Yann Tomita

Yann Tomita (ヤン富田, born October 1952) is a Japanese musician, composer, record producer, writer, and steelpan player based in Tokyo. In Japan during the 1980s and 1990s, he pioneered various music genres, including hip hop, dub, acid jazz, exotica, and electronic music. He is the first professional Japanese steelpan player,[1][2] first Japanese hip hop producer,[2] and the president of the Audio Science Laboratory record label, which he founded.

Yann Tomita
ヤン 富田
Tomita, 2013
Tomita, 2013
Background information
Also known asYang Tomita
De Yanns
Dr. Yann
Forever Yann
Dr. Domestic
BornOctober 1952 (1952-10) (age 71)
Tokyo, Japan
GenresExotica, electronic, hip hop, musique concrète, experimental, avant-garde
Occupation(s)Composer, performer, instrumentalist, producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano, synthesizer, steel drums
Years active1980s-present
LabelsASL Research Service
For Life Records
Sony Records
CCRE

Biography

He was introduced to the sound of steelpan drums by a 1970s Van Dyke Parks album, and subsequently traveled to Trinidad and Tobago to learn how to play them.[3] He later performed with Parks onstage during the late 1980s, playing steel pan.[4] He was a member of Water Melon Group, led by Toshio Nakanishi of Plastics fame. He also mixed, arranged, and co-produced Seiko Ito's MESS/AGE (1989) album, which has been cited as one of the pioneering works in Japanese hip hop.[5] Since the early 1990s, Tomita has pursued a music brand of cosmic kitsch, using synthesizers, steelpan drums, exotica and musique concrète.

One of his acclaimed works is his Space age pop concept album Doopee Time (1995), which followed members Suzi Kim and Caroline Novac (played by Yumiko Ohno of Buffalo Daughter[6]) of the fictitious Japanese vocal duo "Doopees". It was recorded with drummer Chica Ogawa, and credited simply as Doopees. In it, he blended elements of Space Age exotica with steel drums, electronics, and tributes to Sun Ra, Chopin, the Beach Boys, and Phil Spector.[7] A follow-up to the album, titled Doopee Time 2, was meant for release on July 28, 2006. According to Tomita, the album was worked on every day for about half a year, but had to be postponed indefinitely due to a two-month hospital stay amidst other circumstances.[8]

Besides Doopees, he has also worked with a variety of music artists, including Grandmaster Flash, Boredoms, Kahimi Karie, Ippu-Do, Cymbals, Kyōko Koizumi, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Hiroshi Fujiwara. Nigo, Towa Tei, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Cornelius, Toruman, Pardon Kimura, Kirinji,[9] Yasuko Agawa, and Martin Denny.[10]

Tomita is also known for his idiosyncratic stage performances, which have included demonstrations of an antique Serge modular synth, a "Biofeedback System", and a "Mind Disintegrator & Space Light Probe Phaser".[11][12] As of 2013, he continues to perform live at music venues with Suzi Kim, Yumiko Ohno, and various others.

Discography

Studio albums
Year Title Notes
1992 Music For Astro Age
  • Released: November 1, 1992 (1992-11-01)
  • Label: Sony Records
  • Packaged in two-CD set.
1994 Happy Living
  • Credited to Astro Age Steel Orchestra
1995 Doopee Time
  • Credited to Doopees
1998 Music For Living Sound
  • Packaged with three CDs, one CD-ROM, and a 32-page booklet mostly in English with some Japanese.
  • Included collaborations with Grandmaster Flash, Ossie Colon, and others.
2008 Forever Yann Music Meme 4 – Variations
  • Released: April 23, 2008 (2008-04-23)
  • Label: CCRE, ASL Research Service
  • Packaged with 110+ page book, a sticker for never-to-be-released second Doopees album (Doopee Time 2: Monalisa) and a Yann Tomita leaf sticker. Also included a DVD recorded live at Myouhon-ji Temple, Kamakura, Kanagawa on May 27, 2006.
  • Features Kahimi Karie. Cymbals, Naives, Doopees, Kyōko Koizumi, and Linda Yamamoto.

EPs
Year Title Notes
1996 Dooits!
  • Credited to Doopees
2006 Forever Yann Music Meme 2
  • Released: May 25, 2006 (2006-05-25)
  • Label: ASL Research Service
  • Features Doopees and Naives
Forever Yann Music Meme 3
  • Released: September 20, 2006 (2006-09-20)
  • Label: ASL Research Service
  • Credited to Doopees

Live album
Year Title Notes
2000 An Adventure of Inevitable Chance
  • Recorded at the Porco Theater in Tokyo on April 12, 1993 (1993-04-12) and April 12, 1993 (1993-04-12).
  • Presented as a two-CD set in a clear plastic case with two booklets. The second CD (entitled Heart Beat) is made of cardboard and has an accompanying booklet.

Publications
  • Forever Yann Music Meme 1 (2006)
  • Yann Tomita A.S.L. Space Agency (2010)
  • Forever Yann Music Meme 5 (2014)

See also

References
  1. "Yann Tomita Concert at Hara Museum of Contemporary Art". Windbell Journal. windbelljournal.blogspot.com. June 18, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  2. ヤン富田 於：原美術館. hmv.co.jp (in Japanese). Japan: HMV. July 1, 2010.
  3. Miqel (2008). "New Music I've Discovered on WFMU". MIQEL.com.
  4. Orimashi, Sadanari (August 24, 1999). "Van Dyke no Live – Live Review". sadanari.com.
  5. Condry, Ian (2006). Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization. Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822338925.
  6. reryo (September 8, 2009). "「DOOPEE TIME」 DOOPEES". TECHNOLOGY POPS π3.14 (in Japanese). Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  7. Kent, Nicholas D. "Yann Tomita, Astro Age Steel Orchestra, The Doopees". artcontext.com. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  8. "C-Ya Doopees?". chipple.net. April 29, 2008.
  9. "kirinji remix ii-vl1 warner japan towa tei nobukazu takemura yann tomita". www.amyaok.com. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  10. "Yann Special". NMNL Records. nmnlrecords.jp. Archived from the original on July 16, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  11. "Yann Tomita". Time Out Japan. timeout.jp. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  12. "Music of Yann Tomita". NOON Web Site. noon-web.com. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
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