Posted on March 15, 2016

Tak Matsumoto has released a message regarding the 25th anniversary of ZARD. ZARD singer Izumi Sakai passed away in 2007 and this year would’ve marked her 25th anniversary since her debut as a musician.

Message from Tak Matsumoto

Happy 25th anniversary, ZARD! I wish you were here…
The last time we’ve met was when I had her sing 「Ihoujin」 on the cover album　「THE HIT PARADE」 I was producing.
She had a very charming and yet somehow sad voice, truly making it one of a kind in the world of Japanese pop music.
Almost 9 years have passed since she passed away, but the wonderful works she has left behind continue to enrich our daily lives.
Unfortunately, there won’t be any new works by ZARD, or by Izumi Sakai, but her works will live on for generations to come and will also be listened to by people in the future.

Via: ZARD 25th Anniversary Website

Posted on February 29, 2016

Tak Matsumoto has at long last revealed details regarding his forthcoming album 「enigma」. Following the reveal of its title and its rough release date on WOWOW’s broadcast of this year’s Grammy Awards, the full details have been released today. 「enigma」 is Tak Matsumoto’s eleventh studio album and contains 14 original instrumental tracks. Additionally, a reworked version of the iconic 「#1090 ~Thousand Dreams~」 which served as the theme to TV Asahi’s 「Music Station」 for years is included as a bonus track, making up for 15 tracks in total.

Among the 14 included original tracks are the previously untitled main theme to TBS’ show「The WORLD Heritage」 titled 「Vermillion Palace」 as well as the previously untitled ending theme to the same show titled 「Mystic Journey」. Furthermore, the album includes the previously announced tie-in song 「Ups and Downs」 which serves as the theme to an upcoming Ukiyo-e exhibition in Tokyo.

The new album comes in two flavors: regular edition (CD only) or limited edition (CD+DVD or CD+Blu-ray). The limited edition includes the full live performance of the tour finale of Tak’s 2014 solo tour 「Tak Matsumoto LIVE 2014 -New Horizon-」 at the BLUE NOTE Tokyo. The performance is available in standard definition (DVD) as well as high-definition (Blu-ray).

A special campaign to tie in with the release of Tak’s new album is also planned and will be announced in the near future.

New Album 「enigma」 2016.04.06 release

Regular Edition: 2,800 yen / Limited Edition: 5,000 Yen

[Track list]

1. enigma
2. Vermillion Palace
3. Step to Heaven
4. Ups and Downs
5. Rock The Rock
6. Drifting
7. The Voyage
8. Hopes
9. Under The Sun
10. Dream Drive
11. The Rock Show
12. Roppongi Noise
13. Mystic Journey
14. enigma ~epilogue~
＜Bonus Track＞
15. #1090 ~Million Dreams~

CD & DVD / CD & Blu-ray Limited Edition:
Tak Matsumoto LIVE 2014 -New Horizon- at BLUE NOTE TOKYO

1. New Horizon
2. Take 5
3. BLUE
4. Hana
5. Tokyo Night
6. Shattered Glass
7. Gakuseigai no Kissaten
8. Island of peace
9. That’s Cool
10. Tsuki no Akari
11. Reason to be…
12. GO FURTHER
13. #1090
14. The Moment
15. Rodeo Blues

Posted on February 17, 2016

Translating all these interviews word by word takes a lot of time and effort, which has created a huge backlog on our part. To still keep you all updated with the latest information, we will from now on give you a quick summary of the most important points that have been made or revealed during each interview.

Be With! Vol. 108 was delivered to fanclub members in January 2016. The interview section is split up into “Tak Matsumoto” and “Koshi Inaba” interviews respectively. Both interviews were conducted at the end of November 2015.

Tak Matsumoto Interview

Tak was interviewed in his private studio in L.A., currently busy with recording. Below is a brief summary of what they talked about.

TV Asahi Dream Festival

– Enjoyed performing there very much
– Playing two versions of “ZERO” was Koshi’s idea: playing one chorus in the way they played it during the “EPIC NIGHT” tour
– Didn’t get to see the other artists as he was busy in his wardrobe
– Went to OZZFEST and saw 9mm Parabellum Bullet, Black Label Society, Hatebreed and BABYMETAL
– Wanted to see BABYMETAL and therefore went to OZZFEST; he liked BABYMETAL’s performance very much

Fanclub Exclusive SHOWCASE

– Thought they had done a fanclub exclusive event before
– Was surprised that fanclub members remembered the lyrics to “hole in my heart” and “Naite Naite Nakiyandara”
– Would do such an event again if there was a plan to do it

New Songs For “The World Heritage”

