Tomotaka Imamichi
Encyclopedia
, is a Japanese music producer, guitarist
and songwriter
from Tokyo
, Japan
. He first became active in the Japanese rock scene in 1984 as the guitarist and primary songwriter for the rock band, the Barbee Boys.
In 1985, Imamichi (under the alias "Chakku Mūton," or "Chuck Mouton") composed "Ura Niwa no Gare-ji de Dakishimete" (lit. "Embrace Me in the Backyard Barage") for Seiko Matsuda
's album entitled Strawberry Time.
† In December 1990, he performed at Yoko Ono
's two-day concert event, Greening of the World (GOW) at Tokyo Dome
. In celebration of what would have been John Lennon
's 50th birthday, the event was the first large-scale charity event held in Japan and sought to promote environmental awareness through music, featuring various top international artists (including Miles Davis
, Natalie Cole
, Lenny Kravitz
, and Hall & Oates
) along with a number of famous Japanese artists such as Kiyoshiro Imawano
, Haruomi Hosono
and Yukihiro Takahashi
, for a total of 29 performances. At the event, Imamichi performed a guitar solo rendition of "Come Together
" before the audience of 50,000. The event was later broadcast on the Japanese pay-per-view station WOWOW
.
† In fact, Imamichi had translated the lyrics of "Come Together" for the booklet in the Japanese version of the 1967–1970 (The Blue Album). Later, Imamichi and Konta recorded an electronical version of the song for the Love Dynamights STEREO SOLID SONIC Vol. 2 album. (See discography below.)
From 1994 Imamichi worked with Kei-Tee and Kamiryou Wataru (from the band Grass Valley) in "Kei-Tee+LOVE DYNAMIGHTS."
In 2004, he released his first work under his true name.
who has taught as a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo
and St.Thomas University, Japan (formerly known as Eichi University). His mother had been a soprano singer and taught at a music university, but his parents divorced while he was still a young child. Consequently, Imamichi was raised by his father.
Imamichi (who often goes by the nickname Imasa) married the head stylist for the Barbee Boys on March 3, 1991 at precisely 3:33 a.m. (The year 1991 corresponds to the Japanese calendar scheme
as Heisei
3, thus making his marriage on 3/3/3 at 3:33.) The couple had a child, but later divorced.
In 2001, Imamichi remarried when he entered a civil marriage with former musical collaborator, Kei-Tee, after a period of cohabitation. The two did not have children and divorced in January 2007, at least in part due to a poor relationship between Imamichi and Kei-Tee's father, Japanese publisher and film producer, Haruki Kadokawa
.
.
Although there were five members in Barbee Boys, when you exclude the saxophonist, Konta, the band basically consisted of only three main instruments: drums, bass and guitar. Nevertheless, Imamichi's unique arpeggio technique, coupled with the clear sound he produced using a compressor and spatial effects pedals (i.e., echo and delay), produced the distinct depth of sound that became a hallmark of the band's performance. Superficially, there does not seem to be much technique involved with Imamichi's style, but producing such a sound is actually quite difficult.
, Motoharu Sano
, and Yōsui Inoue
, among others.
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
from Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He first became active in the Japanese rock scene in 1984 as the guitarist and primary songwriter for the rock band, the Barbee Boys.
1980s
In 1984, Imamichi debuted as the leader and guitarist of the Japanese pop band Barbee Boys, which he had formed in 1983. As the main songwriter, he composed most songs for the band, including hit singles such as "Me wo Tojite Oide yo" (lit. "Close your eyes and come here"), "Makeru Mon ka" (lit. "I Won't Give in"), and "Megitsune ON THE RUN" (lit. "Vixen On the Run").In 1985, Imamichi (under the alias "Chakku Mūton," or "Chuck Mouton") composed "Ura Niwa no Gare-ji de Dakishimete" (lit. "Embrace Me in the Backyard Barage") for Seiko Matsuda
Seiko Matsuda
is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter. Due to her popularity in the 1980s and her long career, she has been dubbed the "Eternal idol" by the Japanese media.- Biography :...
's album entitled Strawberry Time.
1990s to present
After the breakup of Barbee Boys, Imamichi began his solo career under the name "Love Dynamights."† In December 1990, he performed at Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
's two-day concert event, Greening of the World (GOW) at Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium...
