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Hiroto Kobayashi / Lakoba

Born in Tokyo.

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In 1979, he moved to the United States, and studied the basics of music at Cabrillo Community College. After graduating, he studied sound engineering at Sound Master in North Hollywood.

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As a live sound engineer, he was in charge of live tours for artists such as The Williams Brothers, EL Chicano. In late1980's he worked as a house engineer at the live house "Hop Singhs" in Los Angeles, where famous jazz musicians such as Oscar Peterson, Bobby Hutcherson, Paul Butterfield, Robben Ford, Tania Maria, Leon Ndugu Chancler, and Poncho Sanchez performed.

He has experience in a variety of venues, from small clubs to outdoor concerts with a capacity of 12,000, and has also worked on performances at Carnegie Hall by Tokiko Kato and Otowa Yurikagokai.

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He has also expanded his activities as a recording/mixing engineer, and is involved in many recording sessions with musicians in Los Angeles.

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Since 2000, he has been involved in the production of works by Japanese artists and various award-winning works.

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Japan Record Award New Artist Award (2 times),

Japan Record Award Best Album Award (3 times),

Japan Record Award Gold Award (2 times),

Japan Record Award Planning Award (1 time),

Japan Cable Award New Artist Award (1 time),

Japan Cable Award Excellence Award (1 time),

Japan Gold Disc Award Jazz Album of the Year (1 time)

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In order to provide memorable music with the best sound possible, he owns an extensive collection of vintage and state-of-the-art equipment, and continues to create works that suit a variety of genres, from natural sounds to works that use effects, including dance, electro, rock, R&B, hip-hop, and jazz.

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As a composer, he has composed music for Earth, Wind & Fire, AN-J, B-Fresh, and others, produced the album for Four Minutes till Midnight, and recorded sound sources built into synths for leading musical instrument manufacturers.