Fantastic Plastic Machine (musician)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Tomoyuki Tanaka is a J-pop artist/DJ, better known by his stage name of Fantastic Plastic Machine. He is considered to be part of the Shibuya-kei movement, drawing heavily from bossa nova, lounge music, house music, and '60s movie soundtracks, but he also incorporates many other types of music. Tanaka was born in Kyoto, Japan.
In the late 1980s, Tanaka played as the bassist in a rock band called Margarine Strikes Back. Then in the early 1990s, Tanaka became a regular club DJ in the Kansai area, working as part of a DJ team known as Sound Impossible. While playing with Sound Impossible, fellow artist and friend Towa Tei convinced Tanaka to go back to recording music, and in 1997 Tanaka created his solo project Fantastic Plastic Machine under the Readymade Records (a Columbia Music Entertainment sub-label) label in Japan. His first two albums, The Fantastic Plastic Machine (1997) and Luxury (1998), were critically acclaimed and gained him international recognition. The albums were distributed in the United States under the Emperor Norton label, and in Europe on the Bungalow label. In Japan, he is currently under the cutting edge label.
At one point, Tanaka hosted a pop culture show on national radio, and in 2004 he hosted another radio show called "Sound Concierge." He also once served as the editor for the Japanese fashion magazine Brutus.
Tanaka's song "Electric Lady Land" has been featured on the movie soundtrack of The Girl Next Door. He has also been featured on some of DJ Stephane Pompougnac's Hôtel Costes CD series. His song "Bachelor Pad (f.p.m. edit)" was featured on the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack. A short edit of his song "Beautiful Days" is featured on the Japanese music game beatmania IIDX 6th style. Also, "Theme of Luxury", "S'Il Vous Plait" and "There Must Be an Angel" are heard in the British sitcom Spaced as well as on the accompanying soundtrack CD. In 2003, his "Different Colors" was featured in a Louis Vuitton commercial created by superflat artist Takashi Murakami. The commercial featured a panda that eats a girl and her cell phone; the three are then transported into an ethereal Louis Vuitton world. This commercial played in Louis Vuitton stores in Japan.
Tanaka is currently involved in Ravex, a collaboration with fellow Avex DJs Shinichi Osawa and Taku Takahashi established to mark 20 years of the label. Their debut album Trax was released on April 8, 2009, and follows the release of the singles I Rave U and Believe in LOVE - feat BoA.
Discography
Albums
- The Fantastic Plastic Machine (1997)
- Summer Review EP (1998)
- Luxury (1998)
- beautiful. (2001)
- too (2003)
- imaginations (2006)
Compilations & Remixes
- International Standard FPM LUXURY Remixes [F] (1999)
- International Standard FPM LUXURY Remixes [P] (1999)
- International Standard FPM LUXURY Remixes [M] (1999)
- STYLE #09/DANCING AT THE DISCO AT THE END OF THE WORLD (1999)
- Very best of FPM in the mix (mixed by Tatsuo Sunaga) (2000)
- Contact (2001)
- Les plus (2001)
- Space Program (2001)
- Why Not? (2002)
- Zoo (2003)
- Sound Concierge #401 Do Not Disturb (2004)
- Sound Concierge #402 Four Kicks Adventure (2004)
- Sound Concierge #403 Air Conditioning (2004)
- Sound Concierge #404 Electric Carnival (2004)
- Dimension Mix: A Tribute to Bruce Haack (2005) Track: "I'm Bruce"
- Sound Concierge #501 Blanket (2005)
- Sound Concierge #502 Tell Me for Your Delightful Moment (2005)
- Sound Concierge Annex Contemporary Love Songs (2005)
- FPMB: Fantastic Plastic Machine Best (2007)
- Sound Concierge #701 Super Romantic for your moments in love (2007)
- Sound Concierge #702 Electric Heaven for hyper discotheque (2007)
- Sound Concierge Japan "Japanese Lyric Dance" (2008)
- House☆Disney (2009)
Trivia
- Tanaka takes his "Fantastic Plastic Machine" stage name from a 1969 soundtrack to a documentary about surfing.
- The song "There Must Be an Angel" is a cover from Eurythmics' fifth studio album Be Yourself Tonight (1985).
- Another cover is "French Kiss" originally Recorded by Lil Louis(1989).
- The track Whistle Song, from the album beautiful.',' is a cover of the Frankie Knuckles track of the same name from 1991.
- Tanaka collaborated with clothing label UNIQLO, providing music for a flash web clock that displays UNIQLO's fashion lines.
