(sometimes stylized as AOKI takamasa) (born 1976), is a Japanese electronic musician and producer.
Biography
Aoki Takamasa was born in Osaka in 1976. 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. He continued to experiment with electronic music, 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, and one on musician Yoshihiro Hanno's personal label, Cirque Records, in 2003. In 2004 he relocated from Osaka to France, to work with singer Tujiko Noriko to create the album 28 while there. 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.
Aoki based himself in Paris for four years, later moving to Berlin for three. In 2011, he returned to Japan, and based his musical career in Osaka again. 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. 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.
In addition to being a musician, Aoki spends much of his time as an amateur photographer.
Discography Albums Studio albums
+ List of albums, with selected chart positions. Title Album details Peak positionsJPN SilicomReleased: January 10, 2001 Label: Progressive Form Formats: CD, digital download — Silicom TwoReleased: February 20, 2002 Label: Progressive Form Formats: CD, digital download — Indigo RoseReleased: December 17, 2002 Label: Progressive Form Formats: CD, digital download — QuantumReleased: December 20, 2003 Label: Cirque Records Formats: CD, digital download — Simply FunkReleased: June 25, 2004 Label: Progressive Form Formats: CD, digital download — 28Aoki Takamasa + Tujiko Noriko Released: August 18, 2005 Label: FatCat Records, Hostess Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download — ParabolicaReleased: October 1, 2006 Label: Op.Disc Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl — Private PartyReleased: September 24, 2008 Label: Commmons Formats: CD, digital download — RV8Released: May 9, 2013 Label: Raster-Noton, P*dis Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl 275 Sound for Photo ExhibitionsReleased: March 7, 2025 Label: Muzan Editions Formats: Cassette, digital download –
Live albums
Title Album details Live Recording 2001-2003 Released: August 11, 2007 Label: Cirque.MAVO Formats: CD
Remix albums
Title Album details Fractalized Released: January 27, 2010 Label: Commmons Formats: CD
Extended plays
Title Album details Simply Funk EP Released: June 17, 2005 Label: Progressive Form Formats: vinyl Aoki / SawaiAoki Takamasa & Taeji Sawai Released: June 17, 2005 Label: Op.Disc Formats: vinyl, digital download Mirabeau EP Released: November 4, 2006 Label: Op.Disc Formats: vinyl, digital download RN-Rhythm-Variations Released: October 5, 2009 Label: Raster-Noton Formats: vinyl, digital download Monad IX Released: August 25, 2011 Label: Stroboscopic Artefacts Formats: digital download Constant Flow Released: March 15, 2013 Label: Svakt Formats: vinyl, digital download ReflectsAoki Takamasa x Ichiro Yamaguchi Released: January 20, 2016 Label: NF Records Formats: Digital download
References
External links
Official myspace site