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01. TOKYO BLACK STAR - Part 1
02. TOKYO BLACK STAR - Part 2
ARTIST
TITLE
Fantasy Live 1999
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
WF 004CD WF 004CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
9/2/2016

21st Century galactic samurai artists Tokyo Black Star present Fantasy Live 1999. Tokyo Black Star are a trio led by New York-based international DJ Alex from Tokyo; Tokyo-based sound engineer and music producer Isao Kumano; and "man of mystery", analog equipment and otaku musician Kenichi Takagi. Working from a unique and primarily Japanese perspective, Alex and Isao have been working together on music (and audio products) since the beginning of this century, first on remixes and tracks for compilations and later on EPs (their Psyche Dance EP was the first ever release on Dixon and Ame's Berlin based Innervisions imprint back in 2005) and even a highly respected line of high-end headphones and audio equipment with Phonon. Their first full album (still as a duo) Black Ships (IV 003CD, 2009), was released by Innervisions as well. After touring live in Japan and in Europe the duo started to look at new directions. Kenichi joined bringing another level of analog expertise (especially with his self-made modular synth) making his first official appearance on record on the debut World Famous label release, Edo Express EP. Edo Express EP received a rave review at NPR for an atypical track - the Afro-inspired "Mitokomon". Since then the trio's ship has advanced through the galaxy, absorbing and translating influences from around the solar system and beyond. The trio are back with Fantasy Live 1999 a very special "voyage sonore" in their true retro-futuristic style. For the visual side of this album they have teamed up with their long-time collaborator, the New York based Japanese artist Tomokazu Matsuyama who has been creating the Tokyo Black Star visual identity since their first release. In the spirit of long-form masterpieces like Manuel Göttsching's E2-E4 (1984), Fantasy Live 1999 is an epic forty-minute long meditative live audio painting for your "mind, body & soul" sound-tracking the beautiful psychedelic mix of colors that is Matsuyama's stunning cover painting. Conceived between 1999 and 2015, the genesis for the album and the source of its title is the fact it was started one legendary crazy night when the band tape-recorded an impromptu live performance at a basement bar in the groovy Shimokitazawa neighborhood in Tokyo where Alex used to live. The finished album is a result of further sessions recorded at Kenichi's studio in Tokyo and mixed at the Phonon studio in Tokyo in the summer of 2015.