is a Japanese musician, composer, record producer, writer, and

steelpan The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descriptio ...

player based in Tokyo. In Japan during the 1980s and 1990s, he pioneered various music genres, including hip hop, dub, acid jazz,

exotica Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same name that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon "Si" Waronker, Liberty Records ...

, and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

. He is the first professional Japanese steelpan player, first

Japanese hip hop Japanese hip hop is hip hop music from Japan. It is said to have begun when Hiroshi Fujiwara returned to Japan and started playing hip hop records in the early 1980s. Japanese hip hop tends to be most directly influenced by old school hip hop, ...

producer, and the president of the Audio Science Laboratory

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, which he founded.

Biography

He was introduced to the sound of steelpan drums by a 1970s

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...

album, and subsequently traveled to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

and

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

to learn how to play them. He later performed with Parks onstage during the late 1980s, playing steel pan. He was a member of Water Melon Group, led by

Toshio Nakanishi , also known by the pseudonyms Tycoon To$h or Typhoom Tosh, was a Japanese musician and graphic designer who was best known as the founding member of new wave band Plastics in 1976. He was initially a part of the technopop fever in Japan and la ...

Plastics Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their Plasticity (physics), plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be Injection moulding, moulded, Extrusion, e ...

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

. Since the early 1990s, Tomita has pursued a music brand of cosmic kitsch, using synthesizers, steelpan drums, exotica and

musique concrète Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, ...

. One of his acclaimed works is his

Space age pop Space age pop is a subgenre of pop and easy listening music associated with Mexican and American composers and songwriters in the Space Age of the 1950s and 1960s. Also known as bachelor pad music or lounge music,''Pulse'' (Monthly music digest ...

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

''Doopee Time'' (1995), which followed members Suzi Kim and Caroline Novac (played by Yumiko Ohno of

Buffalo Daughter Buffalo Daughter is a Japanese rock band formed in 1993. The three main members are suGar Yoshinaga (ex-Havana Exotica) on guitar, Yumiko Ohno (ex-Havana Exotica) on bass, and Moog (later changed to MoOog) Yamamoto on turntables and graphic desi ...

) 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 The Space Age is a period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events, beginning with the Sputnik_1#Launch_and_mission, launch of Sputnik 1 ...

exotica with steel drums, electronics, and tributes to

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

, Chopin,

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

, and

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

. 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. Besides Doopees, he has also worked with a variety of music artists, including

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Saddler (born January 1, 1958), popularly known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is an American DJ and rapper. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Hip Hop DJing, cutting, scratching and mixing. Grandmaster Flash and the Fur ...

, Boredoms, Kahimi Karie,

Ippu-Do was a Japanese synthpop trio of the early 1980s led by singer/songwriter Masami Tsuchiya. History Ippu-Do debuted in 1979 with ''Normal'', made up of Tsuchiya on vocals and guitar, Akira Mitake on keyboards, and Shoji Fujii on drums. Between 1 ...

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Kyōko Koizumi (born February 4, 1966) is a Japanese singer and actress. She is signed to Victor Entertainment. Career In 1981, Kyoko Koizumi participated and won the Star Tanjo! programme and released her 1st single in March 1982. She gained her first num ...

Tomoyuki Tanaka was a Japanese film producer. He is best known for co-creating the ''Godzilla'' franchise and its associated spin-offs. Early life Tanaka was born on April 26, 1910, in Kashiwara, Osaka. As a child, he would often walk miles to the nearest th ...

, Fantastic Plastic Machine,

Hiroshi Fujiwara (born 1964) is a Japanese musician, producer, and designer. Life Fujiwara was born in Ise, Mie. He moved to Tokyo at eighteen and became a standout in the Harajuku street fashion scene. During a trip to New York City in the early 1980s he was i ...

. Nigo,

Towa Tei is a Japanese artist, record producer, and DJ. Born in Yokohama, Japan, Towa debuted as a member of Deee-Lite, from the US label Elektra Records in 1990 and shot to fame via their international hit single, "Groove Is In the Heart". He made his s ...

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto inf ...

, Cornelius, Toruman, Pardon Kimura, Yasuko Agawa, and

Martin Denny Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing up to 3 weeks prior to his death, he toured the world popularizing his brand of l ...

. 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". As of 2013, he continues to perform live at music venues with Suzi Kim, Yumiko Ohno, and various others.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Live album

Publications

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

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomita, Yann 1952 births Japanese composers Japanese electronic musicians Japanese experimental musicians Japanese hip hop musicians Japanese male composers Japanese record producers Living people Musicians from Tokyo