Biography of Rainy Forest

Masumi Hiyoshi was born soon after the beautiful cherry blossoms had
fallen out in Japan. Unlike the hustle and bustle of the busy Tokyo
metropolitan area, she was surrounded by the nature and peace as she
grew up in her birthplace, Shizuoka. What the nature gave to her
childhood were the sounds of the flowing river, breeze going through
the trees, the beautiful sights of the rice plants and the sounds of
birds and insects.

Masumi's surroundings must have influenced her for becoming the
expressive musician she is today. She started learning to play
classical piano at the tender age of 4, and then composing music at
age 9, and later focusing upon making piano instrumental music at age
17. It was only then a natural move for her to give her first concert
as a professional musician, and she did it at age 20.

Recalling her own career, Masumi now says, "All the way through my
career to today, the motives of my music have been dramas that occur
among people, dramas surrounded by sceneries in different seasons."
She loves touching the lives of people and using their everyday lives
as her motives to make her music more relatable to listeners. She
says (As of year 　2008) "Having released 11 albums so far, I
would like to reach more people through my music and share my dramas,
as well as theirs."

After her graduation from one of Japan's most recognized colleges of
music, "Kunitachi," her professional career went on with composing
and performing for theaters and other musicians. Her long-awaited
debut album, "Dear," was released in 1999. Thereafter, her music was
played on television and on the radio. "Dear" was also released in
South Korea during this time.

Currently, Masumi's passion and love of music continues and she is
presently composing and performing in various environments. She
usually performs as a solo artist, however sometimes performs duos.
In the meantime, she is hoping to touch many people's lives with her
music, of course including yours.


January 2009