“Koto” is a project created by Anfrando Maiola, an Italian musician born in Parma in 1954, and the producer Stefano Cundari. Anfrando Maiola started playing at the age of 18. In the early '80s he met Stefano Cundari, DJ of the "Taro Taro" nightclub located in the province of Parma. Thus was born the friendship between the two artists and Stefano asked Anfrando to go to his house to listen to some songs he composed. Anfrando made himself available and made him listen to some music demos. Stefano particularly liked a composition entitled "Black & White" and proposed to Anfrando to record the song. "Black & White" was the first collaboration of Stefano Cundari and Anfrando Maiola. Being an instrumental composition, it was decided to look for a male voice for the recording of the demo. Stefano Cundari called his singer friend "Scialpi" for studio rehearsals. They presented the project to a producer who agreed to finance them with the condition that the song would be performed by the singer "Taffy". Stefano was supposed to be the producer but in the end his name did not appear on the album. "White And Black" was recorded at "Rexon Studios" in Milan. After this first work, Stefano and Anfrando got to work composing a new song. The recording of "Chinese Revenge" was initially done at Anfrando's home. Maiola used a Korg Lambda keyboard and the arrangements were subsequently performed in the studio. "Chinese Revenge" was recorded at "Veronica Studios" and Stefano Cundari joined the managers of that studio to finance it. "Chinese Revenge" was released under the "Cellophane" label and sold more than 10,000 copies. The name "Koto" was adopted by Anfrando as a business pseudonym; "Koto" was an instrument included in his musical keyboard sounds. The "Koto" is a Japanese instrument of Chinese origin in the shape of a guitar. Deeply rooted in Japanese musical culture, this instrument has a very distinctive sound when its strings are played. Anfrando often used this instrument with his keyboard. Within Anfrando Maiola's musical repertoire, there was another creation that many do not know because it was not published as "Koto". After the success of "Chinese Revenge" Stefano proposed to Anfrando to remix the version of a classic: "Pulstar" by Vangelis. The song was released under the pseudonym "Hypnosis". The remix of "Pulstar" was recorded in the "Veronica Studios" and on that occasion, Stefano introduced his friend Alessandro Zanni to Anfrando. "Pulstar" entered the Top 10 in Germany and the Top 20 in Switzerland. In 1983, after recording the singles "Black & White" and "Pulstar", Anfrando recorded his first album under the pseudonym "Jafrandu". The album entitled "Janfrandu Uh! Uh! E La Sua Musica Mah! Boh!", was recorded in the "Veronica Studios" with the assistance of Stefano Cundari as sound engineer. "Jafrandu" was a comic-musical character created by Anfrando Maiola and which allowed him to make some appearances in various shows and on television. Stefano Cundari and Alessandro Zanni created their own record label and called it "Memory Records". As their first publication they printed a new edition of Koto's hit "Chinese Revenge". The headquarters of "Memory Records" was in Via Donatori del Sangue 3 in the municipality of San Polo di Torrile. later "Memory Records" moved to Piazza della Repubblica 1, where it remained until the end of 1989. In 1983, under the "Memory Records" label, Anfrando Maiola released "Japanese War Game" under the pseudonym "Koto". In 1985, the song "Visitors" exploited a sample of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and was considered a classic of the Italo-Disco genre. The futuristic images that appear on the album covers of "Koto" (except that of "Visitors") were created by the designer Alessandro Porta. One of the most successful songs was “Jabdah” (1986), which remained in the German, Austrian and Swiss charts for a few weeks. In 1988 “Dragon's Legend” was released, containing sound extracts from the video game “Dragon's Lair”. In 1989, the German record company "Zyx Records" commissioned Michiel Van Der Kuy (Laserdance) to continue "Koto". In 1990 “Koto Plays Synthesizer World Hits” was released, an album that contains reinterpretations of synthesizer classics. Three years later “Koto Plays Science-Fiction Movie Themes” was released, another cover album that paid homage to the soundtracks of various science fiction films. Anfrando Maiola died on May 26, 2023.Koto's Discography (Maiola-Cundari) :Singles1982 - Chinese Revenge1983 - Japanese War Game
1985 - Visitors
1986 - Jabdah1986 - Jabdah (Special Remix)1987 - The Koto Mix / Jabdah (Megamix)1988 - Dragon's Legend1989 - Chinese Revenge (Asia Version '89)Koto's Discography (Michiel Van Der Kuy)Album1990 - Koto Plays Synthesizer World Hits
1992 - From The Dawn Of Time
1993 - Koto Plays Science (Fiction Movie Themes)Singles1989 - Time
1990 - Champion's Cue
1990 - Acknowledge
1992 - Mechanic Sense
1992 - Mind Machine
2001 - Koto Is Still Alive
2003 - Blow The Whistle
2003 - Planet X
2009 - Strange SkiesCiancio DJ © Copyright - 2019 by Antonio Stanzani
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