Known professionally as m.c.A.T., Akio Togashi is a well-known Japanese rap artist. (In case you wondered, the acronym stands for “Microphone Controller Akio Togashi”). His career as producer, songwriter, and performer has been pretty astounding – in 1993 he released his solo debut single, “Bomb A Head!”, which sold over 2 million and became one of the best-selling Japanese singles of that decade. His “Oh! My Precious!” was promoted with a music video directed by Oscar-winner Spike Lee and likewise broke records. Not content with his own success, “A.T.” also produced Japanese vocal group “DA PUMP”, releasing 17 singles and six albums, selling more than 5 million copies.
Thanks to Japanese executive producer Takahiro Maeda, m.c.A.T. has joined the Better Times Project with a really interesting video. The slow development of the characters, the way director So-ichiro Komatsu builds from one to multitude as we progress, never explaining but always showing those ubiquitous earbuds make it feel more like a film than a single song.
The end blew me away sonically. I’d never have thought to put that kind of “button” on the whole concept. Make sure you listen through!
For those interested in the technical aspect of his vocal, I’d deliberately sent out my own “first take”, which is a capella. No chords, no instruments, just a voice. I also gave no guidance to anyone about the underlying structure of the song as I heard it in my head. Because of that, artists were free to add their own chord structures, bend notes, create minors out of majors, and so on down the line. Some have used that freedom to create wonderful dissonance, highlighting the conflict and discord the pandemic has wrought – as he does here.
All vocals arranged & performed by m.c.A.T; Guitar by KB; Mixed by Koji Morimoto; Music video directed, written & edited by So-ichiro Komatsu; Cinematographer: Kazuhiko Tanaka
Cast: Fujiu Maari / Joey Tee / Tony GOGO (THE LOCKERS)
Production manager: Yoshika Komatsu (spintokyo)
m.c.A.T Agent: Takako Shioya (Prism)
Special Thanks: JYUNNNA YOSHIDA / KOKO / MAZRI.inc./spintokyo.inc./ aquio wonder
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