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Three guys from Tokyo called Masayuki Nakano, Michiyuki Kawashima and Naoki Hirai. Masayuki is the computer pixie who puts the whole shooting match together, Michiyuki plays guitar and sings, Naoki hits drums with assembly-line precision. The history of the band reads much like any number of British outfits. Michiyuki and Masayuki have been making music for around eight years, using samples in a rock format, gradually working their way towards the crystalline synchro-mesh of the Boom Boom sound.
Initially using Pronto's drumming skills as a pool to sample from, they soon drafted him in to play live, too. As anyone who has witnessed their organic and explosive performances will testify, the addition of Pronto was a wise move. They signed to the legendary Belgian dance imprint R&S Records. While the relationship between R&S and Sony Japan's dance division had seen the likes of Aphex Twin land deals and success in Japan, Boom Boom Satellites were the first Japanese outfit to head west down the previously one-way street.
Once signed, the sound was still developing with every release. According to Masayuki, each 12-inch was a testing lab for this, their debut album, "Out Loud". Initially, the UK took them for a Japanese big beat outfit. High quality breakbeat records like "For A Moment Of Silence" and "Dub Me Crazy", with their thundering breaks and adrenaline- gushing invention, were evidence that Japan had caught up. The technology was being pushed to its limit in Boom Boom's maelstrom of bass'n'beat frenzy. It sounded like an extension of The Chemical Brothers' fat groove, an accelerated Fatboy Slim,possibly The Prodigy with the fat trimmed.
But these were just early missions, much like those 1998 live shows - quick bursts of rampant electronica torching small venues in one- off assaults. The arrival of "Out Loud", however, reveals the Boom Boom blueprint as a something quite distinct. Far more than a collection of block rockin' beats, it's an album of intentionally varied shades. Previous releases have offered a glimpse into the response to life in Tokyo, probably the most edgy and technologically alienating metropolis on the planet, "Out Loud" is that city's soundtrack. As Richard puts it : "It is a reflection of the reality of life in Tokyo".
From the gentle swirls of " missing Note", a track which Massive Attack would be proud of, to the outrageous and unnerving "Push Eject", with its sonic warfare-level bass and Spud's impassioned, inarticulate screams, "Out Loud" is an urban, electronic jazz record burning with guitars and rhythms so outrageous that they are probably registered as Class A with your local Drug Squad.
But it's no goatee- bearded noodle fest. Oh no. It's the most compelling snapshot of an emerging Japanese youth culture you can find, finally with the confidence of its own experiences and opinions, no longer looking to the west for all its inspiration.
Jazz, but the kind of confrontational jazz created from a seething pool of drugs, paranoia and musical exploration of the most outrageous stripe. So where should Boom Boom Satellites be filed in your local CD emporium? Richard, predictably, can't help: "There's different influences on the album, rock, dance music, jazz......it's impossible to say."
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Albums
Singles
| Year | Title | |
| 1997 | 4 A Moment Of Silence | |
| 1997 | Dub Me Crazy | |
| 1998 | Joyride | |
| 1998 | 7 Ignitions | |
| 1998 | Push Eject | |
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