ABOUT    TOURS    EVENTS    RADIO

goat (jp)

AGENT
Michaël Bardier

goat (JP) is an Osaka-based ensemble formed in 2013 by composer and musician Koshiro Hino (YPY, KAKUHAN). Originally a quartet of guitar, saxophone, bass and drums, the group now performs as a five-piece, with members switching between instruments depending on the composition.

Rather than treating each instrument according to its conventional melodic or harmonic role, goat builds its music from individual sonic elements such as muted attacks, harmonics, breath, resonance and percussion. Guitar, bass, saxophone, flute, drums and percussion are organised into tightly interlocking rhythmic structures, with persistent repetition and precise ensemble playing forming the basis of the compositions. Within these structures, instrumental identities begin to recede: a guitar may function less as a guitar than as an attack, a harmonic, or a unit of rhythm. The music can at times suggest the accuracy and repetition of computer-sequenced sound, while remaining entirely dependent on the physical coordination of the ensemble.

This tension between strict organisation and bodily execution is central to goat’s music. Repetition does not simply reproduce the same material, but gradually changes the way individual sounds are perceived, allowing small differences in articulation, resonance and timing to emerge within an otherwise highly controlled framework.

Following New Games (2013) and Rhythm & Sound (2015), goat released its third album Joy in Fear on NAKID in 2023. In 2025, Latency released Without References / Cindy Van Acker, a collection of pieces originally composed for choreographer Cindy Van Acker’s dance work Without References. The production features scenography by Romeo Castellucci, bringing goat’s approach to rhythm and repetition into direct relation with choreography and stage space. In this context, rhythm becomes not only something heard, but something articulated through bodies, duration and spatial arrangement. In 2026, Ricardo Villalobos produced variations of material from the work, released by Latency.

goat has also supported Ryoji Ikeda on his Ultratronics Japan Tour. Performances in recent years include Mode.exchange (Tokyo), Unfold X (Seoul), Long Play (New York), Unsound (Kraków), Rewire Festival (The Hague), and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London).

TERRITORY North America

PRESS
Pitchfork

CONNECTBandcamp
Instagram





Without References/Cindy van Acker (Ricardo Villalobos Variations) by goat (JP), Ricardo Villalobos