Makoto Inoue moved to Berlin in 2018, drawn by his long-standing fascination with techno music, and now works primarily between electronic music, audiovisual art and spatial installation. He grew up in a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, where his father was a priest, and was introduced to Buddhist thought from an early age. At the same time, growing up in Roppongi — a district closely associated with Tokyo’s nightlife — exposed him to music and club culture, two influences that would later converge in his artistic practice.
Before moving fully into music and new media, Inoue developed an extensive career in theatre and performance. After receiving his initial monk’s licence, he turned towards acting after being offered a role in a major NHK television drama. He was later invited to Prague by filmmaker Jan Švankmajer, developing work in stage production across Europe and spending three years teaching pantomime and performing arts as an assistant professor at A.M.U. Back in Japan, he continued working in theatre, including appearances at Roppongi Art Night and a directing project for the National Theatre of Japan. Following a final stage performance in Avignon in 2016, he increasingly shifted his focus towards music, which had already been a central element of his theatre work.
Since relocating to Berlin, Inoue has released techno music in Europe while progressively expanding his practice into film, generative visuals and spatial audiovisual work. His experience in theatre, music and moving image has led him towards a practice centred on spatial design, repetition and minimalist structures, from live audiovisual performances to installations created specifically for architectural environments. In 2024 he presented his first solo exhibition, Phenomenon Orchestra, at Urban Spree in Berlin.
His audiovisual language draws on fractal geometry and Buddhist concepts of samsara, impermanence and cyclical time, translating them into continuously evolving visual and sonic environments