Nobukazu Takemura (竹村延和 Takemura Nobukazu; born August 28, 1968, in Hirakata, Osaka) is a Japanese musician and artist. He became interested in music at a young age by listening to the radio, and began to make music at home with a tape recorder and keyboard. During high school, after a record store job that exposed him to jazz and hip-hop, he had regular gigs in the clubs of Osaka and Kyoto as a battle DJ before launching his music career.[1] Takemura's music career has seen him cover a wide range of genres and styles within short periods of time. Beginning his career in hip-hop and jazz, Takemura later entered into a prolific period as an electronic musician, exploring genres such as glitch, drum and bass and minimalism. Takemura's most recent work has included chamber music and performance art.[2]

Nobukazu Takemura
Background information
Also known asChild's View, Assembler, DJ Takemura
Born (1968-08-28) 28 August 1968 (age 56)
Hirakata, Osaka Japan
OriginKyoto, Japan
GenresElectronica, trip hop, glitch, nu jazz, chamber music, ambient
Occupation(s)Musician, artist, DJ
Years active1990–present
WebsiteNobukazu Takemura Official site

Career

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In 1990, Takemura founded the instrumental hip hop group Audio Sports with Yamatsuka Eye (of The Boredoms) and Aki Onda. Their first album, Era of Glittering Gas, was released in 1992 (after which Onda subsequently took control of the project).

In 1992, Takemura formed the nu-jazz collective Spiritual Vibes, which released several albums and a few singles throughout the early to mid-1990s. During this period Takemura would occasionally toy with (and eventually pursue full-time in the late 1990s) his own solo releases, typically under the names of DJ Takemura or Kool Jazz Productions. He has released music under the pseudonyms of DJ Takemura, Child's View and Assembler, and his music has covered a wide variety of genres in a short amount of time, ranging from hip-hop instrumentals, to jazz, to chamber music and electronic minimalism, breakbeat, noise pop, glitch and jungle music. The vast majority of Takemura's music has been recorded in his home-made "Moonlit Studio", in his Kyoto apartment.

He founded the Lollop and Childisc labels in the 1990s after meeting musicians who were unable to release their music due to not having a record label. His voluminous releases, remixes, and collaborations make a comprehensive discography difficult, and his music often defies any easy categorization. Takemura's first U.S. release was Funfair on the Bubble Core label in 1998, a slightly altered release of the Yoru No Yuenchi album released previously in Japan. This was followed by Scope on the Thrill Jockey label in 1999, an album that was released solely in the U.S. He has frequently collaborated with fellow Childisc vocalist/composer Aki Tsuyuko, with her vocals having been sampled on many of his albums.

His unique and complex approach to melody and instrumentation has generated a catalog of collaborations with critically acclaimed artists including Issey Miyake, Zu, Steve Reich, DJ Spooky, Yo La Tengo, Tortoise, and Tujiko Noriko. Takemura performed live extensively in the early 2000s, having toured the U.S. opening for Tortoise and Plaid, as well as touring the U.K. with a full live band playing his music on a sponsorship from the British Arts Council.[3] Takemura was also responsible for the sound design of Sony's robotic dog AIBO.[4]

Takemura moved from his long-term home of Kyoto to Berlin, Germany in 2008. In February 2014, Takemura released Zeitraum, a compilation of music, sounds and images he had created from 2004 – 2013 for various projects, commissions and collaborations. Zeitraum is Takemura's first solo album release in 11 years.[5]

Discography

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Note: This discography only includes solo and collaboration releases under the names of "Nobukazu Takemura", "Child's View", "Assembler" or "DJ Takemura". None of Takemura's group releases, such as with Audio Sports or Spiritual Vibes, are included.

