Just why Takao Tajima (aka Original Love) doesn’t top the charts regularly is something of a mystery. He is without doubt one of the Japanese music scene’s most talented songwriters and performers. Maybe it’s his slightly adenoidal voice, which is something of an acquired taste. But that hasn’t prevented J-pop vocalists with far more unpleasant voices (Kenichi Asai of
Blankey Jet City comes to mind) from becoming big stars. It could be that Tajima is just too hip for the room, preferring to obey the dictates of his own muse than to dumb down his music for the masses. Tajima, who was born in Tokyo in 1966, first emerged on the music scene in 1985 in a psychedelic band called Red Curtain, which attracted some attention with the single "Attack of Mushroom People". In 1987 Tajima and his pals decided to start a new band that wouldn’t be limited to any one musical genre, and called it Original Love, which they got from the title of a song by the Feelies. Despite starting a new band, Tajima found time to join
Pizzicato Five in 1988. Like P5’s Yasuharu Konishi, Tajima has an interest in lounge/retro/cocktail jazz sounds, and through the years these influences have been apparent in Original Love’s sophisticated, cleverly arranged pop. After recording three albums with P5, Tajima left the group in 1990 to concentrate on Original Love, which released its first single, "Deep French Kiss", in 1991. The same year saw Original Love release it first album,
Love! Love! & Lov...
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Just why Takao Tajima (aka Original Love) doesn’t top the charts regularly is something of a mystery. He is without doubt one of the Japanese music scene’s most talented songwriters and performers. Maybe it’s his slightly adenoidal voice, which is something of an acquired taste. But that hasn’t prevented J-pop vocalists with far more unpleasant voices (Kenichi Asai of
Blankey Jet City comes to mind) from becoming big stars. It could be that Tajima is just too hip for the room, preferring to obey the dictates of his own muse than to dumb down his music for the masses. Tajima, who was born in Tokyo in 1966, first emerged on the music scene in 1985 in a psychedelic band called Red Curtain, which attracted some attention with the single "Attack of Mushroom People". In 1987 Tajima and his pals decided to start a new band that wouldn’t be limited to any one musical genre, and called it Original Love, which they got from the title of a song by the Feelies. Despite starting a new band, Tajima found time to join
Pizzicato Five in 1988. Like P5’s Yasuharu Konishi, Tajima has an interest in lounge/retro/cocktail jazz sounds, and through the years these influences have been apparent in Original Love’s sophisticated, cleverly arranged pop. After recording three albums with P5, Tajima left the group in 1990 to concentrate on Original Love, which released its first single, "Deep French Kiss", in 1991. The same year saw Original Love release it first album,
Love! Love! & Love! The band was named New Artist of the Year at the 1991 yearend Record Taisho event, and in 1992-93 Tajima co-hosted the popular
Mogura Negra late-night TV variety show. It looked like Original Love and Tajima had well and truly arrived. In the years since then, however, the band has settled into a groove of steady-but-not-spectacular sales, amid label switches and personnel changes (Tajima is the only full-time member of the “band” these days). In March 1993 Original Love made what has become for many J-pop acts the de rigueur performance at the South By Southwest music-biz confab in Austin, Texas. With 14 singles and 12 albums under his belt, Tajima remains one of the Japanese music scene’s most talented songwriters and charismatic live performers.
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