Verdant utopias, meditative caves and abundant life. Japanese percussionist Midori Takada invokes entire ecosystems—her music connecting mind and soul to tree and soil.

Takada’s now re-issued debut solo album Through the Looking Glass is considered an essential recording of minimalist music. Don’t expect to hear this work though, Takada is constantly pushing forward. A rebel and innovator, Takada abandoned her Western classical training to study drumming in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, and the intricate delicacy of Gamelan music in Bali. Takada is a cult artist, whose reputation continues to grow as new generations discover her music.

Now 70 years of age, Takada is a maestro. Wielding xylophone, marimba, gongs and theatrical physicality, her performances go beyond the musical to transcend through rhythm. Part of RISING's Japan in Focus program.

Supporting Midori Takadam is the Filipino-American ambient composer Ana Roxanne. In her Australian debut, Roxanne draws from her small but mighty catalogue—the 2015 EP ~~~ and 2020 album Because of a Flower—that touches on musical traditions across jazz, new age, Hindustani, choral and electronic.