Togi Hideki has an unusual talent. He can play the hichiriki, an ancient Japanese court instrument, like a minstrel of old. But he’s not playing your great-great-grandpa’s music. He’s playing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It’s eerily beautiful and mesmerizing listening to Togi’s interpretation of the classic on a traditional wind instrument. What makes this performance even more touching is that the gorgeous piano accompaniment is provided by none other than Hideki’s talented son, Togi Norichika.
The dad and son duet is truly emotional to hear. It’s no wonder why they keep going viral with these brilliant and unique interpretations of rock songs. Hideki and Norichika really have a knack for getting to the heart of a song. They keep what matters in the arrangement, but bring a fresh take on “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The Music Man has to say this is definitely not an easy thing to do given how many covers there have been on the Queen hit over the years!
Togi Hideki uploaded his and Norichika’s take on “Bohemian Rhapsody” to his YouTube channel, where it hit 117,000 views. The video also features the solo Freddie Mercury number “I Was Born To Love You,” with a full band arrangement. Viewers had to agree this was a unique performance and added comments such as “It always amazes me when a person can make an instrument sing! This is talent and passion that can’t be truly replicated” and “Amazing combination of modern and traditional musical instruments!”
Togi has put a number of viral videos on the board on his YouTube channel. His most popular video to date is his take on Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” In this video, he plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, hichiriki, and two other Japanese court instruments. Talk about talented! The highlight is his interpretation of Jimmy Page’s guitar solo. Togi takes it up a notch by harmonizing his Les Paul guitar with a flute part, which leads to some real fireworks.
Togi Hideki is a Japanese musician who was born in Tokyo in 1959. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that he is a widely acknowledged master of gagaku, which refers to ancient Japanese court music. Hideki states on his website that the Togi family has a tradition of gagaku that goes back to the Nara period, 1300 years ago. Togi grew up abroad due to his father’s work. As a result of his upbringing, he was exposed to musical styles such as jazz, rock, and classical. No doubt this inspired his desire to mix traditional music with modern styles, as seen in many of his YouTube videos.