Masa Sumide is a celebrated star in the Land of the Rising Sun. Together with his band, Signal, he has had major chart hits there and to this day enjoys cult status. But in the past decade, Sumide has also earned himself a top reputation as an excellent solo artist and a skilled fingerstyle guitarist.
As a self-taught musician, Sumide has developed an entirely individual style, playing a rhythmic steelstring, using various tunings and a phenomenal combination of body percussion and grooving slap techniques. This expressive performance on the instrument makes Masa Sumide a real one-man band.
Yet, one seeks in vain any influences from Japan’s musical tradition in Sumide’s guitar style. His performance is an eclectic aggregation of American West-Coast music, fusion-jazz and funk. The title of his latest album could serve as the signature for his complete opus so far: “Born To Groove”.