The most producer-driven act in the Japanese pop movement known as Shibuya-kei, Fantastic Plastic Machine was formed by Tomoyuki Tanaka. Though he has the basic stylistic tastes requisite of the Shibuya-kei artist (namely lounge music, bossa nova, French pop and soft rock), Tanaka has more of a club mentality, driven by his long experience as a... [+] Read More

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Kyoto-based producer Nobukazu Takemura's career has followed an odd trajectory for an artist produced by the club scene. He emerged as a hip-hop DJ in the mid-'80s, inspired by the Japanese leg of the legendary Wild Style tour (largely credited for introducing hip-hop to Japan). A short-lived career as a battle DJ led Takemura to shift focus to... [+] Read More

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Godfathers of the Shibuya-kei scene, Tokyo kitsch-pop deconstructionists Pizzicato Five originally began taking shape as far back as 1979, when university students Yasuharu Konishi and Keitaro Takanami first met at a local music society meeting. Agreeing to form a band, they soon recruited fellow society member Ryo Kamamiya; their search for a... [+] Read More

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By his mid-teens, Will Skol had adopted a post-punk headspace that would inform all of his projects that followed. He quit his weekly guitar lessons, and along with a daily intake of Cabaret Voltaire, (early) Simple Minds, Skinny Puppy, Gang of Four and Killing Joke (to name just a few) it made sense to do what his... [+] Read More

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Pioneers of the Japanese acid-jazz sound, the United Future Organization comprised Tokyo club DJs Tadashi Yabe, Toshio Matsuura and French expatriate Raphael Sebbag. Joining forces in 1990, the trio quickly emerged as a leading force on the Tokyo underground club scene, making their recorded debut the next year with the 12-inch "I Love My Baby... [+] Read More

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