. In celebration of what would have been John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's 50th birthday, the event was the first large-scale charity event held in Japan and sought to promote environmental awareness through music, featuring various top international artists (including Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
, Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
, and Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
) along with a number of famous Japanese artists such as Kiyoshiro Imawano
Kiyoshiro Imawano
, born , was a Japanese rock musician, lyricist, composer, musical producer, and actor from Tokyo, Japan. He was dubbed "Japan's King of Rock". He formed and led an influential rock band RC Succession....
, Haruomi Hosono
Haruomi Hosono
, also known as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese popular musician, best known internationally as a key member of the rock band Happy End and the pioneering electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra.-Biography:...
and Yukihiro Takahashi
Yukihiro Takahashi
Yukihiro Takahashi is a Japanese musician, who is best known as the drummer and lead vocalist of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and as the former drummer of the Sadistic Mika Band.-Biography:...
, for a total of 29 performances. At the event, Imamichi performed a guitar solo rendition of "Come Together
Come Together
"Come Together" is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on The Beatles' September 1969 album Abbey Road....
" before the audience of 50,000. The event was later broadcast on the Japanese pay-per-view station WOWOW
WOWOW
WOWOW was the first private satellite broadcasting and pay TV station in Japan. It has its headquarters on the 21st floor of the Akasaka Park Building in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo...
.
† In fact, Imamichi had translated the lyrics of "Come Together" for the booklet in the Japanese version of the 1967–1970 (The Blue Album). Later, Imamichi and Konta recorded an electronical version of the song for the Love Dynamights STEREO SOLID SONIC Vol. 2 album. (See discography below.)
From 1994 Imamichi worked with Kei-Tee and Kamiryou Wataru (from the band Grass Valley) in "Kei-Tee+LOVE DYNAMIGHTS."
In 2004, he released his first work under his true name.
Personal life
Tomotaka Imamichi was born in Tokyo to father Tomonobu Imamichi, a Japanese philosopher and artistArtist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
who has taught as a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
and St.Thomas University, Japan (formerly known as Eichi University). His mother had been a soprano singer and taught at a music university, but his parents divorced while he was still a young child. Consequently, Imamichi was raised by his father.
Imamichi (who often goes by the nickname Imasa) married the head stylist for the Barbee Boys on March 3, 1991 at precisely 3:33 a.m. (The year 1991 corresponds to the Japanese calendar scheme
Japanese era name
The Japanese era calendar scheme is a common calendar scheme used in Japan, which identifies a year by the combination of the and the year number within the era...
as Heisei
Akihito
is the current , the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989.-Name:In Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor" which may be shortened to . In...
3, thus making his marriage on 3/3/3 at 3:33.) The couple had a child, but later divorced.
In 2001, Imamichi remarried when he entered a civil marriage with former musical collaborator, Kei-Tee, after a period of cohabitation. The two did not have children and divorced in January 2007, at least in part due to a poor relationship between Imamichi and Kei-Tee's father, Japanese publisher and film producer, Haruki Kadokawa
Haruki Kadokawa
is a Japanese publisher, film producer, director and screenwriter. He was the son of Genyoshi Kadokawa and inherited the position of president of the publishing house Kadokawa Shoten in 1975. Under his guidance, the company soon branched into film production, and by 1994 Kadokawa had produced close...
.
Career as a guitarist
Imamichi is noted for his spatial-sounding backup guitar work, which closely resembles Andy SummersAndy Summers
Andy Summers is an English guitarist born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Best known as the guitarist for rock band The Police, he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed...
.
Although there were five members in Barbee Boys, when you exclude the saxophonist, Konta, the band basically consisted of only three main instruments: drums, bass and guitar. Nevertheless, Imamichi's unique arpeggio technique, coupled with the clear sound he produced using a compressor and spatial effects pedals (i.e., echo and delay), produced the distinct depth of sound that became a hallmark of the band's performance. Superficially, there does not seem to be much technique involved with Imamichi's style, but producing such a sound is actually quite difficult.
Backup and collaboration work
Since his time with Barbee Boys, Imamichi has composed songs with artists such as Kaori Kawamura, and has recorded as a guitarist with Psy-S, Misato WatanabeMisato Watanabe
is a female Japanese popular music artist.- Singles :* 'I'm Free' * 'Growin' Up' * 'Shinderu mitai ni Ikitaku nai ' * 'My Revolution'...
