aknkvn is a duo based in Tokyo and has been performing free improv and noise in tandem since 2009.
Akihiko Akkun Ando is an alto saxophonist born in Chiba, Japan in 1986. Since moving to Tokyo in 2001, he has been an active member of underground music scenes in both Tokyo and Kansai in western Japan, performing sax, effects and electronics.
From 2012, Akkun has been a regular collaborator with pianist Kevin McHugh who is a pianist, accordionist and improviser from Seattle, WA. After graduating from Oberlin Conservatory, McHugh won a yearlong Watson Fellowship to explore improvised music scenes in 5 megacities around the world: São Paulo, Cairo, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Since 2009 and after living in NYC and Oakland, Kevin has been based in Tokyo, performing and recording as an active member of Tokyo’s experimental music scene.