Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra

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Founded in 1985 by Asa-Chang, the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ), commonly abbreviated as "Skapara", was initially comprised of more than 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene. At the time, the band's sound was unlike that of any of its contemporaries in the then fledgling Japanese ska scene, and over the course of the past 21 years, their innovation has proved to have been very influential on Japanese music as a whole. Its sound, the product of the musical influences of its numerous members, is an eclectic mix of traditional ska, jazz, and rock. In the vein of many other more traditional ska acts, many of Skapara's songs are purely instrumental.

Since its inception, the band has done countless live performances in the streets and clubs of Tokyo, and has toured both Europe and the United States. Although many fans, artists, and record companies outside of Japan have expressed interest in facilitating the expansion of the band's popularity to a global level, its music remains largely unavailable in most of the rest of the world. Despite this, however, the band enjoys great commercial success and popularity within Japan, where its records have consistently climbed the music charts.

Contents

[edit] Members

[edit] Current

[edit] Former

  • Yuhei Takeuchi on Soprano Sax, Flute (left 4/1990)
  • Masayuki "MARC" Hayashi on Guitar (left 6/1992)
  • Asa-Chang on percussion (left 3/1993)
  • Cleanhead Gimura on vocals (died 4/23/1995)
  • Toru Terashi on guitar (joined 7/1993, left 1/1998)
  • Rui Sugimura on vocals (joined 2/1998, left 2/1999)
  • Tatsuyuki Aoki on Drums (died 5/2/1999)

[edit] Discography/Works

[edit] Albums

  • Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ) (1989)
  • Skapara Toujou (スカパラ登場) (Skapara's Intro) (1990)
  • World Famous (ワールドフェイマス) (1991)
  • World Famous Remix (1991)
  • Pioneers (1993)
  • FANTASIA (1994)
  • JUST A LITTLE BIT OF TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA (vinyl) (rare) (1994)
  • WATERMELON/高橋幸宏 (featuring 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ) (1995)
  • Grand Prix (1995)
  • アキラのジーンときちゃうぜ/小林旭 (with 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ) (1995)
  • Tokyo Strut (トーキョー・ストラット) (1996)
  • デカメロン/竹中直人 (with 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ) (1997)
  • Arkestra (1998)
  • Full-Tension Beaters (2000)
  • Stompin' On Down Beat Alley (2002)
  • High Numbers (2003)
  • Answer (2005)
  • Wild Peace (6/7/06)

[edit] Singles

  • MONSTER ROCK - 4/21/90
  • Countdown To Glory (栄光へのカウントダウン) - 1/21/91
  • Hole in One (ホールインワン) - 6/21/91
  • Burning Scale - 12/2/92
  • Mark of Marai (マライの號) - 5/1/93
  • gold rush - 8/21/93
  • Happening (ハプニング) - 10/23/93
  • Blue Mermaid (ブルーマーメイド) - 12/12/93
  • HAPPY GO LUCKY - 9/7/94
  • Tokyo Deluxe (東京デラックス) - 1/21/95
  • WATERMELON - 4/28/95
  • JAM - 7/21/95
  • ROCK MONSTER STRIKES BACK - 7/21/96 on CD, 8/13/96 on vinyl
  • HURRY UP!! - 4/21/97
  • Does Love Exist? (愛があるかい？) - 4/22/98
  • Dear My Sister - 7/8/98
  • Hinotama Jive (火の玉ジャイヴ) - 5/12/99
  • Devote to the Battle Melody (戦場に捧げるメロディー) - 11/17/99
  • Filmmakers Bleed ~Decisive Battle on the Summit~ (フィルムメイカーズ・ブリード～頂上決戦～) - 6/21/00
  • Theme of Lupin III Pt. I & II (vinyl only) - 2000
  • Afro Art Remixes (vinyl-only white label)
  • Peeled Orange (めくれたオレンジ) - 8/8/01
  • Great Singing Bird Sky (カナリヤ鳴く空) - 12/12/01
  • Beautiful Burning Forest (美しく燃える森) - 2/14/02
  • The Galaxy and Maze (銀河と迷路) - 2/5/03
  • A Quick Drunkard - 6/4/03
  • 世界地図 (Sekai chizu) - 5/25/04
  • STROKE OF FATE - 7/8/04
  • さらば友よ (Saraba tomo yo) - Limited edition sold only at ANSWER TOUR concert venues
  • 迫憶のライラック (Tsuioku no Lilac) - 12/14/05
  • サファイアの星 (Sapphire no hoshi) - 2/15/06
  • 星降る夜に (Hoshi furu yoru ni) - 5/10/06

[edit] Live Albums

  • Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra Live (東京スカパラダイスオーケストラライブ) (1991)
  • Gunslingers (2001)
  • On Tour (2004)

