Daigo Hanada | Silhouette
Daigo Hanada’s “Silhouette” - how a former basketball player taught himself piano at 23 and created a minimalist debut that reached 70 million streams from his Tokyo bedroom in 2017.
Daigo Hanada | Silhouette
Meta Description: Daigo Hanada’s “Silhouette” - how a former basketball player taught himself piano at 23 and created a minimalist debut that reached 70 million streams from his Tokyo bedroom in 2017.
Story Behind “Silhouette”
Teaching Yourself Piano at 23
Daigo Hanada spent his teenage years playing basketball. Then an injury ended that. At 23, he taught himself piano.
No formal training. No conservatory background. Just an upright piano, two microphones, and artists like Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm showing him what was possible. He started writing pieces in Berlin and Tokyo, working on them for about a year until they felt right.
“Silhouette” opens Ichiru, his debut album released February 24, 2017 on Montreal’s Moderna Records. The track is 2 minutes and 10 seconds of solo piano. No layers, no effects, just the instrument and space around it. Hanada’s grandmother was a koto player, and you can hear that influence—the way he lets silence work, the restraint.
From Obscurity to 70 Million Streams
Ichiru came out quietly. Moderna Records was a small label focused on contemporary classical and ambient music. The album was limited to 200 physical copies with artwork by Kevin Townsend.
Then something happened. By 2019, the album had reached over 70 million streams. It charted as Spotify’s most-played in Japan. “Silhouette” became the track people discovered first, that opening statement that pulls you into Hanada’s world.
The timing mattered. Solo piano was having a moment—Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, Max Richter all proving you could strip music down to its essentials and still connect. Hanada arrived at exactly the right time with exactly the right sensibility: minimal but not cold, emotional but not sentimental.
“Silhouette” Recording and Production Details
An Upright Piano and Two Microphones
Hanada recorded “Silhouette” with the simplest setup possible. One upright piano, a pair of microphones, his two hands. No overdubs, no layers, no studio tricks. Emil Thomsen at ET Mastering handled the mastering, keeping that intimate, room-tone quality intact.
The track was written across Berlin and Tokyo. Hanada has described sitting by a window during heavy rain, watching the drops fall “continuously but randomly.” That rhythm—steady but unpredictable—shaped how he approached the composition. The melody feels like it’s breathing.
What’s remarkable about the recording is what’s not there. No reverb washing everything out, no compression crushing the dynamics, no production filling every space. You hear the piano, the room, the small mechanical sounds of hammers hitting strings. It’s the opposite of modern pop production.
The Influence of Rain and Koto
Hanada’s grandmother played koto, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. That influence shows up in how he uses space. In koto music, silence isn’t empty—it’s part of the composition. “Silhouette” works the same way. The pauses matter as much as the notes.
He’s cited the Michael Andrews soundtrack for Donnie Darko as an early influence, particularly tracks like “Gretchen Ross” and “Rosie Darko.” That melancholic, slightly unsettled quality runs through “Silhouette” too. There’s beauty in it, but also something unresolved.
The piece sits in C minor. The tempo is free, rubato—Hanada isn’t locked to a click track. He’s following the emotional logic of the melody, speeding up and slowing down as it demands. That human quality is what makes the track work.
