Akiko Shikata
| Akiko Shikata | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Akiko Shikata (志方あきこ?) |
| Born | 7 January Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | World, Folk, Neoclassical darkwave |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, composer |
| Instruments | Music box, piano, harp, lute |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels |
Vagrancy (2001-present) Hats Unlimited (2005-2007) Frontier Works (2008-present) Avex Trax (2009-present) |
| Associated acts | Taro Hakase |
| Website | http://shikata-akiko.com/ |
Akiko Shikata (志方あきこ Shikata Akiko?, born 7 January) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and composer, who is known for writing music for games and anime. She is best known for her contributions to the Ar tonelico, Shadow Hearts and Umineko no Naku Koro ni games, as well as anime adaptations of Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Akatsuki no Yona and Tales of Symphonia.
Shikata's music is known for its ethnic feel and complex vocal chorus work. In a single Shikata song, there may be as many as 200 separate vocal tracks recorded for it.
Shikata was born in Tokyo. She first developed an interest in music when she was very little, after constantly singing with her mother. She was first interested in songs from Minna no Uta, and later when she learnt the piano classical music.
In 2001, she formed the independent label Vagrancy, associated with the dōjin music scene that makes independent music game releases. She originally had no intention of singing, but felt dissatisfied with creating songs just from synthesiser sounds.
Later in the year, she released her debut EP, Midori no Mori de Nemuru Tori, through her site. In the next few years, she releases many works through her site, mostly instrumental albums performed with a music box. Her first full-length album Haikyo to Rakuen (2003) topped the charts at Japanese independent music download site Muzie for 24 months. In the same year, she worked on the soundtrack for the independent game "Hanakisō," her first major game-related work.
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