Gota Yashiki (屋敷 豪太, Yashiki Gota) is both an independent acid jazz artist and drum player, as well as a member of the band Simply Red. He was born in Kyoto, Japan, on 26 Feb 1962, where at a young age he learned how to play traditional Japanese drums. This interest in drumming propelled him into the music scene, and he moved to Tokyo in 1982 to join a reggae/dub band that became known as Mute Beat. Together with Mute Beat band member Kazufumi Kodama he worked on various projects and formed the duo Kodama & Gota.