself between January and June in Rotterdam.

Title: soft shakes
Artist: Go Kurosawa
Release Date: 2025-09-05
Genres: Experimental Music, Krautrock, Psych-folk, Psychedelic Rock
Label: Guruguru Brain
Description: Go Kurosawa announces solo debut Soft Shakes, vinyl via Guruguru Brain. Former Kikagaku Moyo drummer self-recorded eight tracks.

Featured image by by Ao Karoui

The Kikagaku Moyo drummer and Guruguru Brain label head has made the track “Autowalk” available ahead of the release. Kurosawa describes his fascination with airport moving walkways as inspiration for the piece, noting the choice between standing still or walking to increase speed, though “you are not supposed to go as fast as possible, unlike the autobahn.”

soft shakes emerged without predetermined structure during Kurosawa’s daily studio sessions in Rotterdam. He would select instruments and play, continuing with material that maintained his interest the following day. The approach differed from his band work, where instrumental roles were predetermined. Here, all parts originated from a single source.

The album was created during Kurosawa’s final months in Europe before relocating to Fukuoka, Japan. He acknowledges this geographical transition influenced the recording, describing a “longing for something, towards a far away home” audible in the finished work.

Partner Ao created the album artwork, marking her first record cover design. Kurosawa notes it captures “the freedom and boldness of trying something new.”

The eight-track album includes titles in both English and Japanese: “moon, please,” “sada no umi,” “soredesho?,” “green thing,” “autowalk,” “jungle cooking,” “rice harvesting day,” and “cloud rock.”

Kurosawa operates as a multi-instrumentalist and producer who co-founded the independent label Guruguru Brain. He served as drummer and vocalist for psychedelic rock group Kikagaku Moyo from their formation in 2012 until their disbandment in 2022. The band released five studio albums and toured internationally, building a following across Europe, North America, and Asia. Following Kikagaku Moyo’s conclusion, Kurosawa produced records for other artists before beginning work on his solo material.

Born in Japan, Kurosawa spent considerable time in Europe developing Guruguru Brain’s roster and establishing the label’s Rotterdam studio space. The label has released music by various international artists working in experimental and psychedelic genres.

soft shakes represents Kurosawa’s first entirely self-produced work, recorded without collaboration or external input. The album concludes his European chapter as he establishes new creative infrastructure in Japan.

retrofuturista

Retrofurista is a site on design, interesting things, audio visual arts, and food.