Tag Archives: Electric Island, Acoustic Sea

Tak Matsumoto News

At the end of July, it was offically confirmed that Tak Matsumoto & Daniel Ho would be reteaming for a show at the Aratani Theater in Los Angeles for their tour Tak Matsumoto & Daniel Ho Live! 2017 -Electric Island, Acoustic Sea-. The show is set for a little under a month away on October 14. Four days prior to this, however, the two will perform a 200-seat warm-up show at the Clive Davis Theater also in Los Angeles. The venue is part of the Grammy Museum, with both musicians being previous Grammy Award winners in the past.

The added show at the Clive Davis Theater will take place on October 10, 2017. Tickets are not yet on sale but will go likely quickly when they do on September 21. The duo’s collaborative album Electric Island, Acoustic Sea is now available for purchased worldwide on iTunes.

The press release for the event is preserved below:

Daniel Ho and Tak Matsumoto are two of the most respected artists in their fields. Combined, they have won seven GRAMMY Awards, sold millions of albums, and touched every corner of the world with their music. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and based in Los Angeles, Daniel Ho has graced his presence in many aspects of music, from composing to producing to audio engineering. Alone, Ho has racked up six GRAMMYs, multiple Hawaiian Music accolades, and four Taiwanese Golden Melody Awards. Ho has written and performed songs in the English and Hawaiian languages, and his music has been featured in films including the romantic comedy hit, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Achieving success as a soloist and collaborator, Ho worked with Tak Matsumoto to record and tour their 2017 album titled, Electric Island, Acoustic Sea.

Born in Osaka, Japan, Matsumoto quickly emerged as a top guitarist, highly regarded by his Japanese peers and worldwide. In the late-’80s, Matsumoto partnered with Koshi Inaba to form the rock duo, B’z, and reign as one of Japan’s most successful acts, selling over 80 million copies and holding the record for most consecutive No. 1 singles. Matsumoto, with his coveted guitar style, has joined forces with artists like Steve Vai, Aerosmith, Eddie Van Halen, and Slash. Alongside Larry Carlton, he won a GRAMMY for Best Pop Instrumental Album for Take Your Pick. Matsumoto is one of the first five artists, as well as the first Asian artist, to be bestowed with the honor of a signature Gibson Les Paul guitar.

Ho and Matsumoto’s first collaborative album, Electric Island, Acoustic Sea, is an especially personal project. Featuring traditional instruments that are a part of their respective island cultures, including the ukulele, slack key guitar, koto and taiko, the album is a fresh take on contemporary instrumental music. The GRAMMY Museum is thrilled to welcome Tak Matsumoto and Daniel Ho to the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation about their newest collaborative album, which will be followed by a live performance, hosted by Executive Director Scott Goldman.

Tak Matsumoto News

Flyer for the presumably final showing for the duo’s Electric Island, Acoustic Sea promotions

It has just been announced that one final date will be played as part of Tak Matsumoto & Daniel Ho Live! 2017 -Electric Island, Acoustic Sea- and this time, it is in Los Angeles on October 14, 2017!

The show is presented by American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and JACCC, the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. Tickets are on sale now at this link and are listed at $49 for orchestra seating and $39 for balcony options. Unlike with many past B’z shows overseas, there are no special tickets allocated for B’z Party members and all are first come, first serve.

More information on the show can be found here on the venue’s website, along with copy promoting the event:

The prospect of a stop in Los Angeles was first floated in an interview with Daniel Ho some months ago but given it was not included in the initial announcement and was also not paired with the Hawaii show that served as the tour’s finale, we were unsure if it was still happening. Electric Island, Acoustic Sea is available for purchase worldwide on iTunes. We may not have heard the last of the album, however, as November will bring the official list of the Grammy Award nominations and the album is surely being considered given Daniel Ho’s own fourteen nominations and Tak’s one which resulted in a win with Larry Carlton in 2010.

