--=[ Fantastic Plastic Machine ]=--

FPM - Sound Concierge X Numero TOKYO [Utopia][2008]

The most producer-driven act in the Japanese pop movement known as Shibuya-kei, Fantastic Plastic Machine was formed by Tomoyuki Tanaka. Though he has the basic stylistic tastes requisite of the Shibuya-kei artist (namely lounge music, bossa nova, French pop and soft rock), Tanaka has more of a club mentality, driven by his long experience as a DJ. Born in Kyoto, he entered the music business in the late '80s as a bassist for a ten-piece trad-rock band known as Margarine Strikes Back. Absorbed into dance music and the acid-house movement near the turn of the decade, he formed a DJ team called Sound Impossible and began spinning a mix of French and Brazilian pop, soundtrack music, and exotica. At one Sound Impossible show, longtime Deee-Lite turntablist Towa Tei convinced Tomoyuki Tanaka to begin recording again, and Fantastic Plastic Machine was born. Tanaka contributed tracks to two compilations (Sushi 3003, Fish Smell Like Cat) and remixed Combustible Edison before signing to Pizzicato Five's Readymade Records. His self-titled debut album was released in 1998, and distributed in America by Emperor Norton. Luxury followed one year later; Beautiful and Take Me to the Disco appeared in early 2001.
















Fantastic Plastic Machine - Beautiful [2001]

One-man music machine and cultural trendsetter Tomoyuki Tanaka (a.k.a. Plastic Fantastic Machine) is back in a big sassy way with his third release, Beautiful. Other than an overall mellowing of FPM's occasionally over-amped arrangements, the biggest surprise on Beautiful is the generous use of strings that make the record a bit of an odd duck, more appropriate for the boudoir than the dance floor. In fact, only the endlessly spunky "Take Me to the Disco" is a bona fide dance track here. Otherwise, Beautiful moves through a record collector's dream that includes the super-sophisticated, string-driven groove of "On a Chair," the fluty Latin jazz of "Whistle Song," the lazy, jazzy funk of "Black Dada," and the insanely overarranged spoken-word hoedown "Love Is Psychedelic." But despite all the musical territory covered there's a real cohesion to the whole affair; it's distinctly urban and hip without being pushy about it, with a sly sense of humor riding just under the surface. Occasionally Tanaka's broad palette gets a bit overloaded, with the strings going in one direction and the groove another, but for the most part he manages to pull it all together in a balancing act that both Burt Bacharach and Howie B could be proud of, and that's really saying something.















Fantastic Plastic Machine - Luxury [1999]

Fantastic Plastic Machine is the latest project of Japanese electronica wunderkind Tomoyuki Tanaka. In 'Luxury', Tanaka takes elements like 50s movie themes, children's tv show themes, elevator music, instructional audio, and reblends them against catchy beats, turning what was once mundane into something wonderful. Often the songs manage to be musically ironic, mocking the drama and triteness of pop music and advertising themes through the 20th century

What is it about Japanese pop-tronica that makes it so irresistible? Although you'll figure out the formula halfway thourgh this album, it'll be with a smile on your face. Fantastic Plastic Machine (Tomoyuki Tanaka, Masaki Tsurugi) combine old 50's & 60's drum loops, an equisitie taste of lounge, and an honest approach to retro-fun (i.e. the opposite of smug artist Beck) into a cheery blend you'll want for after dinner parties or hip mix tapes.


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