Based on Jamaican-born ska music, Tokyo Ska Paradise, Japan’s ska pride to the world, takes in all sorts of music with unique interpretations and has established their own style of sound that they call “Tokyo Ska”.
The band made their debut in 1989 with their eponymous album (so-called “the yellow vinyl”). After going through a number of personnel changes, the current lineup consists of nine members.
As they solidify their status as an instrumental band, the band has also taken on the challenge of doing “songs” since 2001, with music written by the members and lyrics written by baritone saxophonist Atsushi Yanaka, bringing in guest vocalists. The “song” single trilogy, featuring Takao Tajima, Yusuke Chiba, and Tamio Okuda respectively, made an impact on the Japanese music scene and resulted in their 2002 album “Stompin’ On DOWN BEAT ALLEY”, which marked #1 on the hit chart and became a smash hit selling 500,000 copies.
Ever since, they have always created buzz with their sensational collaboration projects with a string of vocalists such as Hiroto Komoto, Ken Yokoyama, Hiroji Miyamoto, and Kazutoshi Sakurai to name a few, as well as the challenge of another trilogy with bands namely 10-FEET, MONGOL800, and ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION.
The band has always made the world their stage; they have performed in 31 countries to date, and have performed at numerous major music festivals including Glastonbury (UK), Eurockéennes (France), Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Vive Latino (Mexico), and Lollapalooza Chile (Chile). In 2013, they became the first Japanese artists to take the main stage of Coachella Festival (USA).
Furthermore in October 2019, the band won the Espéctaculo Alternativo category of Las Lunas del Auditorio, the biggest music awards in Mexico, for their live performances in the said country that had fanaticized the local people over the year.
And now, racing through their 35th debut anniversary year, Tokyo Ska Paradise continues to expand the paradise of “Tokyo Ska” under the mantra of “NO BORDER” and running the forefront of the music scene.
