Artists

Steve Nieve was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 as a member of Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

APPEARS WITH (ON STAGE AND ON RECORDINGS) Steve Nieve - Sting, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Madness, Squeeze, Burt Bacharach, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Morressey, Lou Reed, Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Vanessa Paradis, Robert Wyatt, Francois Hardy, Jane Birkin, Sandy Shaw, Allen Toussaint, Paul Weller, Kirsty Maccoll, Mick Jagger, Smokey Robinson, Barbara Bonney, Laurie Anderson, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and others…..

"I love the Kawai because it sounds and feels super natural. The grand and upright piano sounds are awesome plus there's a goldmine of additional instruments under the hood, from accordions to xylophones. The cream on the cake is the excellent onboard EFX. Next time you listen to Steve Nieve play live you can bet he's playing a Kawai."

Steven Curtis Chapman is considered by many to be the top artist in the fastest growing segment in the music industry, Contemporary Christian Music. In his 15-year career Steven has sold over nine million albums, with 2 platinum and seven gold certified albums. He has scored 40 number one hits, won 4 Grammy Awards and an unprecedented 47 Dove Awards.

"Music has always played a huge part of the celebration and emotion of Christmas," says singer Steven Curtis Chapman. "Yet for so many millions of children around the world who are orphans, Christmas only highlights for them what they don't have and so desperately want and need: a family."

That's why Chapman hopes to musically create awareness for the need to adopt this Christmas season with All I Really Want For Christmas (September 27/EMI CMG), his new album whose title track is a call for people to help the millions of children in need in the U.S. and around the globe.

Talia Denis is a young singer, songwriter from the United States who creates music that is known for being fun and inspirational while also introducing complex chord progressions, rhythms and time signature changes. Talia has gained notoriety for being the “Real” kid musician, who tours with her own band. From pure piano ballads to overdriven rock tunes Talia takes the craft of writing and arranging music seriously. Talia headlined her own northeast US tour last year and will soon be back on the road again supporting her new record.

Talia recognizes that in today’s world, more than ever before she needs to act as a role model for other young people. Talia’s lyrical content and image show that one does not need provocative lyrics to make great music and to put on fun entertaining shows that move the audience.

Being a pianist first and foremost Talia spent a good amount of time searching for the most real feeling and sounding digital stage piano to tour with. When Talia had the opportunity to play a KAWAI MP10 she was sold. If you attend a Talia Denis show you will very often witness her introducing the audience to her best friend, her Kawai MP10 Digital Stage Piano.

Tim Schwerdter is a punk rocker who would like to be a concert pianist or vice versa. In between, everything goes. For over five years he is the keyboarder and guitarist of Germany's most successful rapper CRO and continuously writes film scores and works on sound design projects for advertising in his private studio.

Comment:

"With the MP7, I've never had to rely on external sound sources live; I use almost the full range of sounds from this awesome instrument. The VPC1 is the best possible solution for driving plugins in my studio, the keyboard feels fantastic and looks great the "Virtual Piano Controller" is just super clean, a feast for the eyes!"

“The MP11 is fast becoming my go-to weighted keyboard in the recording studio. The piano sounds hold their own against my Bosendorfer Concert Grand, and the Electric Piano sounds have already made their way into a few of my recent productions. As a weighted MIDI controller, the hammer action is flawless, and lends to an extremely natural replication of performance dynamics. Layering of patches, and splitting of sounds across the keyboard is intuitive and effortless; invaluable in fast paced environments.”

It is highly unlikely that your music collection doesn’t include at least one song or album involving Trevor Horn’s skills. Trevor is a producer, songwriter, and performer with a real passion for musical creativity and quality, clearly embodied in ZTT Records, which he co-founded, and the high regard in which SARM Studios is held.

His work is characterised by a high level of musical insight and open-mindedness and in all his roles he has a strong idea of how he wants something to sound before the final concept is put together. Trevor’s personal selection of the Kawai MP11 for stage and studio work shows how brilliantly our digital piano technology can meet the very highest musical and creative expectations.

Trevor formed The Buggles with Geoffrey Downes and his production was key to the first days of legendary electronic art music band The Art of Noise. He also spent a considerable period with the progressive rock band Yes including co-writing and production on their hugely popular 90125 album including the MTV hit ‘Owner Of A Lonely Heart’. Trevor has often been referred to as ‘the inventor of the 80s’ and his work has engaged with a plethora of world class artists including the Pet Shop Boys, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Rod Stewart and Malcolm McLaren.

A look at his discography (www.trevorhorn.com/discography/) shows he is very active and relevant today, with recent credits including work with The Overtones, Johnny Borrell, Robbie Williams, John Legend and Olly Murs.

He is currently working on Seal’s forthcoming new album, amongst others, and performing live with the Trevor Horn Band. Their March 2015 gig at the O2 in London received great reviews including one from Classic Rock Prog Magazine, and it involved the use of two Kawai MP11 pianos on stage. The Band also performed at the Cornbury Festival 2015 in Oxford to an audience of over 10,000, and the Melt Festival 2015 in Germany. Given the involvement of artists including Trevor, Geoffrey Downes (Buggles, Asia, Yes), and Lol Creme (10CC, Godley & Creme), they certainly have a vast catalogue of top-class songs to pick their set-list from.

