Born in Kyoto, and currently based in Berlin, Midori Hirano straddles the line between classical and electronic music - a mix of richly orchestrated and organic components, delicate and graceful, at once modern and classic..  Hirano got started in music early, taking piano lessons from age five and continuing her studies through university, where she graduated from Osaka University of Arts with a major in classical piano.  After graduting from university, she began creating music on...

Born in Kyoto, and currently based in Berlin, Midori Hirano straddles the line between classical and electronic music - a mix of richly orchestrated and organic components, delicate and graceful, at once modern and classic..  Hirano got started in music early, taking piano lessons from age five and continuing her studies through university, where she graduated from Osaka University of Arts with a major in classical piano.  After graduting from university, she began creating music on her computer, combining traditional organic sounds with electronic.  In 2004, Hirano released the EP Poet at the Piano on the Luxembourg label soundzfromnowhere, and played shows across Europe.  In September 2006 she released her first full-length, entitled LushRush, on Noble Records, her current label and home to like-minded artists including World's End Girlfriend, Piana, Tenniscoats, Cinq, Natsume, Gutevolk, and Kazumasa Hashimoto, among others.  Following the release, she continued activities - primarily in the Kansai area - both as solo artist as well as supporting other artists.  In addition to releasing her own work, Hirano collaborates with both domestic and international artists on remixes, collaborations, and label compilations, and has created soundtracks for Asian and European films.  In February 2008, Hirano participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus, a program for young filmmakers hosted by the Berlin International Film Festival.  In October 2008, she released her second album, entitled klo:yuri, which received positive reviews not only from the electronica-centric press, but from larger publications including Time Magazine, which called her work "at once familiar and odd, with the ineffable quality of a dream".