* Biography
Mica Bando
Composer, Singer, Songwriter, Classical pianist, Music director
Mica Bando, an internationally acclaimed composer, singer, songwriter, classical pianist, and music director, was born in Aichi, Japan, to a music family. Her father is an opera singer and professor; her mother is a classical pianist. Mica began her formal music training at the age of four. In addition to classical music, she also began to show interest in other genres of music including musicals such as The Sound of Music and Yûzuru, and Japanese drums. Mica completed her classical music training at the most competitive conservatory in Japan: Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, as a classical piano performance major, before moving to Boston, where she explored new genres of music at the Berklee College of Music. The high quality of her work placed her on the Dean’s List throughout her college career. Mica was awarded the prestigious faculty-nominated Roland award in her final semester.
In 2005, Mica took part in an electronic-pop band, murr*murr as the main vocalist, vocal arranger, and lyricist with Wataru Abe, and Takuya Morikawa. The band’s electronic music quickly became known for its mellow melodic lines and warmth. In 2006, murr*murr released an album, “daydream,” in Japan. Mica is also a sought-after composer of jingles for websites and TV. She composes lyrics both in English and Japanese for major artists, including the title song for the album, “Dreamy Butterfly.”
Moving to New York after graduating from Berklee, Mica attained success collaborating with artists including Jann Caster, a Polish-born classical guitarist and ARIA (Australian Grammy) nominee; producer Veronique Chevalier, the unanimous-choice award winner for Best Independent Cabaret Artist at the Los Angeles Music Awards; Takeshi Kitamura, a Japanese music producer and composer working with Sony and EMI; TATOO, a Japanese composer, arranger, and keyboardist; Kai Kurosawa, a L.A.-based bassist and composer; Yuji Takenaka, an internationally famous stylist who works for Italian, American, and Japanese Vogue. (Yuji is also a creative director of numerous fashion shows); and Dana Lee, a N.Y.-based innovative menswear fashion designer.
Mica continues to work on various projects in the United States and around the world. Her next album will be released in 2010 and she is also branching out to a brand-new project in the fashion industry as a music director. Meanwhile, her warm electronic music will be heard at numerous numbers of venues and cafes in the New York area.