Born in Kyoto, Rei Harakami studied film and initially wanted to pursue a career writing scores; however, a demo tape of his electronic material sent to the Sublime label garnered him the opportunity to remix Ken Ishii and, later, to appear on the Volume label's Trance Pacific Express compilation. Harakami's debut album, Unrest, was issued in 1998, collecting works recorded as far back as 1995; Opa 9 was released the following year. ~ Steve Huey