Yugo Morikawa

 

POLYGON HEAD

 

Guitarist / Vocalist / Composer

 

Yugo Morikawa leads POLYGON HEAD, a strange guitar-pop band based in Tokyo.

 

He weaves intricate rhythms and unconventional guitar riffs together with inviting melodies and vocals, continually refining the delicate balance between them.

 

With singing while playing guitar at the heart of his practice, he works in a variety of settings, from band and solo performances to collaborations with dancers.

 

A devoted admirer of Frank Zappa, Morikawa has shared YouTube videos of his own arrangements of some of Zappa’s most demanding compositions. The performances have drawn responses from Zappa fans around the world. Guitarist Dweezil Zappa, Frank’s son, also commented, expressing a wish to perform with Morikawa someday.

 

These videos also sparked a connection with Belgian guitarist and composer Pierre Vervloesem. When Flat Earth Society, a band Vervloesem had played in, toured Japan, the band invited Morikawa to perform as its opening act.

 

His work also crosses the boundaries between music and movement.

 

He appeared in THECO, a stage work by contemporary dancer and choreographer Tsuyoshi Shirai and a group of musicians, taking part in its premiere at Theatre Tram in Tokyo and subsequent performances at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and in Luxembourg.

 

Passage On Blur, his duo work with Shirai, premiered in Singapore and was selected as one of The Straits Times’ “Best Arts” of 2015. It has since been performed again at Aichi Prefectural Art Theater and as part of Dance Truck Tokyo Project, among other settings.

 

Through guitar, voice and composition, Morikawa continues to explore his own music, unrestricted by genre or form.