Today we’d like to introduce you to Kana Hishiya
I grew up in Aomori, Japan, where my core identity was shaped by the rooted spirit Joppari—meaning strong-willed and determined. Music entered my life early; I started playing jazz piano at 4, influenced by my father, a jazz drummer. My memory of childhood weekends is loud Jazz records and live drums. When I was 10, he gave me CDs by Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, and other American pop artists, which led me to a lifelong love of Black music.
In my early teens, I explored hip-hop, soul, R&B, and reggae, spending hours digging through sample CDs at record stores and building a collection, curating MiniDiscs for friends. Overseas music often arrived in Japan with a 6-month delay. Discovering Limewire later became an obsession. At 13, I also started dancing. I moved to Tokyo to pursue hip-hop dance and began performing in shows. My dedication to digging has led people to come to me for music. I started editing dance show music, which involves combining several songs into a single track for performances, using a self-taught program called Acid. A major turning point came when I performed at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan.
Motivated to challenge myself further, I traveled to Los Angeles in 2003 for training, initially planning to stay for 3 months, but I relocated soon after and have been here ever since. Although I didn’t speak English at the time, I built connections with people through music. I was known as a Japanese girl with an iPod in a particular group. Also around this time, I got into house music and started dancing at Monday Social, Deep, Starshoes, and the Spider Room, among other LA staples back in the day.
I took a long hiatus from the dance floor from 2007 to 2016. When I returned, I started DJing in my bedroom. I spent a lot of time alone playing and digging since I didn’t know anyone in the scene. It was during this period that I met my friend Ray outside the music scene; he invited me to his party, Temple Tuesday, where I found the community. I actively sought out various parties and traveled to festivals both in the U.S. and internationally, articulating my musical preferences along the way. My first gig was in May 2018 at Temple. Since then, I have performed at parties such as Dialogue, IYKYK, and the Borderless Project, as well as at many other underground parties and festivals, including the 3SO Festival in Romania and various parties in Japan.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I began learning music production in 2018. When the pandemic hit, I started a DJ cooking live-streaming show called “Synesthesia” on Twitch. This project helped me stay connected with the community and share music with friends. I paused the project when the world began to reopen. Music and food are my main loves; I hope to revive it in a new form someday.
Over the past two years, I have focused on music production. It has been an ongoing process of trial and error, which I genuinely enjoy, and I look forward to sharing my new work soon.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kanahishiya/
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kanahishiya
Image Credits
@anastasiia.film
@trevordeanphotos
@imkeiki
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