, Motoharu Sano
Motoharu Sano
, is a Japanese musician, and a graduate of Rikkyo University. Sano is a featured frontman, vocalist and guitarist with a history of performing in several Japanese bands which feature music both in Japanese and occasionally, English, playing songs that often have a rock and roll sound to...
, and Yōsui Inoue
Yosui Inoue
is a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, guitarist and record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music. He is renowned for his unique tone, eccentric lyrics, and dark sunglasses which he always wears....
, among others.
As recording guitarist (including)
- Yōsui InoueYosui Inoueis a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, guitarist and record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music. He is renowned for his unique tone, eccentric lyrics, and dark sunglasses which he always wears....
- Kaori KawamuraKaori Kawamurawas a rock and pop singer in Japan, born in Moscow.- Family background :Her father was a Japanese expatriate in Russia, while her mother was a Russian. The family moved to Japan when she was 11 years old, where she was subjected to repeated bullying...
- Kenji SawadaKenji Sawada, nicknamed "Julie" , also-known as vocalist for the Japanese rock band The Tigers, is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and actor. He was born in Tsunoi, Iwami , Tottori Prefecture, Japan, and raised in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto at age 3...
- Ringo Shiina
- Kazuo Zaitsu
- Kazuyuki SekiguchiKazuyuki Sekiguchiplays the bass guitar for Southern All Stars. As a solo artist, he has played ukulele; he is a fan of Hawaiian music. For nearly twenty years, Sekiguchi has worked with Akira Sakuma in the Momotaro Dentetsu video game series as a music producer....
- Akina NakamoriAkina Nakamoriis a Japanese pop singer and actress. She was one of the most popular singers of the 1980s in Japan. She is known for her deep, power-house voice....
- Yukari Morikawa
- Chris MosdellChris MosdellChris Mosdell is a British lyricist, poet, author, composer, vocalist and illustrator, based in Tokyo, Japan, and Boulder, Colorado, USA.He has worked with a wide range of Japanese musicians and artists—the documentary Ink Music: In the Land of the Hundred-Tongued Lyricist bills him as the...
As a songwriter (including)
- Kyōko KoizumiKyoko Koizumi' is a Japanese singer and actress. Her music is released through Victor Entertainment . She is also known by the nickname Kyon Kyon. She had singles reach the Top ten for 12 consecutive years between 1983 and 1994, a female solo artist record, until this was broken by Namie Amuro...
- Kenji SawadaKenji Sawada, nicknamed "Julie" , also-known as vocalist for the Japanese rock band The Tigers, is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and actor. He was born in Tsunoi, Iwami , Tottori Prefecture, Japan, and raised in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto at age 3...
- Seiko MatsudaSeiko Matsudais a Japanese pop singer-songwriter. Due to her popularity in the 1980s and her long career, she has been dubbed the "Eternal idol" by the Japanese media.- Biography :...
- Barbee Boys
Albums
- STEREO SOLID SONIC （as Love Dynamights、released Dec. 22, 1993）
- STEREO SOLID SONIC Vol.2 ~The Ultra Sound Track （as Love Dynamights、released Dec. 19, 1994）
- 愛は極嬢 （as Kei-Tee+LOVE DYNAMIGHTS、released Nov. 23, 1994）
- PINK&BLUE （as Kei-Teeといまみちともたかとlove LOVE DYNAMIGHTS、released 1996）
- SLOW RIDE （as Tomotaka Imamichi、released Apr. 7, 2004）
TV appearances
- Morita Kazuyoshi's Hour, Waratte IitomoWaratte Iitomois a Japanese variety show aired every weekday on Fuji TV. The show is hosted by Tamori and has run since 1982. The show is produced in the Studio Alta building located in Shinjuku, Tokyo...
: "Telephone Shocking" (Aug. 2, 1990)
- Imamichi's physical appearance is marked by his large lower jaw, and during the interview he brought up the subject saying that, "From a medical point of view, such a bone structure is quite rare." He jokingly commented, "I love shishamoShishamois a saltwater fish about 15 centimeters in length. It is slim and resembles a willow leaf; the Japanese name, shishamo, is derived from the Ainu name for the same fish, susam, which is supposed to be derived from a compound of Ainu susu "willow" + ham "leaf", hence its name in kanji...
, and eating shishamo all day your bones will grow all too well and you end up with a chin like this."
External links
- Artist's homepage: http://homepage3.nifty.com/chordstroke/
- Barbee Boys (Japanese): http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/barbeeboys/