Tomo Akikawabaya

Tomo Akikawabaya is a Japanese electronic musician and experimental artist.

Biography

Tomo studied fashion in London in 1978-1979. There he met and became involved with the punk band Desperate Bicycles. They were practicing in the basement of his friend’s house. After the departure of their guitar player, Tomo joined the band, However, Tomo left England just before the recording of their first album “Remorse Code.”

After returning to Japan Tomo started performing (1979-1980). During that period he gave improvised guitar solo performances in clubs around the Tokyo area.

In 1981 Tomo started recording the album The Castle as “Tomo Akikawabaya.” By that time, he had modified his work into a minimal electronic style using vocals & synthesizers. However through this work, he gained little recognition from the Japanese independent music scene. This was because he didn’t perform the live, limiting his musical activity to studio recordings only.

The Tomo Akikawabaya project ended in 1986 with the release of a limited box set of work spanning the projects duration. The title of the box set -Rivage De La Convulsion, was translated into French by Kosaku Ikuta (1924-1994), then a scholar of French literature in Japan.

While Tomo was recording at the studio (Bea Pot Studio, Tokyo), he encountered and was highly impressed by the work & exceptional talent of engineer Takaaki Han-ya. Together they began a collaboration forming the band “Beata BeatrIX.” The band made 4 albums worth of recordings beginning in 1987, although none of them were ever officially released. In 1997, a ‘best of’ album (CD) was released for promotional purposes only. This led to a collaboration with the UK musician Robert Wyatt. In 2014 they changed the band name to “The Future Eve,” and began releasing tracks they had worked on with Robert Wyatt. They also launched the website Robert Wyatt & The Future Eve – KiTsuNe. Their latest piece "Ring Version" was mastered by Taylor Deupree.

Musical influence

Tomo’s music is based in synthpop. His influences are mainly literal, drawing inspiration from writers such as; Edgar Allan Poe, Marquis de Sade, Georges Rodenbach, Arthur Machen, Lord Dunsany, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, and Joris-Karl Huysmans.

The Castle

Tomo’s own heart beat was recorded and used in the introduction to the track Rebirth. The song was inspired by the imagined images of the blooming of giant petals, and the infinite birth of dreams.

• Mars - The song was inspired from a short novel ‘Bruges-la-Morte’ by Georges Rodenbach.
• Fire – The song was inspired by Yves Klein’s fire paintings. The theme of the song is “death & intoxication,” which is also the theme of the entire album.
• Sleeping Sickness - The song was imagined to evolve into the opening track “Rebirth.”
• Some of the equipment used in the recording was borrowed from Jin Yoshida (Salon Music) who was recording demo material at the same studio.
• For this album, Kazuko Matsuoka, a researcher of English literature, translated all lyrics into English.

Album Cover
The cover photograph features the professional model Anju. Tomo had already designed, and made 4 dresses for her (When Tomo was in London (1978-1979), he had studied under the designer Hachi, who had a studio in South Molton Street. Hachi later designed dresses for princess Diana). The photos were shot by the photographer Alao Yokogi both at his photo studio, and on the coastline of Atami, Japan.

Anju later became a contract model for Givenchy, and moved to Paris. She also appeared in the Yellow Magic Orchestra’s film “A Y.M.O. FILM PROPAGANDA.” After Anju returned to Japan, she became a photographer. Tomo then worked as her stylist, making costumes for the models, actresses, and singers with whom she collaborated. He also learned about photographic techniques through ‘sitting in’ on photo sessions. He (Tomo) is currently active as a photographer as well as a musician.

Diamond

The record was released as the follow up to The Castle. On the 12-inch vinyl version, the reversed ending section of the song was attached to the intro, providing a continuous segue or loop, signifying that the track could evolve into itself. This idea was taken from Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘eternal return’ concept. The lyrics reflected the embodiment of sorrow, providing an insight into the eternal world.

• The Hill of Dreams - The song was inspired by and dedicated to Arthur Machen’s novel “The Hill of Dreams,” and the tune sought to reproduce a sunset burning sky, with the sound of bells.
• A Gizmotron was used on the last half of the song (It was also used on the tracks “Fire” and “Dark” in the album ‘The Castle’)

Reissue : The Invitation of The Dead

In recent years Tomo’s work has spread to the world through the medium of the internet. It has brought him many new fans. He received reissue offers from various record labels worldwide, Tomo settled with Minimal Wave Records in 2015.

The album was released as a double LP with a gatefold cover, and featured all songs from his 12” releases of Mars, The castle, and 1985. All of the original tracks were digitized, and re-mastered. The album cover featured an unreleased photo of Anju (taken by Tomo). The dress, worn by Anju on ‘The Castle’s’ cover was used again on the inside of the gatefold jacket. The album cover design was by Peter Miles.

Discography

Singles

Albums

Box sets

Collaborations

Unreleased

• The Future Eve is his current band. On his current works (both musical & photographic), he is credited as “T.H.”

External links

• Robert Wyatt & The Future Eve
• Facebook
• Discogs
• Minimal Wave - Artist: Tomo Akikawabaya
• Minimal Wave - Article: Tomo Akikawabaya