Yann Tomita
| Yann Tomita ヤン 富田 |
|
|---|---|
| Also known as | Yang Tomita De Yanns Dr. Yann Forever Yann Dr. Domestic |
| Born | October 1952 (age 64) |
| Genres | Exotica, electronic, hip hop, musique concrète, experimental, avant-garde |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, performer, instrumentalist, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, synthesizer, steel drums |
| Years active | 1980s-present |
| Labels | ASL Research Service For Life Records Sony Records CCRE |
| Associated acts | Astro Age Steel Orchestra, Doopees, Havana Exotica, Naives, Rude Flower, Tiny Exotica Boys, Water Melon Group |
| Notable instruments | |
|
ARP 2600 EMS Synthi A Serge synthesizer |
|
Yann Tomita (ヤン富田, born October 1952) is a Japanese musician, composer, record producer, writer, and steelpan player based in Tokyo. In Japan during the 1980s and 1990s, he pioneered various music genres, including hip hop, dub, acid jazz, exotica, and electronic music. He is the first professional Japanese steelpan player, first Japanese hip hop producer, and the president of the Audio Science Laboratory (オーディオ・サイエンス・ラボラトリー) record label, which he founded.
He was introduced to the sound of steelpan drums by a 1970s Van Dyke Parks album, and subsequently traveled to Trinidad and Tobago 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 of Plastics 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 Japanese hip hop. Since the early 1990s, Tomita has pursued a music brand of cosmic kitsch, using synthesizers, steelpan drums, exotica and musique concrète.
One of his acclaimed works is his Space age pop concept album Doopee Time (1995), which followed members Suzi Kim and Caroline Novac of the fictitious Japanese vocal duo "Doopees". It was recorded with Yumiko Ohno of Buffalo Daughter, drummer Chica Ogawa, and credited simply as Doopees. In it, he blended elements of Space Age exotica with steel drums, electronics, and tributes to Sun Ra, Chopin, the Beach Boys, and Phil Spector. 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 everyday for about half a year, but had to be postponed indefinitely due to a two-month hospital stay amidst other circumstances.
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