drumming in seminal acts like powerviolence firebrands Endless Blockade, the unpredictable Sete Star Sept and Keiji Haino’s elemental Fushitsusha, he’s happiest and most creatively fulfilled when he strips his sound down and plays solo. Strips it all the way down, as in just a single snare drum and nothing more. Within that percussive circle, Kiyasu has discovered whole new worlds of rhythmic sound. And he’s bringing his solo snare symphonies to Florida for the first time since 2019.
Kiyasu’s performances are legendary, like kinetic ritual exorcisms that see him attacking his sole snare from every angle, quietly and then loudly, with a mix of awed reverence and fevered intensity, coaxing every possible sound from the drum — then attempting the same employing his voice and his body.
“By making it one instrument, I can connect more closely to my body and the instrument, and I can intensify the density of my love for the instrument itself,” Kiyasu tells Orlando Weekly. “Also, there are endless possibilities to always challenge myself to find new sounds, which is really deep.”
These performances are the culmination of Kiyasu’s lifelong musical quest for new sounds and ways to create sound. “From a young age,” Kiyasu says, “I had a desire to pursue my own music in a style that no one else had ever played.” He continues,“My initial motivation was a vague idea that I wanted to play at the front of the stage, with a free rhythm, using my whole body, and I thought that a snare drum solo might allow me to do that.” Repeat listens to the wildcard compositions of Milford Graves and Han Bennink would add further fuel to these fires.
Kiyasu has been playing drums in bands across genre since the mid-1990s, and it was during the early 2000s — after a move to Canada — that he began his solo adventures, developing this new approach at hapless open mics. And from there?
His solo tours have taken him all over the world — once, he told an interviewer his favorite live destination was Mongolia — and though Kiyasu has released a number of albums and splits and live documents, it’s the in-the-moment performance that is the heart of this project. And the audience becomes an essential part of his sets in terms of energy and response.
“The energy of the audience has a lot to do with my performance. I am not creating the performance by myself; the audience is part of my performance,” explains Kiyasu. “When I feel the power of the audience, I naturally play better.”
Further, there is a narrative intentionality at the heart of a Kiyasu live action. Kiyasu says he thinks of a set as a “detailed story” or “one long composition” and, though improvised, he remains focused on keeping that thread running through the evening’s performance. “This is what I want to do with my life, and I want to continue to create this story through live performances,”concludes Kiyasu.
Experience his latest sonic chapter at The S.P.O.T. with Flora Flora, Mitar and Noise Induced Hearing Loss on Wednesday.
The S.P.O.T.
6633 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL
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This article appears in Feb 12-18, 2025.