Tokyo born Akihiko Matsumoto may not yet be a household name Stateside, but in Japan he stands as a genre crashing, musical Renaissance man and Academy Award winning tabloid star.

Akihiko began his musical career in 1984 as keyboard player and writer for the band Chocolata, but three short years later he was on to the next mission transitioning into the role of hit-making record producer when “Owarnai Sunset” his work with Koji Kikkawa hit the number one spot on the Japanese pop charts.

Since then, he has proven to be as popular as he is prolific, producing a number of Gold and Platinum albums including the million selling “Love Somebody” for Yuji Oda and Maxi Priest.

Not content with just conquering the world of pop music, and with an ever-increasing number of his productions appearing in motion pictures, 1996 saw Akihiko begin his composing career. To date he has scored eight features and five television series including the successful, long-running anime TV series Black Jack.

In a career that has moved from highpoint to highpoint, 1998 was a particularly good year. Akihiko created the score for Bayside Shakedown a film that quickly went on to become a Japanese phenomenon and eventually the fifth highest grossing film in the nation’s history.  “Rhythm and Police,” his main theme for the film, became a ubiquitous cultural touchstone, and led to sales of over one million copies of the film’s soundtrack album, garnering Akihiko his first Japanese Academy Award.

Five years later, Bayside Shakedown 2 became the highest grossing live-action film in Japanese history with Akihiko once again composing the soundtrack and winning his second Academy Award for ‘Best Motion Picture Score’.

Further cementing his reputation as Japan’s most important and successful composer, in 2005 Akihiko followed up the triumph of the two Bayside Shakedowns by scoring another pair of number one grossing blockbusters: The Negotiator and The Suspect.  The score for the latter, considered his crowning artistic achievement to date, combines sweeping John Williams-esque, orchestral themes with cutting edge, state of the art, electronic beats and sound design.

In addition to contributing music to the successful videogame franchise Resident Evil, Akihiko recently released first solo album “Link+age.”

With his home territory successfully conquered and some English lessons under his belt, Akihiko is now ready to expand his horizons and is looking for his first international score.