Nobukazu Takemura
Encyclopedia
Nobukazu Takemura is a Japanese musician whose style has run from jazz
to house
to drum and bass
to chamber music
to electronic glitch
within less than a decade. Born in Hirakata, Osaka
in August 1968, he became interested in punk
and New Wave music
when young. At high school, after a record store job that exposed him to Jazz
and Hip hop
, he had regular gigs as a battle DJ
.
Aki Tsuyuko under the touring name of Assembler.
He founded the Lollop and Childisc labels ; his voluminous releases, remix
es, and collaborations make a comprehensive discography
difficult, and his music often defies any easy categorization. He emerged in the US after the release of Scope on the Thrill Jockey
label in 1999, an album that features delicate melodies blossoming from oceans of white noise
and staccato
electronics.
His unique and complex approach to melody
and instrumentation
has generated a catalog of collaborations with critically acclaimed artists including Issey Miyake
, Zu
, Steve Reich
, DJ Spooky
, Yo La Tengo
, and Tortoise
.
Takemura was responsible for the sound design of Sony
's robotic dog AIBO
.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
to house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
to drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
to chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
to electronic glitch
Glitch (music)
Glitch is a term used to describe a genre of electronic music that emerged in the mid to late 1990s. The glitch aesthetic is characterized by a deliberate use of glitch based sonic artifacts that would normally be viewed as unwanted disturbances reducing the overall sound quality and are thus...
within less than a decade. Born in Hirakata, Osaka
Hirakata, Osaka
is a city located in north-eastern Osaka, Japan, near the prefectural borders of Nara and Kyoto. It is renowned for its chrysanthemum doll exhibition, as well as Hirakata Park — an amusement park featuring five roller coasters....
in August 1968, he became interested in punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and New Wave music
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
when young. At high school, after a record store job that exposed him to Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and Hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, he had regular gigs as a battle DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
.
Career
In 1990, Takemura founded Audio Sports with Yamatsuka Eye (of The Boredoms) and Aki Onda. Their first album, Era of Glittering Gas, was released in 1992 (after which Onda subsequently took control of the project), the same year as Takemura's first solo album, under the name DJ Takemura. He has also released material with Spiritual Vibes (since 1993) and as Child's View (since 1994). He is currently paired with Childisc vocalist/composerComposer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Aki Tsuyuko under the touring name of Assembler.
He founded the Lollop and Childisc labels ; his voluminous releases, remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es, and collaborations make a comprehensive discography
Discography
Discography is the study and listing of the details concerning sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified musical genres...
difficult, and his music often defies any easy categorization. He emerged in the US after the release of Scope on the Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey Records is an American independent record label established in 1992 in New York City by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards.-History:...
label in 1999, an album that features delicate melodies blossoming from oceans of white noise
White noise
White noise is a random signal with a flat power spectral density. In other words, the signal contains equal power within a fixed bandwidth at any center frequency...
and staccato
Staccato
Staccato is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration and separated from the note that may follow by silence...
electronics.
His unique and complex approach to melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and instrumentation
Instrumentation (music)
In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
has generated a catalog of collaborations with critically acclaimed artists including Issey Miyake
Issey Miyake
is a Japanese fashion designer. He is known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances.-Life and career:Miyake was born 22 April 1938 in Hiroshima, Japan. As a seven year-old, he witnessed and survived the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. He studied...
, Zu
Zu (band)
- Biography :Hailing from Ostia, a town near Rome, Zu are an atypical trio made of drums, electric bass, baritone saxophone and electronics. Formed in Rome in 1997, they began as composers and players for theatre performances. The band is composed of three members: Luca Mai on baritone saxophone,...
, Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, DJ Spooky
DJ Spooky
Paul D. Miller , known by his stage name DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is a Washington DC-born electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics or his fans as "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntablist, a producer, a philosopher, and an author...
, Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo, sometimes abbreviated as YLT, is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan , Georgia Hubley , and James McNew .Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential...
, and Tortoise
Tortoise (band)
Tortoise is an American post-rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1990.-Music:Tortoise's almost entirely instrumental music defies easy categorization, and the group gained significant attention from their early career. The members have roots in Chicago's fertile music scene, playing in...
.
Takemura was responsible for the sound design of Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's robotic dog AIBO
AIBO
AIBO was one of several types of robotic pets designed and manufactured by Sony...
.
Singles and EPs
- Hoping For The Sun - 1993 (Mo' Wax, MW 012) 12"
- For Tomorrow - 1994 (Toy's Factory, TFCC-88311) CD
- The Scenery Of S.H. - 1995 (Lollop, LR 010) 12"
- Sablé & Grill EP - 1998 (Childisc, CHEP-002/CHCD-005) 12"/CD
- Meteor - 1999 (Thrill Jockey, thrill 12.13) 12"
- Sign - 2000 (Thrill Jockey, thrill 12.20) 12"/2xCD
- Picnic / Oyasumi - 2001 (Bottrop-Boy, B-BOY 004) 7"
- Mahou No Hiroba - 2001 (Childisc, TKCA-72263) CD
- Mimic Robot - 2002 (Thrill Jockey, thrill 12.25) 12"
- Hiking / Viking - 2002 (Bottrop-Boy, B-BOY 008) 7"
- Recursion EP - 2002 (Childisc, CHEP-011) 12"
- Animate EP - 2002 (Childisc, CHEP-013) 12"
Albums
- Child's View - 1994 (Bellissima! Records/Toy's Factory, TFCC-88312)
- Child's View Remix - 1995 (Toy's Factory, TFCC-88205)
- Child & Magic - 1997 (Warner Music Japan, WPC6-8399)
- Funfair - 1999 (Bubblecore Records, BC-022)
- Scope - 1999 (Thrill Jockey, thrill 068)
- Milano -For Issey Miyake Men By Naoki Takizawa - 1999 (Warner Music Japan, WPC6-10017)
- Finale -For Issey Miyake Men By Naoki Takizawa - 1999 (Warner Music Japan, WPC6-10062)
- Hoshi No Koe - 2001 (Thrill Jockey, thrill 094)
- Water's Suite - 2002 (Extreme, XLTD 005)
- Animate - 2002 (Childisc, CHCD-030)
- Assembler 1 - 2002 (Childisc, CHCD-031)
- Songbook - 2003 (Bubblecore Records, BC-041)
- 10th - 2003 (Thrill Jockey, thrill 118)
- Assembler 2 - 2003 (Thrill Jockey, thrill 123)
- Kobito No Kuni (Unreleased Tracks ~1999) - 2007 (Moonlit, CMCD-002)