Notes About “Silhouette” by Daigo Hanada
Release Date: February 24, 2017
Duration: 2:10
Genre: Modern Classical / Neo-Classical / Solo Piano
Album: Ichiru (debut album, track 1)
Producer: Daigo Hanada
Mastering: Emil Thomsen (ET Mastering)
Label: Moderna Records
Notable Achievement: Album reached 70M+ streams, charted as Spotify’s most-played in Japan (2019)
Physical Release: Limited edition of 200 CD copies with artwork by Kevin Townsend
Daigo Hanada “Silhouette” Era Details
Album Details
Album: Ichiru (loosely translates as “a ray or sliver of hope”)
Release Date: February 24, 2017
Label: Moderna Records (Montreal)
Recording Locations: Berlin and Tokyo (over the course of one year)
Recording Equipment: Upright piano, pair of microphones
Mastering: Emil Thomsen (ET Mastering)
Artwork: Kevin Townsend
Layout: Nicolas Hyatt
Album Length: 12 tracks
Personnel
Daigo Hanada - Piano, composition, recording
Emil Thomsen - Mastering (ET Mastering)
Kevin Townsend - Artwork
Nicolas Hyatt - Layout design
Album Production Notes
Debut solo piano album, released in relative obscurity initially
Written and recorded by Hanada alone using only upright piano
Grew into critical and commercial phenomenon reaching 70M+ streams by 2019
Influenced by Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, and Hanada’s grandmother (koto player)
Inspired by watching rain fall “continuously but randomly” from window
Followed by EP Ouka (2019) and second LP Satori (2022)
Limited physical release: 200 copies in 4-panel eco wallet
Later featured remixes by Clemens Ruh, Benoit Pioulard, Aaron Martin, offthesky, and CEEYS
Interesting Facts About “Silhouette”
The Clemens Ruh Remix That Became Its Own Thing
In March 2017, German composer Clemens Ruh released an official remix of “Silhouette.” He took Hanada’s minimal piano piece and transformed it into something atmospheric and electronic, layering it with ambient textures. The remix got released through Moderna Records and introduced the track to a different audience—people who might not have checked out a straight solo piano piece.
Other artists followed. Benoit Pioulard, Aaron Martin, offthesky—all took their turns reimagining tracks from Ichiru. The album became this collaborative thing, each remix showing different possibilities hidden in Hanada’s simple melodies. But the original “Silhouette” remained the most striking—proof that sometimes the first version, the minimal version, is the one that hits hardest.
From Basketball Injury to 690,000 Monthly Listeners
Hanada’s story is unusual. Most contemporary classical pianists started young, trained at conservatories, spent decades perfecting technique. Hanada was playing basketball until an injury forced him to stop at 23. He picked up piano to fill the void.
By 2023, he had over 120 million streams and 690,000 monthly Spotify listeners. He signed with Mercury KX and released Journey Through Memories. He started organizing Piano Day events in Japan—the annual celebration founded by Nils Frahm. He went from self-taught bedroom composer to one of Japan’s most-streamed contemporary classical artists in less than six years.
But “Silhouette” was where it started. That two-minute piano piece opening his debut album, recorded with minimal equipment in Tokyo. Sometimes that’s all you need.
Common Questions
Q: Who is Daigo Hanada? A: Daigo Hanada is a Japanese pianist and composer from Tokyo who taught himself piano at age 23 after a basketball injury ended his athletic career. His debut album Ichiru (2017) reached over 70 million streams and charted as Spotify’s most-played in Japan by 2019, despite being released in relative obscurity.
Q: What does “Ichiru” mean? A: Ichiru loosely translates from Japanese as “a ray or sliver of hope.” The album title reflects the intimate, contemplative nature of Hanada’s debut collection of solo piano pieces written in Berlin and Tokyo over the course of one year.
Q: How was “Silhouette” recorded? A: “Silhouette” was recorded with an upright piano and a pair of microphones—no overdubs, layers, or studio effects. Hanada recorded the entire Ichiru album this way, creating an intimate, room-tone quality that preserved the natural sound of the piano and the spaces between notes.
Q: What genre is Daigo Hanada’s music? A: Hanada’s music falls under modern classical, neo-classical, and contemporary classical piano. His minimalist approach and ambient sensibility connects him to artists like Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, and Max Richter, though his Japanese heritage and koto influences give his work a distinct character.
Q: Where can I listen to “Silhouette”? A: “Silhouette” is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp (through Moderna Records), and other major streaming platforms. The limited edition physical CD (200 copies) sold out, but the album remains widely available digitally.