The story of Satoshi Tomiie can be read as a constant search. Not for a style, but for a way of working with sound. From his early productions in New York to the live hardware he now presents across different latitudes, each stage deepens the same exploration: understanding technology not as an end but as a tool to improvise, to listen, and to discover new possibilities within music.

At the 8th edition of MUTEK.AR, the Japanese artist arrives with two proposals that condense this evolution. On Saturday, October 10, he will present a modular performance in the Nocturno program, a live show built entirely with synthesizers and electronic instruments, where every decision happens in real time. The following day he will return in DJ set format for Experience, revealing another dimension of a trajectory that has been in constant transformation for more than three decades.

From Piano to New York

Tomiie’s relationship with music began long before electronic sound. Trained as a classical pianist from childhood, he found in jazz a more open way of thinking about composition and improvisation. That combination of discipline and freedom continues to permeate his work: even when producing music for the dance floor, there is a melodic sensitivity and attention to detail that distinguish his sound.

By the late 1980s he had settled in New York, a city where house music was experiencing one of its most creative moments. There he met Frankie Knuckles, a decisive figure in the development of the genre. That encounter marked the beginning of a collaboration that would change his career.

Where It All Began

When he first met Frankie, it was clear he wasn’t aiming for an immediate breakthrough, but instead for experimenting and weaving together styles and methods. His curiosity was focused on how everything worked: the studio, the machines, the way energy could be built. “They invited me to come to New York, my first trip there. I brought a cassette with me. I was into Chicago house, but I was also into Detroit techno stuff as well. The cassette had one Detroit‑style song, and one Chicago‑style one. That was Tears.”

In 1989, together with Frankie Knuckles and Robert Owens, Satoshi Tomiie co‑wrote and co‑produced this musical piece that would go down in history. More than just a dancefloor success, Tears became one of the great house classics and a reference point for understanding the evolution of electronic music over the last decades.

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For many artists, such a beginning could have defined an entire career. In Tomiie’s case, the opposite happened. Instead of staying close to the formula that brought him international recognition, he constantly chose to move. His discography incorporated new textures, different tempos, and diverse ways of building rhythm, always driven by the same restlessness: to keep exploring.

For more than thirty‑five years he has released music on some of the most important labels in the scene and collaborated with artists from different generations. House, techno, ambient, and experimentation coexist in a body of work that has never stopped expanding, always guided by a constant search, which in recent times has found a new form.

Returning to the Instruments

Satoshi Tomiie developed a live performance system built entirely with hardware, without using a digital workstation as the core of the process. Far from reproducing closed compositions, each performance works as an open piece. Synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines become instruments to improvise, react to the space, and let the music change in real time.

“For my Eurorack setup, I usually don’t prepare any music. My sequences are completely empty when I start; the structure is built 100% in the moment. I chose this format for MUTEK because I believe it’s the most appropriate for the concept of the festival.” With his modular format premiering at MUTEK Montréal 2025, Tomiie explains that improvisation is the core of his practice: “This way, every set is different and even for me, it’s a new experience all the time.”

This is not a return to the past nor a nostalgic gesture toward analog gear. It is a way of recovering the uncertainty of the creative act and bringing to the stage the spontaneity that usually belongs to the studio. A practice that also naturally resonates with the spirit of MUTEK Argentina, where technology is a tool to expand the possibilities of artistic creation.

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From the Classics to the Sound Laboratory

Trained as a classical pianist, Tomiie left an indelible mark on house music history in the late eighties with Tears (1989), a seminal track co-written and produced alongside legends Frankie Knuckles and Robert Owens. Its blend of depth, emotion, and sophistication turned it into a classic that continues to serve as a benchmark for generations of producers and DJs. However, his evolution didn't stop at traditional house nostalgia: over time, he has seamlessly navigated the realms of techno, ambient, and experimental electronica.

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