Aoki Takamasa (青木孝允, Aoki Takamasa) (sometimes stylized as AOKI takamasa) (born 1976), is a Japanese electronic musician and producer.

Aoki Takamasa
A man on a laptop
Aoki at the Goethe-Institut in Boston on May 13, 2010.
Background information
Birth name青木孝允
Born1976
Osaka Prefecture, Japan
OriginJapan
Genreselectronic
Occupation(s)Songwriter, music producer
Years active2000–present
LabelsProgressive Form, Commmons
Websitewww.aokitakamasa.com

Biography

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Aoki Takamasa was born in Osaka in 1976.[1] He began experimenting as a musician in 1993 when he was 17, when he recorded music on a four-track cassette recorder, mixing acoustic guitar, bass and drums together.[2] He continued to experiment with electronic music,[1] and in 2001 he released his first album Silicom through the independent Japanese label Progressive Form. He released a further three albums with Progressive Form until 2004,[3] and one on musician Yoshihiro Hanno's personal label, Cirque Records, in 2003.[2] In 2004 he relocated from Osaka to France,[2] to work with singer Tujiko Noriko to create the album 28 while there.[1] Aoki originally began collaborating with Tujiko in 2002, when the pair collaborated musically by sending CDs in the mail between Osaka and Paris, where Tujiko was based, and decided to move there to further the project.[3]

Aoki based himself in Paris for four years, later moving to Berlin for three.[4] In 2011, he returned to Japan, and based his musical career in Osaka again.[5] During his time in Europe, Aoki released the albums Parabolica (2006) and Private Party (2008) in Japan, and also released music with the European music labels Raster-Noton, Stroboscopic Artefacts and Svakt.

Since returning to Osaka, Aoki has released RV8 (2013), his first release to chart in Japan. Since 2013, Aoki has often collaborated with the band Sakanaction. He co-wrote two of the songs from the band's album Sakanaction: "Inori" and "Structure", had remixed several of the band's songs, and has performed at events organized by the band's personal label, NF Records.[5] In January 2016, Aoki released Reflects, a collaboration with Sakanaction member Ichiro Yamaguchi, featuring music they co-composed for the fashion brand Anrealage's show for Paris Fashion Week.[6]

In addition to being a musician, Aoki spends much of his time as an amateur photographer.[4]

Discography

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Albums

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Studio albums

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List of albums, with selected chart positions.
Title Album details Peak positions
JPN
[7]
Silicom
Silicom Two
  • Released: February 20, 2002 (JPN)
  • Label: Progressive Form
  • Formats: CD, digital download
Indigo Rose
  • Released: December 17, 2002 (JPN)
  • Label: Progressive Form
  • Formats: CD, digital download
Quantum
  • Released: December 20, 2003 (JPN)
  • Label: Cirque Records
  • Formats: CD, digital download
Simply Funk
  • Released: June 25, 2004 (JPN)
  • Label: Progressive Form
  • Formats: CD, digital download
28
Parabolica
  • Released: October 1, 2006 (JPN)
  • Label: Op.Disc
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
Private Party
  • Released: September 24, 2008 (JPN)
  • Label: Commmons
  • Formats: CD, digital download
RV8
  • Released: May 9, 2013 (WW)
  • Label: Raster-Noton, P*dis
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
275

Live albums

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Title Album details
Live Recording 2001-2003
  • Released: August 11, 2007 (JPN)
  • Label: Cirque.MAVO
  • Formats: CD

Remix albums

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Title Album details
Fractalized
  • Released: January 27, 2010 (JPN)
  • Label: Commmons
  • Formats: CD

Extended plays

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Title Album details
Simply Funk EP
  • Released: June 17, 2005 (JPN)
  • Label: Progressive Form
  • Formats: vinyl
Aoki / Sawai
  • Aoki Takamasa & Taeji Sawai
  • Released: June 17, 2005 (JPN)
  • Label: Op.Disc
  • Formats: vinyl, digital download
Mirabeau EP
  • Released: November 4, 2006 (JPN)
  • Label: Op.Disc
  • Formats: vinyl, digital download
RN-Rhythm-Variations
  • Released: October 5, 2009 (GER)
  • Label: Raster-Noton
  • Formats: vinyl, digital download
Monad IX
Constant Flow
  • Released: March 15, 2013 (GER)
  • Label: Svakt
  • Formats: vinyl, digital download
Reflects

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kohei Terazono. "AOKI takamasa profile". Commmons. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Boban Ristevski (December 16, 2003). "AOKI Takamasa :: New Musical Forms". Igloo Magazine. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "28 By Aoki Takamasa and Tujiko Noriko Press Release". Igloo Magazine. December 16, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "#8 AOKI takamasa" (in Japanese). Oxymoron Magazine. December 16, 2003. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "DJ AOKI takamasa". NF Records (in Japanese). Victor Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  6. ^ "山口一郎×AOKI takamasa、パリコレ参加時の音源を配信リリース" (in Japanese). Natalie. January 20, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  7. ^ "青木孝允の作品". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved February 10, 2016.
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