A Japanese drummer and internationally acclaimed solo snare drum performer, active since 2003. Known for his radical and intensely physical performances, he reduces his instrumentation to a single drum and builds around it a powerful event based on rhythm, repetition, silence, gesture and bodily tension. He is also the drummer of SETE STAR SEPT, Kiyasu Orchestra and Fushitsusha — Keiji Haino’s legendary band — and was previously a member of the Canadian group The Endless Blockade.

His 2018 solo performance in Berlin has received more than 23 million views on social media, while his work has been featured by BBC News and VICE, among others. Kiyasu has also performed at Überschlag Festival, Dr. Martens Fest, the Outsider Art Festival in Finland, Alternativa Festival in the Czech Republic and Edinburgh Art Festival. Beyond music, he has also collaborated with the Swedish brand Our Legacy.

The artist returns to Avant Art Festival following a spectacular performance on 20 September 2025 at Galeria Turnus on Wolska Street, during the Warsaw edition of the festival. The extremely physical performance, in which Kiyasu not only played with drumsticks but also threw himself onto the instrument and struck it with his own body, became the starting point for a discussion about the boundaries between music, art and performance on Nocna strefa, a programme broadcast by Polish Radio 2.