Tak has previously performed in Los Angeles as part of B’z numerous times, including twice for B’z LIVE-GYM 2002 “Rock n’ California Roll” and LIVE-GYM 2003 “BANZAI IN NORTH AMERICA”, with one showing for 2011’s -long time no see- tour and another for B’z LIVE-GYM 2012 -Into Free- at the since re-purposed Gibson Amphitheater at Universal Citywalk.

Tak Matsumoto News

Tak Matsumoto’s and Daniel Ho’s collaborative tour “Electric Island, Acoustic Sea” is drawing to a close this Sunday, March 19th, at the Blue Note Hawaii. The WOWOW Prime program guide for April has revealed, that the very same channel will — just like INABA/SALAS’ tour — broadcast a show from Tak Matsumoto’s and Daniel Ho’s tour. The show to be broadcast is the tour finale at the Blue Note Hawaii.

The show will be broadcast on WOWOW Prime on Saturday, April 29th, 2017 at 9:30 PM.

Source: WOWOW Program Guide

Tak Matsumoto News

Tak Matsumoto & Daniel Ho’s joint album Electric Island, Acoustic Sea was released in Japan today, and is available worldwide on iTunes as well! The album retails for $11.99 for the entire 12-track album, or $1.29 per track. The release is available on all iTunes storefronts internationally with similar pricing.

For those that missed them, the duo also released additional short music videos for “Island of peace” and “Sunny Tuesday“:

Additionally, we have translated Tak’s release message commemorating the occasion:

The pair will go on tour for Tak Matsumoto & Daniel Ho Live! 2017 -Electric Island, Acoustic Sea- on February 25 in Tokyo and will play their final show a month later on March 19 in Hawaii.

Tak Matsumoto News

Just before the new year, an overseas performance has been announced for Tak Matsumoto’s and Daniel Ho’s “Tak Matsumoto & Daniel Ho LIVE! 2017 -Electric Island, Acoustic Sea-” tour. The show will be at the Blue Note Hawaii on March 19th. There are performances scheduled at 6:30PM and 9PM HST. Tickets are available through TicketWeb. Be sure to get your ticket early!

In other news, the logo and members of supporting band have been announced for the tour. Keyboardist Akira Onozuka and guitarist Yoshinobu Ohga will be joined by Randy Drake on drums and Steve Billman on bass. Both have been performing on stage with Daniel Ho in the past.

Keyboards: Akira Onozuka
Guitar: Yoshinobu Ohga
Drums: Randy Drake
Bass: Steve Billman

Tak Matsumoto News

Tak Matsumoto’s previously announced project with Hawaiian multi-instrumentalist and fellow Grammy Award-winner Daniel Ho has finally been announced! The album Electric Island, Acoustic Sea will be released February 8, 2017 and be followed by the tour Tak Matsumoto & Daniel Ho Live! 2017 -Electric Island, Acoustic Sea- that commences two weeks later. The album’s sound will center around Tak Matsumoto’s electric guitar mixed with the acoustic sounds of various traditional instruments, such as a Koto, Sanshin, an Ipu Heke and a slack-key guitar performed by Daniel Ho, creating a peaceful listening atmosphere. The twelve-track album will be issued in both CD and vinyl editions and will include instrumental tracks in addition to one vocal track, as well as be preceded by a special campaign to be announced at a later date.

To commemorate the announcement, Tak released a message on the official B’z YouTube channel introducing Daniel Ho and previewing music videos for “Soaring on Dreams” and a cover of the classic Journey ballad “Faithfully“. The tracklisting also includes a self-cover of the Hawaii tribute “Island of peace” from Tak’s 2014 album New Horizon and contains another track entitled “Rain” that may or may not be based on the one of the same name from the aforementioned album. You can check Tak’s message subtitled by us below:

「Electric Island, Acoustic Sea」

01. Soaring on Dreams
02. Fujiyama Highway
03. Magokoro (True Heart)
04. Infinite Escapade
05. Faithfully (Journey Cover)
06. Sunny Tuesday
07. Wander Blues
08. Adrenaline UP!
09. Omotesando
10. Island of peace (Tak Matsumoto Cover)
11. Rain
12. Lia

CD Package: 2,800 Yen
2 Vinyl LP Set: 4,500 Yen