Here at Kawai, we are very proud to have our instruments selected by such a creative and progressive musical figurehead.

Warren says about Kawai:

“Kawai’s RX series deliver an exceptionally high quality of tone and touch across the range. Without exaggeration, these pianos are highly addictive so allow yourself plenty of time in the showroom! At the very top end, the flagship, handcrafted Shigeru SK concert grand series represent a pinnacle in the art of piano-making and provide the pianist with a further dimension of sound and potentially limitless degree of expression and control.”

The award-winning concert pianist Warren Mailley-Smith has made his solo debuts to critical acclaim at Wigmore Hall London and Carnegie Hall, New York. In 2011 he made his much anticipated debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Beethoven’s Emperor Piano Concerto.

Warren is in increasing demand as a solo concert artist, having been described recently by Classic FM as 'Stunning...', 'Fantastic...' 'Sensational', 'Huge UK talent...', 'Gorgeous...!' and by BBC Music Magazine as ‘Rising Star – Great Artist of Tomorrow” . He was recently featured as CD of the Week and Video of the Week on Classic FM and Classic FM TV respectively.

He has received over thirty invitations to perform for the British Royal Family at Buckingham Palace, Highgrove House and Sandringham House.

Warren studied at the Royal College of Music where he won numerous postgraduate prizes including a Countess of Munster Award and the French Piano Music Prize. He then took further private studies with Peter Feuchtwanger and the late Ronald Smith.

Warren’s solo career now sees him performing in festivals and concert venues across the UK, accepting invitations from further afield to perform in Europe and the US. His concerto repertoire includes works by Rachmaninov, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Mozart and Tchaikovsky and he works regularly with duo partners Rowena Calvert (cello), Susan Parkes (Soprano) and Matt Jones (violin).

Yoshiki is a songwriter, drummer, and a classically-trained pianist. His rock group X Japan has sold 30-million singles and albums combined, and filled the 55,000-seat Toyko Dome a record 18 times. Now the band's popularity is spreading throughout the world, having recently completed a sold-out World Tour, performing in North America, Europe, Latin America, and South East Asia.

In 1999, Yoshiki composed a piano concerto and performed it with a 77- piece orchestra to celebrate the tenth year of the Emperor of Japan's reign.

In 2005, Yoshiki composed the theme song and conducted the Super World Orchestra at the opening ceremony of the World Expo. Previously, Yoshiki also recorded a classical album co-produced and arranged by acclaimed Beatles producer Sir George Martin and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Beyond music, Yoshiki has his own Visa Card and MasterCard issued by one of the largest Japanese banks. Recently, the legendary Stan Lee created a Super Hero based on him, and for the first time, a Hello Kitty product line is named after a person – "Yoshikitty".

In 2010, he launched his non-profit organization Yoshiki Foundation America, which continues to donate to various charitable organizations, including supporting Japanese Earthquake victims.

In 2012, Yoshiki composed the official theme song for the Golden Globes®, which airs in 167 countries. The Golden Globe® Theme was released through iTunes in Jan 2013, available in 111 countries worldwide.

In 2014, Yoshiki Performed Part 1 of his Yoshiki Classical World Tour, which took place in 10 different countries (US, Mexico, Russia, Germany, France, United Kingdom, China, Thailand, Taiwan and Japan).

Yoshiki has been making headlines in the U.S. with his legendary band X Japan, which recently performed their first stateside concert in four years at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Having grown up in a family that managed a kimono business, Yoshiki created a collection of rock-inspired kimonos that debuted during the finale of the 2015 Mercedes-Benz Fasion Week in Tokyo. Also in 2015, the Yoshiki Channel was launched on Niconico Video, a Japanese video platform that streams exclusive live content.

In January of 2016, “We Are X” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival as a part of the World Cinema Documentary competition and took home the special jury award for Best Editing. The film then screened at the SXSW Film Festival and won the audience award for Excellence in Title Design.

Also in 2016, Yoshiki was asked to be an advisor to Japan House, which will open in Los Angeles, London and Sao Paulo. These offices are being set up in the interest of promoting Japanese culture and technologies.

X Japan recently announced the release of the band’s 1st new studio album in 20 years, which will be available in late 2016. The band will also perform at a concert event at SSE Wembley Arena on March 4, 2017.

From Toyko, Japan, Yuko Maruyama graduated from the University of Southern California with a master's degree in Jazz Studies. She was named the "Outstanding Graduate" and her original composition "Twilight" was featured in Jazz at USC, the first CD produced by the department. As a classical pianist, Yuko was a first prize winner in the Piano Teacher's Association of America's Duo Piano Competition in San Diego.

Yuko works professionally as a performing and recording artist in the musical styles of classical, jazz, fusion, salsa, pop, R & B and Latin Jazz. She has headlined at jazz clubs such as The Jazz Bakery, The Baked Potato and Lunaria. And, she has been the featured performer at numerous prestigious engagements.

Yuko is also active in scoring original soundtracks for multimedia and television productions including the documentary, Teaching Us to See. Yuko's recently completed CD entitled In Tone Nation contains all original compositions and is the first recording to feature the Shigeru Kawai Grand Piano. The CD is being released in both a stereo CD and as a DVD audiophile recording.