Akira Takasaki
Encyclopedia
is the lead guitarist and founding member of the Japanese heavy metal
band, Loudness
.
, of which drummer Munetaka Higuchi
was also a member. Lazy produced five successful albums at the end of the 70s, but Takasaki's musical style, oriented towards hard rock
and heavy metal
, did not gel with the band and in 1981 he decided to make his original band, Loudness
, alongside bandmate Higuchi. The many heavy metal albums produced by Loudness
brought him international fame and vast critical acclaim. He is the only member of Loudness
that has been in the band since its inception, producing more than 20 studio albums in 25 years. Takasaki has also continued the production of solo works, starting with Tusk of Jaguar
in 1982 and is now committed to a new side project called Ji-Zo. In 1998 and in 2002, he was also directly involved in the reunion of Lazy for the release of two new studio albums and for a tour. Takasaki found enough time to start Killer Guitars, a company co-founded and managed with fellow guitarist George Azuma. He is responsible for several of the guitar designs.
riffs executed at great speed and with extreme precision, often using alternate picking
technique and little vibrato
. His compositions are usually filled with melodies
and hooks
, in order to make well-constructed songs, instead of long neo-classical themes like some of his peers do. His shred guitar
work has attracted many fans over the world and his musicianship has often been compared to the ability of guitarists of his age like Eddie Van Halen
, Yngwie J. Malmsteen
, Steve Vai
, David T. Chastain
and others. In 1986 he declared that the main influences for his compositions and guitar solos came from the work of Deep Purple
’s guitarist Ritchie Blackmore
and from Japanese music for koto
.
Signature Random Star guitars and several Killer guitars, mostly the KG Prime model. He is co-owner of the Killer Guitars label, which are made and distributed by ESP. He has used Marshall Amplifiers in the earlier years and later years of Loudness. He used Marshall JCM2000 DSL heads after 2000, but he can be seen using two JMP-1 preamps in the video for "Metal Mad" in 2008. He used two JVM410H heads during the Munetaka Higuchi: Forever Our Hero concert in 2009. In 2010, in the video for "King of Pain", he can be seen using a Marshall SL 1959RR Randy Rhoads signature head. He used Metaltronix amplifiers near the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, and then Peavey
amplifiers around the early 1990s. He has also used Roland JC-120
combo amplifiers. His equipment in the 80's was completed by Boss
, Guyatone and Ibanez
effects and Harmonizer, Roland
delays, Mesa Boogie
amps and Celestion
speakers. He also currently has his own signature Shredneck.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band, Loudness
Loudness (band)
is a Japan-based heavy metal band formed in 1981 by guitarist Akira Takasaki and drummer Munetaka Higuchi. They were the first Japanese heavy metal act signed to a major label in the United States, releasing twenty-three studio albums...
.
Career
He started his career as a guitarist, winning a TV contest for young music talents at the age of 14. He was rapidly put under contract to be part of the pop-rock band LazyLAZY (band)
is a Japanese rock band founded in 1977 by the young classmates Hironobu Kageyama, Hiroyuki Tanaka and Akira Takasaki. The three founders soon found in their own school the drummer Munetaka Higuchi and the keyboard player Shunji Inoue to complete the line-up...
, of which drummer Munetaka Higuchi
Munetaka Higuchi
was the original drummer of the Japanese heavy metal band, Loudness.Since very young, he was considered a talented drummer. During his high school years, Higuchi played in seven bands. But he was not happy with this situation, wanting to focus his time on only one band...
was also a member. Lazy produced five successful albums at the end of the 70s, but Takasaki's musical style, oriented towards hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, did not gel with the band and in 1981 he decided to make his original band, Loudness
Loudness (band)
is a Japan-based heavy metal band formed in 1981 by guitarist Akira Takasaki and drummer Munetaka Higuchi. They were the first Japanese heavy metal act signed to a major label in the United States, releasing twenty-three studio albums...
, alongside bandmate Higuchi. The many heavy metal albums produced by Loudness
Loudness (band)
is a Japan-based heavy metal band formed in 1981 by guitarist Akira Takasaki and drummer Munetaka Higuchi. They were the first Japanese heavy metal act signed to a major label in the United States, releasing twenty-three studio albums...
brought him international fame and vast critical acclaim. He is the only member of Loudness
Loudness (band)
is a Japan-based heavy metal band formed in 1981 by guitarist Akira Takasaki and drummer Munetaka Higuchi. They were the first Japanese heavy metal act signed to a major label in the United States, releasing twenty-three studio albums...
that has been in the band since its inception, producing more than 20 studio albums in 25 years. Takasaki has also continued the production of solo works, starting with Tusk of Jaguar
Tusk of Jaguar
Tusk of Jaguar is the first solo studio album by Japanese guitarist Akira Takasaki, best known for his work in the bands Loudness and Lazy. It was released in 1982 only in Japan and reissued in 2005. The album is actually a joint effort of Takasaki and keyboard player Masanori Sasaji, who composed...
in 1982 and is now committed to a new side project called Ji-Zo. In 1998 and in 2002, he was also directly involved in the reunion of Lazy for the release of two new studio albums and for a tour. Takasaki found enough time to start Killer Guitars, a company co-founded and managed with fellow guitarist George Azuma. He is responsible for several of the guitar designs.
