Kylie & Karishma
Daisuke Inoue - Karaoke
51 x 71cm
Screenprint on 300gsm Madrid Litho Paper
Edition of 3
2019
About Charles Drew
Karaoke has helped many people enjoy fulfilling social lives, particularly in Asia where it is extremely popular. Karaoke is not only a fun past-time for singers and “wannabe” singers, but it has changed people’s lives in various ways. In fact, some hospitals even use karaoke as a means of therapy to help patients recover.
The visionary behind karaoke - Daisuke Inoue - is known for his brilliant sense of humour which was a key ingredient when it came to making this invention. Daisuke was a musician in his youth and decided one day to build a machine that would play pre-recorded music after he helped Japanese businessmen sing without them requiring a live back up. Word of mouth was crucial to karaoke’s success and such was the enjoyment from the very start that karaoke machines were soon installed in multiple bars across Japan.
The word karaoke comes from the phrase “empty orchestra” which is kara okesutura in Japanese. This plays homage to the fact that there is no live band present and to sing along, all you need to do is start the karaoke machine.
Inoue won an Ig Nobel Prize for inventing karaoke - an award that Harvard presents for inventions that make people laugh and then make them think.
Daisuke Inoue is a visionary because he has given many people throughout the world a lot of joy through his invention and we need more visionaries like him in the world.
