The music of American composer Andy Akiho (b. 1979) is infused with the sounds of the Caribbean.
Based in Portland, Oregon and New York City, Akiho is a virtuoso percussionist whose primary instrument is the steelpan, a drum developed in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1930s.
According to his biography,
As a pannist, Akiho has a deeply physical relationship with playing, which undoubtedly informs his compositions. His style is further shaped by his nontraditional path as a composer: having spent most of his 20s playing steel pan by ear in Trinidad and New York City, Akiho only began writing music at age 28. Still, these social and musical roots remain foundational. Akiho frequently composes into the late hours at coffee shops, nightclubs, and restaurants, taking breaks to get to know those around him. Similarly, Akiho develops relationships with his collaborators, as he writes for people, not instruments.
A recent collaboration is with Brooklyn-based quartet Sandbox Percussion. Pentalateral I is the first installment of a planned multi-movement work in which Akiho joins the quartet, performing on the steelpan. It follows their 2021 Grammy-nominated and Pulitzer Prize-finalist project, Seven Pillars.
Pentalateral I develops confidently over a pulsating rock ostinato. It is a kaleidoscope of shifting colors and competing rhythms.
This performance was filmed in New Haven, Connecticut at NXTHVN on October 6, 2025. The musicians are Jonny Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum, Terry Sweeney, and Andy Akiho.