'It's embarrassing to be flashy," says Ryota Miyake, explaining why he chose the sparrow, one of the plainest, most ubiquitous birds in Japan as his moniker.
The 34-year-old musician and bird lover is one of Japan's two Red Bull Music Academy participants in Paris this year. He was selected by the academy for his solo work as Sparrows, as well as his involvement in synth-pop group Crystal.
Miyake's attitude of shying away from the spotlight is apparent in his music as Sparrows. When talking about his 2013 album "Collected Visits," Miyake says, "I imagined it to be a collection of B-sides from a lot of older artists; none of the songs sound like they would have made the main cut."
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