Style
His guitar playing style is characterized by complicated heavy metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
riffs executed at great speed and with extreme precision, often using alternate picking
Alternate picking
Alternate picking is a guitar playing technique that employs strictly alternating downward and upward picking strokes in a continuous run, and is the most common method of plectrum playing...
technique and little vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
. His compositions are usually filled with melodies
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and hooks
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
, in order to make well-constructed songs, instead of long neo-classical themes like some of his peers do. His shred guitar
Shred guitar
Shred guitar or shredding is lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast guitar solos. While some critics argue that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and ... whammy-bar abuse", several guitar...
work has attracted many fans over the world and his musicianship has often been compared to the ability of guitarists of his age like Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
, Yngwie J. Malmsteen
Yngwie J. Malmsteen
Yngwie Johann Malmsteen is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader. Malmsteen became known for his neo-classical playing approach in heavy metal music which became a new musical style in the early 1980s.- Early life :...
, Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
, David T. Chastain
David T. Chastain
David T. Chastain is an American guitarist and owner of and .Chastain is a metal guitarist who emerged in the mid-'80s along with a wave of other neo-classical guitarists. He has released about 50 recordings under multiple names, including David T...
and others. In 1986 he declared that the main influences for his compositions and guitar solos came from the work of Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
’s guitarist Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
and from Japanese music for koto
Koto (musical instrument)
The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
.
Equipment
Takasaki uses ESPESP Guitars
, located in North Hollywood, California, is an American-based, Japanese-owned manufacturer of electric guitars and basses.- History :In 1975, Hisatake Shibuya opened a shop called Electric Sound Products in Tokyo. It provided custom replacement parts for guitars. In 1976, ESP gained a reputation...
Signature Random Star guitars and several Killer guitars, mostly the KG Prime model. He is co-owner of the Killer Guitars label, which are made and distributed by ESP. He has used Marshall Amplifiers in the earlier years and later years of Loudness. He used Marshall JCM2000 DSL heads after 2000, but he can be seen using two JMP-1 preamps in the video for "Metal Mad" in 2008. He used two JVM410H heads during the Munetaka Higuchi: Forever Our Hero concert in 2009. In 2010, in the video for "King of Pain", he can be seen using a Marshall SL 1959RR Randy Rhoads signature head. He used Metaltronix amplifiers near the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, and then Peavey
Peavey Electronics
Peavey Electronics Corporation is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the world, headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi in the United States.- History :...
amplifiers around the early 1990s. He has also used Roland JC-120
Roland Jazz Chorus
Roland Jazz Chorus is the name given to a series of solid-state instrument amplifiers produced by the Roland Corporation in Japan since 1975. Its name comes from its built-in analog chorus effect, and its "pristine, clean sound" was often used in 1980s music by, for instance, funk musicians.The...
combo amplifiers. His equipment in the 80's was completed by Boss
Boss Corporation
Boss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories...
, Guyatone and Ibanez
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
effects and Harmonizer, Roland
Roland Corporation
is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
delays, Mesa Boogie
Mesa Boogie
Mesa/Boogie is a company in Petaluma, California that makes amplifiers for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969....
amps and Celestion
Celestion
Celestion is a British maker of loudspeakers.-History:The work of what would become Celestion started in Hampton Wick in 1924. Celestion Radio Company and Celestion Limited were formed in 1927, and two years later the company moved across the Thames to Kingston. The company grew rapidly, but was...
speakers. He also currently has his own signature Shredneck.
Solo albums
- Tusk of JaguarTusk of JaguarTusk of Jaguar is the first solo studio album by Japanese guitarist Akira Takasaki, best known for his work in the bands Loudness and Lazy. It was released in 1982 only in Japan and reissued in 2005. The album is actually a joint effort of Takasaki and keyboard player Masanori Sasaji, who composed...
(1982) - Ki (1994)
- Wa (1996)
- Gene Shaft (2001)
- Made in Hawaii (2002)
- Splash Mountain (2004)
- Maca (2005)
- Osaka Works #128 (2006)
- Nenriki (2006)
- Black Brown (2007)