photo: Claudia HansenYu Oda is a composer born in Japan and based in the Netherlands working across acoustic and electroacoustic music, live electronics, and audiovisual works, and multimedia projects. His practice extends into electronics and the audiovisual form, exploring structures in which sound, image, and performance are interconnected.
In recent years, Oda has focused on electroacoustic composition and live electronics, performing his own electronic systems and creating audiovisual works that combine acoustic instruments, sound objects, and visual elements. His earlier activity includes theatre-based practice and collaborations with multidisciplinary artists, resulting in audiovisual installations and performance-based works. These activities extend his compositional practice beyond the concert setting while remaining grounded in music.
His research interests also include online and computational graphics, exploring higher-dimensional geometry and real-time systems, as well as procedural and generative synthesis realized through audio-visual interaction in his works.
In collaboration with percussionist Laurent Warnier, Oda works as part of the electroacoustic duo Plastiklova. Their practice centers on using acoustic sound, primarily vibraphone, to drive electronic processes, creating direct links between intuitive performance and electronically transformed sound. The duo is currently exploring this approach within an audiovisual context, where electronic audio and digital graphics are generated and shaped in real-time alongside the acoustic instrument.
Oda studied composition at California State University, Northridge, and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, graduating in 2011. Since then, he has worked as a composer with a range of musicians, ensembles, and institutions, including Noord Nederlands Orkest, Orkest de Ereprijs, Noord Nederlands Toneel, New European Ensemble, Ensemble Proton, Joint Venture Percussion Duo, and Scenatet. His work has been presented internationally at festivals such as Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Holland Festival, Oerol Festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Forum Neuer Musik, Time of Music Festival, and Rainy Days Festival, and has received nominations for prizes including the Gaudeamus Prize in 2011 and Toonzetters Prize in 2012, as well as selection for the ISCM World New Music Days.
Alongside his compositional work, Oda has co-founded the new music ensembles Looptail and Amsterdam Collage Ensemble, as well as the electroacoustic techno band Project 128, where he has worked as artistic director, performer, and composer.
Oda's work is driven by a compositional approach that remains rooted in music, while expanding its scope through technology, performance, and audiovisual form.