The Musician Who Changed Japan's Music Scene

Apr 11, 2024 | News On Japan

TOKYO - The first-ever documentary film tracing the career of Kazuhiko Kato, a musician who led Japan's rock and pop music from its dawn and continues to influence generations, "Tonovan: Musician Kazuhiko Kato and His Era", is set to premiere nationwide.

The film, initiated by the sentiments Yukihiro Takahashi harbored towards Kato, explores the formation secrets of The Folk Crusaders, the first group to achieve a million hits in Japan, behind-the-scenes footage of Sadistic Mika Band's overseas performances and recording sessions, and anecdotes hidden within the "European Trilogy," considered a milestone in Japanese pop music, through interviews with related parties and rare archive footage, unraveling his achievements as a musician.

The trailer, opening with the Sadistic Mika Band's hit song "Time Machine ni Onegai," features snippets from interviews with diverse individuals across genres. Contributions from Chris Thomas (music producer) that significantly acknowledged the Sadistic Mika Band in the UK before Japan, members Yukihiro Takahashi (musician), Rei Ohara (bassist/composer/music producer), and others like Junko Koshino (designer), Shigeru Izumiya (singer-songwriter/actor), and Osamu Kitayama (lyricist/psychiatrist) share their assessments of Kato and discuss his allure.

Moreover, the trailer introduces a fraction of his innovative music that was ahead of its time, including The Folk Crusaders' first million-hit song "Kaette Kita Yopparai," and concludes with a strong message narrated as, "The masterpieces left by Tonovan will continue to be told and sung."

The narration for this trailer is by Hiroshi Takano, the arranger of the newly recorded "That Wonderful Love Once Again ~2024Ver." for this film, showcasing a work that reaches beyond music genres and illustrates Kato's appeal not only as a pioneering musician but also in his interactions across different fields.

Source: Oricon

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