[edit] Videos

  • Skapara Video (スカパラビデオ) (video) (1991)
  • Osamu's Amazing Songs (音曲の乱) (video) (1992)
  • TOKYOSKA: Everytime We Say Goodbye (video) (1992)
  • World Series from Tokyo Ska (video) (1992)
  • Skapara at Cabaret (スカパラatキャバレー) (video) (1993)
  • LIVE FANTASIA (video) (1994)
  • VIDEO FANTASIA (video) (1994)
  • LIVE GRAND PRIX (video) (1995)
  • 18540617 (video) (1997)
  • SKA EVANGELISTS ON THE RUN TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA 1998>>1999 (video) (1999)
  • DOWN BEAT SELECTOR (DVD) (2002)
  • DOWN BEAT ARENA～Yokohama Arena 7.7.2002(Complete) (DOWN BEAT ARENA～横浜アリーナ7.7.2002(完全版) (DVD) (2002)
  • Europe Tour 2003 Road-Move DVD (Catch the Rainbow (EUROPE TOUR 2003 ロード・ムーヴィーDVD「CATCH THE RAINBOW」) (DVD) (2004)
  • 15th Anniversary Live Since Debut (DVD) (2005)

[edit] Soundtracks

  • Tokyo Deluxe Original Soundtrack (東京デラックスオリジナルサウンドトラック) (1995)
  • Incredible Crisis! Original Soundtrack (とんでもクライシス！オリジナルサウンドトラック) (1999)
  • New Moral Battle Homicide Original Soundtrack (新仁義なき戦い謀殺オリジナルサウンドトラック) (2003)

[edit] Band Compilations

  • gifted WINTER SELECTION (1993)
  • THE BEST SELECTION (THE BEST SELECTION (タイ盤）(rare) (1996)
  • MOODS FOR TOKYO SKA: WE DON'T KNOW WHAT SKA IS (1997)
  • JUSTA RECORD COMPILATION Vol.1 (1999)
  • BEST(1989～1997) (2002)
  • SKA ME CRAZY: THE BEST Of TSPO (2005)
  • New Greatest Hits album (title TBA) (March 21, 2007) - 26 songs selected by Kin-ichi Motegi

[edit] Side Projects

[edit] Tsuyoshi Kawakami and His Mood Makers

(Tsuyoshi Kawakami, Nargo, Hajime Ohmori)

  • Tsuyoshi Kawakami and His Mood Makers (川上つよしと彼のムードメイカーズ) - 2001.12.12
  • Moodmaker's mood - 2003.08.06
  • Floatin Mood - 2004.07.28
  • Sparklin' Mood - 2004.12.01

[edit] Sembello

(Yuichi Oki)

  • Sembellogy - 2003.08.06
  • The Second Album - 2004.11.25
  • Kairos - 2006.06.07

[edit] Speed King

(TSPO + Fantastic Plastic Machine + Dr Ys + KMP + OCHICHY)

  • SPEED KING - 2000.02.21

[edit] Losalios

(Takashi Kato)

  • Sekaichizuwa Chinoato - 1999.11.10
  • Colorado Shit Dog - 2002.05.01
  • School Of High Sense - 2002.10.26
  • The End Of The Beauty - 2003.09.03
  • ゆうれい船長がハナシてくれた こと - 2005.05.25

[edit] Fishmans

(Kin-Ishi Motegi) See Fishmans Page

[edit] Sfkuank

(Nargo & Masahiko Kitahara)

  • Sfkuank!!- 2005.12.14

[edit] Compilations Curated By Band Members

  • Frank Zappa Compiler - 1999
  • Big Bang Blow: Japanese Jazz selected By Nargo, M.Kitahara & Gamo of TSPO - 2003
  • JUSTA RECORD presents: 'The 3rd Era of Ska~EURO AUTHENTIC SKA COLLECTION' - 2004.07.28
  • JUSTA RECORD presents: 'The 3rd Era of Ska~NORTH AMERICAN SKA COLLECTION' - 2005.03.30

[edit] Trivia

  • The Skatalites invited them to join their US Tour.
  • Skapara has collaborated with several vocalists outside of their band, including Shiina Ringo, Yusuke Chiba of Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, Takao Tajima, PUFFY and Tamio Okuda.
  • They also performed the Japanese theme song to the PlayStation 2 game Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, entitled "BLACK JACK".
  • Their cover of the classic Tetris theme song is often mislabeled on file-sharing sites as being performed by Mr. Bungle and The Toasters, among others.
  • Upon beginning work on their 8th record, Arkestra, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra decided it was time to bring in another vocalist after the death of original singer Cleanhead Gimura. Cleanhead's younger brother, Rui Sugimura, was brought in to sing, but it did not work out- Sugimura was gone within a year.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../t/o/k/Tokyo_Ska_Paradise_Orchestra_5826.html"
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