Jose Luque is a Tsugaru shamisen player and luthier from Barcelona. He first heard the Japanese lute on a trip in 2013, returned to Japan a year later to buy one, and has since been learning to play – and successively produce – the instrument back home.

Jose is one of the very few foreigners to have competed in the prestigious Tsugaru Shamisen World Cup. In 2018 and 2019, he took gold in the group category, and in 2023, Jose was awarded the Special Jury Prize in the individual category.

Listen to Jose Luque’s first solo album, Aki, on Spotify.