|
|
|
In the split second that elapses as I pass through the doorway into the swank, glowing lounge area, I obsess about where to sit while I enjoy the icy, ultra-dry martini that is certain to appear soon.
Should I go for the George Nelson Marshmallow Sofa from Herman Miller? Or would the Eames Lounge with accompanying ottoman be better? They're both so right...
But instead of a girl in white go-go boots holding two glasses and a martini shaker, the person striding toward me is Tomoyuki Tanaka, and the first thing that crosses my mind as I begin to emerge from my James Bond fantasy is that he's a lot bigger than the average Japanese guy. The second is that I probably won't be getting that martini, so I had better start thinking about the interview we're about to do.
Tanaka smiles in greeting and nods toward several black leather chairs arranged around a low table, making my seating decision for me. Coffee is served, its aroma ushering me the rest of the way back to reality, and I try to act nonchalant as I fumble with the record button on my miniature spy radio (cleverly disguised as a modern day IC recorder).
For those not familiar with the name, Tanaka is the Kyoto-born producer/remixer/DJ/musician behind Fantastic Plastic Machine, and this retro-modern lounge is an annex of the studio where he creates his music. The first Fantastic Plastic Machine album was released in 1997, followed up by a series of innovative and well-received records documenting a musical evolution that spans an array of styles from kitschy retro pastiches to disco and funk-influenced club music.
In addition to Japan, his albums and singles have seen wide release overseas, and the track "Bachelor Pad" from Fantastic Plastic Machine's eponymous debut was licensed for the first Austin Powers movie. He has toured all over the world as a DJ, receiving invitations from locales as unlikely as Dubai and Russia. Most recently, he has been exploring the concept of theme-based DJ mix collections in his "Sound Concierge" series.
 The first installments of the series, which has now grown to six titles, were Sound Concierge #401 "Do Not Disturb" and Sound Concierge #402 "Four Kicks Adventure", were released simultaneously in January 2004. This February, Sound Concierge #501 “Blanket” and Sound Concierge Annex ”Contemporary Love Songs” appeared, marking the newest additions to the series.
Regarding the "Sound Concierge" concept, Tanaka explains that songs for each album are chosen based on theme or "listening motive" rather than genre, the latter being the standard logic for DJ mix compilations. With the theme established, Tanaka then begins to comb through his massive record collection to choose songs that work. Sound Concierge #401 "Do Not Disturb", for example, is created for solitary listening. The record is mind-bogglingly eclectic, including acts as diverse as Chet Baker, The High Llamas, Vladmir Cosma, Bobby Womack, and Robert Wyatt, but despite the variety it all feels natural.
The concept appears to be working from a business standpoint as well as a creative one. Each title from the "Sound Concierge" series has sold multiples of what the average DJ mix compilation sells. And while many DJ mix compilations get limited exposure on the shelves of all but the hippest record stores, I saw every one of the "Sound Concierge" titles available in my tiny neighborhood music retail/rental shop. Not bad for a series with almost zero promotion. And at 2,100 yen, the records are priced lower than most Japanese releases, containing an average of around twenty tracks each. "It's about 100 yen per track, which is a pretty good value", Tanaka quips.
This is by no means, however, bargain bin music. Tanaka is famous worldwide for the meticulous detail that goes into his original Fantastic Plastic Machine records, and the work ethic is the same for his DJ mixes. Everything is there for a reason, and it all sounds good.
Happy with the warm reception, Tanaka is planning more "Sound Concierge" releases for the future, possibly even letting other artists oversee track selection for some. When asked whether or not he thinks that listeners will use the series as a kind of jumping-off point for finding new artists, Tanaka isn't sure. But he is perfectly clear on how he wants people to hear the songs on his records. "The point of the series," he explains, "is to put my own unique stamp on the music while remaining faithful to the artists and original songs. For example, on Sound Concierge Annex 'Contemporary Love Songs', if there are lovely elements in the songs, I want to bring them out. And if there aren't, then I want to create them. Ideally, my own style will come through, and people will look at it as the original artists doing guest vocals on a Fantastic Plastic Machine record."
 In addition to stylistic consistency, the records in the series all share design elements. Created by Groovisions, the people responsible for some of the coolest design work to come out of Japan since the turn of the century, the covers feature an array of funky designs that, like much of Fantastic Plastic Machine's music, are simultaneously thoroughly modern and retro.
Tanaka's association with Groovisions, which goes back to his Kyoto DJ days when he often collaborated with future founder Hiroshi Ito, is just one example of the cutting-edge company he has kept since the start. Before he even had a record contract, Tanaka was tapped by Towa Tei, visiting Kyoto from New York and his gig with Deee-Lite, to work on the introduction of a Bjork remix, which Tanaka ended up making in his bedroom for lack of a proper studio. His vinyl debut was an original track credited to Fantastic Plastic Machine on the 1995 Pizzicato Five album Romantique 96, an opportunity that came about after P5 svengali Yasuharu Konishi caught Tanaka's DJ act - Sound Impossible - at Kyoto's hipster mecca Metro. It was around this time that both Konishi and Tei convinced Tanaka to start making original music, prompting him to form Fantastic Plastic Machine.
Soon after Tanaka moved to Tokyo to pursue music full-time, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Pizzicato Five, Kahimi Karie and others became poster children for the Shibuya-kei scene - from which emerged some of Japan's most original and engaging music, informed by a wild mix of bossa nova, French pops, Burt Bacharach, spy movie soundtracks, and 60s pop. Tanaka and others consumed these musical influences along with massive chunks of the western pop culture they found attractive, and spat it back out as something completely original. "Hip hop belongs to New York, and trip hop may belong to London, but I think the music people associate with Shibuya-kei - some people call it lounge music - belongs to Japan," says Tanaka.
Fantastic Plastic Machine is also a big name in the world of production, with credits on work by Rip Slyme, Yuki Koyanagi, Chieko Kinbara, and many others, not to mention remixes for almost any major Japanese artist you can name.
With more "Sound Concierge" records in the works and a full schedule of deejaying and producing, it's logical to wonder when we're going to see another original Fantastic Plastic Machine record.
"I've been working on an original album, and hope to get it out some time in the fall. It's shaping up to be completely different from the last one, and hopefully won't sound like anything in the record stores these days. Through deejaying and the "Sound Concierge" records I've been playing around with stuff like 80's music, electroclash, electronica, and ambient, but I'm not really interested in going down one specific road. I may reference other music, but I feel it's my job to do something that sounds like me."
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Send us a comment |
|
|
|
Print page |
|
 |
|
Get XML feeds |
|
 |
|
Get Javascript feeds |
|
|
