Described as "virtuosic" (NY Times) and "barrier-defying artist" (Mix Magazine), Osaka-born and New York-based pianist Erika Dohi is a multi-faceted artist with an eclectic musical background. From highly polished traditional classical to bold improvisation, she is a dynamic performer whose timeless style and unidiomatic technique set her apart in contemporary NYC avant-garde circles. 

 

Dohi's debut solo album, I, Castorpollux, was released in May 2021 on the label 37d03d, founded by Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Aaron Dessner, and Bryce Dessner (The National). The album is a profound personal excavation set to a gripping landscape of wild, genre-fluid composition; a virtuosic, but emotionally generous convergence of the technical and the spiritual. With understated piano & keyboards at its center, I, Castorpollux is equal parts hazy nostalgia, science-fiction soundtrack, and electro-acoustic experimentation. The album features contributions from various artists, including Channy Leaneagh (Poliça), Andy Akiho, Immanuel Wilkins, Ambrose Akinmusire, Jeremy Boettcher (S. Carey), Emily Wells, and Zach Hanson (S. Carey). It is produced by William Brittelle, a vital modern composer himself. 

 

I, Castorpollux has received "The Best Ambient Albums in May 2021" (Bandcamp), "Best of the Week" (Brooklyn Vegan and JAZZIZ Magazine), described as a "retro-futuristic piece of poetry" (Mixmag), "pianist Erika Dohi plays piano like you've never seen before" (MinnPost), "a rising voice in New York's creative scene" (DCist), and was featured on The New York Times Playlist and WNYC's ‘New Sounds/Soundcheck’, and BBC World Service's 'Music Life'. The project was featured at Liquid Music Series with pianist David Friend and composer Jerome Begin at The Parkway Theater (Minneapolis), Bop Stop Jazz (Cleveland), Constellation (Chicago), Earshot Jazz Festival (Seattle), Emerald City Music Series (Seattle), Rhizome (Washington D.C.), Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's MusicNOW Festival along with So Percussion, Bonny Light Horseman and Daniil Trifonov. Erika was most recently featured at the Ecstatic Music Festival at Kaufmann Music Center (NYC) along with Circuit des Yeux, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and Bergamot Quartet.

 

Dohi is the co-founder of BLUEPRINTS Piano Series and accompanying festival, In Visible Roads, in collaboration with Metropolis Ensemble, as well as flute and piano duo, RighteousGIRLS, whose album gathering blue has been hailed by Downbeat as “one of the most adventurous new music debut albums in recent years.”, receiving 4.5 stars as "The Best of Album of 2015". She has performed composer William Brittelle's Spiritual America with Metropolis Ensemble at The Hollywood Bowl opening for Bon Iver and TU Dance, Central Park Summer Stage with Ensemble LPR, and international festivals including Sounds from a Safe Harbour (Cork, Ireland), Eaux Claires (Eau Claire, WI), the D.C. Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, and Tokyo Experimental Festival. She is part of the six-piano ensemble Grand Band, performing at Peak Performances at Montclair State University. She is also a pianist for a composer and trumpet player, Wadada Leo Smith’s Kikuyu Ensemble, and has performed at various festivals including Big Ears (Knoxville), Vision Festival (NYC), Harlem Stage (NYC), SFJazz (San Francisco) as part of ECM's 50th Anniversary.  




As a composer, Dohi has participated in Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at Mass MoCA, and Atlantic Center for the Arts with composer Judd Greenstein. She has been commissioned by Metropolis Ensemble, Switch~ Ensemble, Grand Band, and American independent entertainment company 'A24' for the Song Reader box set project for the movie "Everything Everywhere All at Once". Dohi has received New Music USA's 2022 Creator Development grant, and 2023 Figure 8 and Forgotten Futures Artist in Residency Program.