Features | 2005.11.12 Slicing Through Tomoyasu Hotei has been a superstar level artist in Japan now for over two decades. This in itself is remarkable, as pop music stars in Japan often enjoy only mercurial popularity. Hotei however retains a reputation as a dynamic performer, and long ago established himself as a solid songwriter and producer, writing his own hit songs as well as songs with/for others. In addition he is considered by many to be one of the best guitarists in Japan. He usually plays a custom Fernandes Vertigo guitar, which he helped make popular in Japan. Steve Vai chose to include him on a Xmas album he assembled, which also featured master guitarists like Jeff Beck, Brian Setzer, and Joe Perry. Hotei was also chosen by the late composer Michael Kamen, to appear in his musical presentation at the opening of the 1996 Olympics. His first appearance on a foreign stage however was all the way back in 1985 when he played London’s Marquee Club as a member of Boowy. Hotei has also recorded with a number of foreign artists, including members of Roxy Music, Jesus Jones, and the Stranglers. His 2000 album Supersonic Generation, recorded with Apollo 440 and Ofra Haza, was released in 14 countries worldwide. His music appeared in the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and in the popular video game series Onimusha. Hotei has also done fairly well as an actor. He starred in the films Samurai Fiction (1998), and in the award winning Shin Ningi Naki Tatakai (AKA Another Battle, Battle Without Honor, Battle Without Honor Or Humanity) (2000), for which he also composed the main parts of the soundtracks. Hotei also had a major role in Akakage (Red Shadow) (2001). However, amongst his many, many accomplishments, it is his song “Without Honor Or Humanity” that has really made his name and music known internationally. The song was originally created as the main theme for the Junji Sakamoto-directed film of the same name. The title track came to the attention of Asian film buff Quentin Tarantino, who optioned to use it for his film Kill Bill (2003). The film, which starred Uma Thurman and Lucy Lui, and featured an animation sequence by Japan’s famed Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Evangelion) was a smash hit around the world. The eclectic soundtrack, which mixed Nancy Sinatra kitsch, with Charlie Feathers’ rockabilly, 70s disco music, RZA’s Wu Tang's mad hip-hop, and Hotei’s sparse powerful music, was also a hit internationally. This was quite a placement for any musician, but it turned out to be just the launching pad for “Battle Without Honor or Humanity”. After the film was released, Quentin Taratino appeared on a TV show with Sharon Osbourne, and used the “Without Honor Or Humanity” theme as his entrance music. Within weeks after that it began appearing on a regular basis during broadcasts for the sports channel ESPN, and backing segments of NBA basketball highlights. About the same time “Without Honor Or Humanity” was also being used to accompany a variety of occasions in the UK, for everything from sports, to a TV show about cars, to a documentary on Liza Minelli. Then came a number of offers for use in other films. Among the first, and one of the few accepted, being the American animated comedy Team America: World Police. In sharp contrast, the next major offer was from the luxury car maker Jaguar, which had previously licensed music from Sting for one of their TV ads. Later “Without Honor Or Humanity” was used for a Honda Accord ad in Korea, an Audi ad in Switzerland, and an offer for a car commercial in Spain was declined. Korea being quite a strong market for Hotei overall, it is perhaps not surprising that his song was used extensively there, in TV news shows, sports programs, film and advertising. The popularity of his song also helped make him one of the best selling Japanese artists in Korea. Offers also came in from Italy, Germany, Russia (a variety of offers including film), and Israel (a phone company). Meanwhile use of “Without Honor Or Humanity” in sports programming only escalated. ESPN continue to use the song , now for football coverage. It was also used in both England and France in soccer. And the New York Yankee Slugger Hideki Matsui began using the song as his official “entrance song”. Given the song's overwhelming popularity, it was included in his 2004 album Electric Samurai, which was released in Japan, Korea and Russia (Hotei has family heritage from all three), as well as in Hong Kong, Greece and Turkey. Music fans also took notice of the song in the United States, where it became a best seller on the American version of iTunes. It has in fact become something of a signature song for him, and is the closing number on his most recent album, the live recording Monster Drive Big Party!!!. Next year will mark Hotei’s 25th year as a professional musician, a career that stretches back to 1981 when he debuted with the seminal rock band Boowy. To mark this point in time, his All Time Super Best will be released December 7, 2005. In case somehow you live in a far corner of the earth and haven’t heard "Without Honor Or Humanity" yet, check track 10. by Keith Cahoon
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