Studio albums

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Year Title Album details
1994 Child's View
  • Released: 2 November 1994
  • Label: Toy's Factory (JP) / Bellissima Records (GER)
  • Formats: LP, CD
1997 Child and Magic
1998 Yoru No Yuenchi
  • As Child's View
  • Released: 1998
  • Label: Childisc (JP)
  • Formats: CD
1999 Funfair
  • As Child's View
  • Released: March 1999
  • Label: Bubble Core Records (US)
  • Formats: CD
  • U.S. version of Yoru No Yuenchi with slightly altered tracklist
Milano: For Issey Miyake Men By Naoki Takizawa
  • Released: 26 May 1999
  • Label: Warner Music Japan (JP)
  • Formats: CD
Scope
Finale: For Issey Miyake Men By Naoki Takizawa
  • Released: 22 December 1999
  • Label: Warner Music Japan (JP)
  • Formats: CD
2000 Meteor
  • Released: 2000
  • Label: Childisc (JP)
  • Format: CD
  • Was released in U.S. as a 12" single instead of an album
Hoshi No Koe
  • Released: 2000
  • Label: Childisc (JP) / Thrill Jockey (US)
  • Formats: LP, CD
  • Japan and U.S. versions had one different track on each
Sign
  • Released: November 2000
  • Label: Tokuma Japan Communications (JP) / Thrill Jockey (US)
  • Formats: LP, CD
  • Japan and U.S. versions had some differing tracks
2001 Songbook
  • Released: 21 December 2001
  • Label: Childisc (JP) / Bubble Core Records (US)
  • Formats: LP, CD
  • Japan and U.S. versions had different tracklistings
2002 Assembler 1
  • As Assembler
  • Released: 13 March 2002
  • Label: Childisc (JP)
  • Formats: CD
Animate
  • Released: 13 March 2002
  • Label: Childisc (JP)
  • Formats: CD
10th
  • Released: 24 July 2002
  • Label: Childisc (JP) / Thrill Jockey (US)
  • Formats: LP, CD
  • Japan version had one extra track
Water's Suite
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: Extreme (AUS)
  • Formats: CD
2003 Assembler 2
  • As Assembler
  • Released: 30 May 2003
  • Label: Moonlit (JP) / Thrill Jockey (US)
  • Formats: CD
  • Japan version had an extra live bonus track
Etude
  • Released: 2003
  • Label: En/Of (GER)
  • Formats: LP
  • Limited edition of 100 vinyls
2007 Kobito No Kuni (Unreleased Tracks up to 1999)
  • Released: 21 December 2007
  • Label: Moonlit (JP)
  • Formats: CD
2014 Zeitraum
  • Released: 26 February 2014
  • Labels: Happenings (JP)
  • Formats: CD
2015 Einheit
  • Released: 5 December 2015
  • Labels: Happenings (JP)
  • Formats: CD
  • Exclusively sold at Hotel Anteroom in Kyoto for a Takemura art exhibition.

Extended plays

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Year Title Album details
1993 The Quest Is A Reward
1998 Sablé & Grill EP
  • As Child's View
  • Released: 1998
  • Label: Childisc (JP)
  • Formats: CD, 12"
  • The CD version had one more track than the 12"
2001 Recursion EP
  • Released: 2001
  • Label: Childisc (JP)
  • Formats: 12"
2002 Animate EP
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: Childisc (JP)
  • Formats: 12"
Mimic Robot
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: Thrill Jockey (US)
  • Formats: 12"

Singles

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Year Title Album details
1992 Hoping For The Sun / Kool Jazz Scene / Science Fiction
  • As DJ Takemura
  • Released: 1992
  • Label: Global Dept Records (UK)
  • Formats: 12"
1994 For Tomorrow
  • Released: 1994
  • Label: Toy's Factory (JP) / 99 Records (GER) / Bellissima Records (GER)
  • Formats: 12", CD
1999 The Cradle of Light / After Image
  • As Child's View
  • Released: 1999
  • Label: Childisc (JP)
  • Formats: 12"
Meteor
  • Released: 1999
  • Label: Thrill Jockey (US)
  • Formats: 12"
  • U.S. single version of the Meteor album
2001 Mahou No Hiroba
  • Released: 21 November 2001
  • Label: Childisc (JP)
  • Formats: CD
Picnic / Oyasumi
  • Released: 2001
  • Label: Bottrop-Boy (GER)
  • Formats: 7"
2002 Hiking / Viking
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: Bottrop-Boy (GER)
  • Formats: 7"

Collaborative albums

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Year Title Album details
1997 Changing Hands
2003 Turntables and Computers
2007 Identification With the Enemy: A Key To the Underworld
2012 East Facing Balcony
  • With Tujiko Noriko
  • Released: 6 June 2012
  • Label: Happenings
  • Formats: CD

References

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  1. ^ "Nobukazu Takemura".
  2. ^ "Nobukazu Takemura | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic.
  3. ^ "Nobukazu Takemura official page". www.nobukazutakemura.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012.
  4. ^ Nobukazu Takemura, Synthesizing Things Up Washington Post, 20 January 2002]
  5. ^ "竹村延和の約12年ぶりのニューアルバムは『Zeitraum』、来年2月にリリース".
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