Audio Active were a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin. Origin Although artists have been mixing reggae with other genres from as ...

band who released several albums between the early 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century.

History

Audio Active were one of the most successful reggae fusion bands to come out of Japan, and were formed in 1987, originally being a solo project of singer Masa. It later stretched out to be a full band in 1991, when 2DD, Shigemoto Nanao and bassist Takeshi Akimoto all joined.Bush, John " Audio Active Biography, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'', Macrovision CorporationAudio Active Bio
, On-U Sound Masa had listened to reggae since he was a teenager, and had played (with 2DD) in the

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

band Vital Connection, before taking his love of

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honoring of God, called Jah ...

and

dub music Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican re ...

and forming Audio Active, named after an album by Dennis Bovell.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p.16

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958, London, England) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing technique ...

began working with the band in 1992, and produced many of their recordings. The band's debut album ''The Way Out is the Way In'', was recorded with

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...

player

Laraaji Laraaji (born Edward Larry Gordon, 3 May 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist specializing in piano, zither and mbira. His albums include the 1980 release '' Ambient 3: Day of Radiance'', produced by Brian Eno as part of his ''Ambient'' s ...

,Couture, Francoise " ''The Way Out is the Way In'' Review, ''

'', Macrovision Corporation and Sherwood produced their ''Happy Shopper in Europe'' album, released on his On-U Sound label in 1995. Their 1997 album ''Apollo Choco'' was described by ''

'' as "an example of new and exciting dub, which shows Audio Active's true capabilities".Whalley, Matt " ''Apollo Choco'' Review, ''

'', Macrovision Corporation Further albums followed on On-U Sound,

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

, and Gyroscope, the last, ''Back To The Stoned Age'', released in 2003. The band were strongly influenced by

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

, with elements of hip hop. Original member Akimoto left, to be replaced by Kasai. Akimoto, along with Nanao, formed the lovers-rock influenced band Dry & Heavy.

Discography

Albums

*''Audio Active'' (1993) Alfa *''We are Audio Active (Tokyo Space Cowboys)'' (1994) On-U Sound/Musidisc *''We are Experienced'' (1994) Beat *''Happy Happer'' (1995) On-U Sound *''More Tokyo Space Cowboys'' (1995) Beat *''The Way Out is the Way In'' (1995) Gyroscope/All Saints (Audio Active & Laraaji) *''Apollo Choco'' (1997) On-U Sound/Beat *''Apollo Choco Remixed'' (1997) On-U Sound *''Return of the Red I'' (1999) Warner Music/Dream Machine *''aLteRED I'' (1999) Warner Music/Dream Machine *''Spaced Dolls'' (2001) Dream Machine/Warner Music/East West/Beat *''Back To The Stoned Age'' (2003) Beat *''Sound Crash: Slash & Mix - Adrian Sherwood'' (2006) Beat

Singles

*"Free the Marijuana" (1994) On-U Sound (featuring

Bim Sherman , children = Chantelle Vincent, Rasiah Vincent Jarret Lloyd Vincent (12 February 1950 – 17 November 2000), better known by one of his stage aliases Bim Sherman (others include Jarrett Tomlinson, Jarrett Vincent, Lloyd Vincent, J. L. ...

) *"Wanna-Na" (1994) Beat *"Electric Bombardment" (1995) On-U Sound *"Happy Shopper" (1995) On-U Sound *''Happy Shopper in Europe'' EP (1995) On-U Sound *''The Way Out/The Way In'' EP (1995) Gyroscope *"24 Hours Exploration" (1996) The Massive Recording Co. *''Startrec'' EP (1996) On-U Sound *''Audio Active'' EP (1997) Beat/Plus Minus *"Robot War" (1997) Beat *"Weed Specialist" (1997) Beat *''Spawn'' EP (1998) Polystar (Air & Audio Active) *"What's Inside Your Afro?" (1998) Green Tea (Audio Active/Universe Crew) *"Bag Filled With Emptiness" (1999) Dream Machine/Warner Music *"Idle Dragon" (1999) Beat *"Kick The Bong Around" (1999) Beat *"Psycho Buds" (1999) Beat *''Bong'' EP (2000) Birdman *''Happers'' EP (2000) Beat *"You're No Good" (2001) Dream Machine *''Melt 1'' EP (2002) Beat *"Frozen Head" (2003) Beat *''Stoned'' EP (2003) Beat *''Melt 2'' EP (2004) Beat

References

{{Authority control Japanese reggae musical groups On-U Sound Records artists