Continuing the KCRW series at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which kicked off last October with Mariza, Japanese ensemble KODO will return to the Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at 8:00 p.m. The group, currently on its One Earth world tour, previously performed in 2019 and 2023, bringing with them their taiko drumming—an art form that has been around for about 12,000 years. This unique performance will be a sensory adventure for people of all ages, especially kids.

Tickets for the concert are available now. Grimy Goods will soon launch a ticket giveaway. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to know when we will give away tickets.

Words: David Sosa

The origins of taiko

While brass and percussion instruments include countless variations, the taiko umbrella contains a wealth of history. Although the family of percussion instruments has been around since the 6th century, the exact dates are unknown. What is known is their importance in Japan, with the instruments appearing in folklore. Initially, their purposes varied. However, they are best known for being used as motivation for armies, with groups appearing all over Japan and developing multiple styles.

Among those styles are percussion instruments that vary in size and design, sometimes made with similar materials like rope but always having their own unique identity. And while taiko instruments have appeared in other countries, including Brazil and the United States, Japan remains the country cultivating the art form and performing it the best.

KODO preserving taiko music

With an art form as long-lasting as taiko music, it takes seasoned musicians to keep the tradition alive. KODO has been around since the early 1980s, coming together as a collective of performers who already had experience in similar groups. They debuted at the Berliner Philharmonie, drawing attention for their take on traditional taiko drumming and quickly putting them on the world stage. Just a few years later, they performed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, one of many times they came to the city.

KODO is widely considered the de facto face of taiko, doubling as an example of how Japanese music resonates around the world. Uniquely, their taiko ensemble is not the only instrument part of their ensemble. They often bring in other instruments, ranging from the fue, a bamboo flute, to the shamisen, a string instrument made in a similar way to a banjo. But taiko instruments remain their specialty, thundering with the same intensity they had thousands of years ago.

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Experience a different kind of show

Aside from the grandeur of KODO and its performers, the show offers attendees a look at what music is like across the Pacific Ocean. Considering taiko instruments were powerful enough to fuel entire armies, there’s no doubt that guests at the concert will feel that same energy, especially since KODO has made it a point to preserve the sound for generations upon generations. It also continues a longstanding relationship between Los Angeles and the group, whose many performances in the city—as well as the Hall itself—are enough to prove to the audience they’re in good hands.

As part of a KCRW series dedicated to spotlighting talent around the globe, KODO brings an incomparable enormity with them that’s impossible to deny.