I’m Benji, a Japanese born, UK based writer, composer and musical director. I’ve written and produced music for movies including The Shallows with Blake Lively and TV shows such as The View. I’ve created and choreographed pieces for Germany’s Next Top Model with Heidi Klum and created original compositions for brands such as Victoria’s Secret, and Avon with Yasmin Le Bon. Elsewhere my compositions and productions have been featured on a number of TV shows such as Love Island USA and movies including Rough Night with Scarlett Johansson.
As a producer and remixer I’ve worked with and for artists such as Max Richter, Ellie Goulding, LeAnn Rimes and Kylie Minogue. In a previous life I was a DJ and music journalist, spending five years as the Managing Editor of Yahoo! Music UK, creating original content with artists including Calvin Harris and Lily Allen.
As a Musical Director I’ve recently completed a forthcoming movie called Corazon City, set in the city of San Antonio, Texas, working with a diverse range of musicians and creators from the electronic, Latino and urban community.
Outside of music I’m a former fellow of the Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg where I built prototypes and concepts for exhibitions and installations. I’ve also worked in the third sector on a range of issues including social mobility, the gender gap and BAME representation. I studied at The University of Westminster in London, completing a Masters Degree in Music Business Management.
I love the push and pull of collaboration and seeing a creative work take shape. My approach is based around listening to my co-creators and giving them space so the work can develop spontaneously. I love the unexpected, unplanned turns a work can take, nurturing it as it gains a momentum and energy of its own. In the words of the playwright Alan Bennett:
“You don’t put yourself into what you write, you find yourself there.”