– Made the ending theme first
– Producers of the show had a lot of requests regarding the main theme
– Hasn’t decided on a title for the track yet
– Sometimes makes songs before deciding on a title; this seems to be the case here
– Jason Sutter on drums
– Juan Alderete on bass (also worked with B’z on “SUPER LOVE SONG” and “ACTION”)
– Main theme for “The World Heritage” was recorded in L.A.
– Ending theme was recorded with Shane and Barry while on tour in Japan
– Akira Onozuka on piano

Song for Ukiyo-e Exhibition: “Ups and Downs”

– At the time he received the request, he had already finished all songs for the new album
– Decided to make one more song
– Thinking about putting that song on the new album as well
– Enjoyed working on the song as he also likes Ukiyo-e
– Recorded with Jason Sutter and Sean Hurley (“Kuroi Seishun” from “ACTION”)
– Was looking for a drummer for next year’s solo tour and wasn’t sure about Jason Sutter, so he invited him to work on recording first
– Liked him as a person as well as his musical skills; Jason plays drums on over two-thirds of the new solo record

New Solo Album

– Didn’t specifically choose to make a rock-style album; just makes what he wanted to do at the time
– He is self-producing the new solo album (compared to “New Horizon” with Paul Brown and Robert Williams)

Upcoming Solo Tour

– Two of his solo shows will be in big venues: Osaka Jo Hall and Nippon Budokan
– Thought something special could be done in bigger venues
– Unusual for instrumental performances to take place in big venues
– Will perform both new and old songs with a focus on the new album
– Fans will not get to see him sing

Private Time

– Went to see LOUDNESS in LA
– Saw American Football for the first time; Watched UCLA vs UC Berkeley in the stadium
– A friend, who is a sports eventmanager, invited him
– Was surprised that a football game can take 3-4 hours to finish although each quarter is only 15 minutes.

B’z Recording

– Still a secret what they are working on, but they are working on something
– As they promised, they will be back as B’z in 2016

Posted on February 16, 2016

Moments ago, Tak Matsumoto appeared as a guest during WOWOW’s live coverage of the 2016 Grammy Awards being held in Los Angeles tonight. Prior to the segment, Tak was shown meeting with Joe Perry of Aerosmith and actor-musician Johnny Depp. Along with fellow rocker Alice Cooper, Depp and Perry recently joined together to form the supergroup Hollywood Vampires for which they appeared on the program to promote.

During Tak’s subsequent interview, the guitarist at last revealed more on his upcoming solo album that follows 2014’s New Horizon. The album’s title will be 「enigma」 and will be released at some point this April. Release details should be forthcoming in the very near future.

 

Posted on February 10, 2016

Tak Matsumoto’s upcoming solo tour 「Tak Matsumoto Tour 2016 -The Voyage-」 is set to kick off next month with a total of five dates that includes his first arena shows as a solo artist. These will take place at Osaka Jo Hall on April 24th and the Nippon Budokan on May 7th. Today, Tak released a short message teasing what audience members can expect from the show, which we have subtitled for you below:

Additionally, the results of the fan-request polling for the upcoming tour have also been revealed, with just over twenty songs coming in on the rankings. As mentioned in the above video, Tak expects to mix the majority of his as-yet-untitled new album due out this Spring with several of his older solo songs. The songs chosen by fans include several on which Tak provided vocals himself, from 1999’s KNOCKIN’ “T” AROUND. These include single “THE CHANGING” alongside album songs “SAKURA” and “Zero Yori Zero Kara”. Naturally, most of Tak’s best-known solo compositions made the list, including “#1090～Thousand Dreams～“, “Hana“, “Koi Uta“, “GO FURTHER“, and “SACRED FIELD“.

Tak Matsumoto Tour 2016 -The Voyage- Song Request Results

* Denotes a tie with an adjacent song

1. “99”
2. GO FURTHER
3. #1090～Thousand Dreams～
4. Koi Uta [恋歌]
5. LIFE
6. Hana [華]
7. SACRED FIELD *
8. THE CHANGING *
9. RED SUN
10. Strings Of My Soul
11. Love Ya
12. Zero Yori Zero Kara [ゼロよりゼロから]
13. FIGHTING BULL *
14. SPAIN *
15. Trinity *
16. Play It So Loud
17. Believin’ you *
18. Long Distance Call *
19. SAKURA
20. Romeo & Juliet *
21. Theme from Fist of the North Star ～The Road of Lords～ *
22. THE THEME OF B.J. *

Posted on February 9, 2016

Tak Matsumoto will make an appearance on this year’s live broadcast of the Grammy Award ceremony on Japanese channel WOWOW. The broadcast will run from 9AM to 2PM on February 16th, Japanese time. Matsumoto is expected to appear on the program at around 9:30AM and will talk about his experience when he won his very own Grammy in 2011. Furthermore, he will talk about this year’s ceremony and its highlights.

Tak is currently in Los Angeles, recording new B’z tracks in their private L.A. studio. His new solo album is due for a Spring 2016 release.