IT'S the season for love and peace and fans can plug into that vibe at the upcoming Kitaro concert.

The Japan-born composer and multi-instrumentalist will play at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Dec 6 in the aptly titled Love And Peace Tour.

The 54-year-old, whose real name is Masanori Takahashi, is hailed by many as a leading pioneer in New Age music, with his fusion of spiritual soundscapes from the East and West.

'This world has many wars and issues like global warming,' says Kitaro on the line from Genting Highlands in Malaysia, where he has a two-day performance that ends today.

'I'm trying to spread the message of love and the joy of living, and how the whole of Asia needs to be as one,' adds the man, who now lives in sunny California with wife Keiko.

He says of his relocation from Colorado: 'Too much snow. Sometimes I can't even get the equipment for the tour out of the house.'

The self-taught musician says his work is influenced by the music he grew up with - rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll and progressive rock.

'But still somehow I'm considered New Age. It's a little strange but I'm all right with it,' says Kitaro, who gained a cult following in 1978 with his debut synthesized album Astral Voyage.

He has since sold over 10 million albums worldwide, including the Silk Road soundtrack albums from the long-running Japanese television series that started in 1980.

He also won a Golden Globe for the soundtrack of a 1993 film, Oliver Stone's Heaven And Earth. He received a Grammy for his 2000 album Thinking Of You and a nomination in 2003 for his album Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai.

According to show organiser Jasper Entertainment, over 80 per cent of tickets have been sold for the concert here.

Kitaro says fans can look out for songs from his latest album Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai, Volume 3, and pieces from the 1980s and 1990s.

There will also be new songs 'never released before'.

'I created a special song this month at a concert in San Francisco so I would like to take this to Singapore,' he says.

His previous concerts here were in 1995, 1998 and 2004. A visit in the 1980s was cancelled because the authorities wanted him to cut his long hair but he refused.

But that has not dampened his enthusiasm for Singapore, for he says: 'It seems like my second hometown in Asia. Singapore is really close to me. I would like to visit more often.'

The Kitaro Love And Peace concert will be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Thursday at 8pm. Tickets from $60 to $180. Call the Sistic hotline on 6348-5555 or visit http://www.sistic.com.sg/