Tak Matsumoto News

Tak Matsumoto’s solo project is now in full swing as he has announced that his new album is “coming soon” for a Spring 2016 release. Furthermore, the tour in support of the album as well as the supporting band members have been announced. Unexpectedly Tak is this time not playing at small clubs such as the BLUE NOTE, but is instead turning to bigger hall venues, with the final date at the Nippon Budokan. The ticket lottery for fanclub members is open now until January. General sale for tickets will start March 12th, 2016.

Supporting Band Members

Keyboards: Akira Onozuka (from DIMENSION)
Bass: Masayoshi Yamashita (from LOUDNESS)
Supporting Guitar: Yoshinobu Ohga
Drums: Jason Sutter

Tak Matsumoto Tour 2016 -The Voyage-

General Sale: March 12th, 2016

April 16th — Diamond Hall (Nagoya)
Tickets: All Standing — 8,000 Yen

April 19th — DRUM LOGOS (Fukuoka)
Tickets: All Standing — 8,000 Yen

April 24th — Osaka Jo Hall
Tickets:
SS Category — 12,000 Yen (FANCLUB ONLY)
S Category — 8,000 Yen
A Category — 5,000 Yen

April 27th — Sapporo Factory Hall
Tickets: All Standing — 8,000 Yen

May 7th — Nippon Budokan (Tokyo)
Tickets:
SS Category — 12,000 Yen (FANCLUB ONLY)
S Category — 8,000 Yen
A Category — 5,000 Yen

Koshi Inaba News

During the weekly broadcast of Detective Conan the tv commercial for Koshi’s upcoming single 「Hane」 made its debut. The material used for the commercial seems to stem from the music video for the single. The single is due for a January 13 release with the title track serving as the new Detective Conan opening theme from January 9.

Koshi Inaba News

The lineup for the 2015 iteration of the annual Music Station Super Live at the end of December has been announced. Among the performing artists is Koshi Inaba, who will most likely for the first time perform his new solo single 「Hane」 live on television. The show will be broadcasted live on December 25th, 2015 on TV Asahi from their studio at the Makuhari Messe.

Tak Matsumoto News

Today it has been revealed that Tak Matsumoto’s new song 「Ups and Downs」 will be the image song for an upcoming exhibition at the Bunkamura Museum of Art in Tokyo. The exhibition is called “KUNIYOSHI & KUNISADA – From the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston” and will run from March 19, 2016 to June 5, 2016. The exhibition will feature Ukiyo-e by genius Ukiyo-e artists Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) and Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). The art is sourced from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, which is well-known for its collection of Ukiyo-e.

A comment from Tak Matsumoto:

When I received this request, I was already in the middle of recording and had almost gathered all tracks for the new record. “We want to add a rock’ish and fresh aspect to our Ukiyo-e exhibition, which usually attracts old-fashioned art connoisseurs”, they said. Their request immediately piqued my interest and I decided to add one last and final track to the record. I felt the Rock’n Roll spirit when I thought about the wild, lively, erotic, and at times very cool style that Kuniyoshi and Kunisada employed. As that happened, I immediately got various inspirations. I finished the track in no time. “Ukiyo” originally means “transient world”. All things emerge, and then gradually perish as they change. They are not eternal. The same goes for human emotions: One time you’re happy and another time those feelings go away.
How about we value such things and enjoy life more?

Link: Bunkamura Museum of Art

Koshi Inaba News

The 3D mapping technique utilized during 「Golden Road」— Koshi Inaba LIVE 2014 ~en-ball~  (Source: Barks.jp)

Koshi Inaba LIVE 2014 ~en-ball~ has premiered at the top of the Blu-ray music charts. This is the third consecutive solo home video of Koshi’s to debut at the top of the home video charts, after Koshi Inaba LIVE 2004 ~en~ did so on DVD a decade ago and Koshi Inaba LIVE 2010 ~enII~ more recently. The DVD version of the most recent tour came in at the number 2 spot for both general and music, while the Blu-ray ranked in third in terms of overall Blu-rays.

Koshi’s latest release features the full finale to the eponymous tour that took place at the Shinagawa Stellar Ball over the course of ten days. The ~en-ball~ shows employed a special 3D projection technique (seen right) that impressed attendees at each show and is equally impressive on home video.

This week, it was announced that the DVD and Blu-ray editions of Koshi’s upcoming single 「Hane」will feature six performances not found on the initial home video release, as the songs performed took place on dates prior to the finale.