Akira Takasaki

Akira Takasaki
Background information
Born	February 22, 1961 (1961-02-22) Osaka, Japan
Genres	Rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Guitarist, musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Guitar, bass, drums
Years active	1980–Present
Associated acts	Lazy, Loudness
Notable instruments
ESP Signature Series [1] Killer Guitars

Akira Takasaki (高崎 晃, Takasaki Akira, born February 22, 1961, in Osaka, Japan) is the lead guitarist and founding member of the Japanese heavy metal band, Loudness.

Career

He started his career as a guitarist, winning a TV contest for young music talents at the age of 14. He was rapidly put under contract to be part of the pop-rock band Lazy, of which drummer Munetaka Higuchi was also a member. Lazy produced five successful albums at the end of the 70s, but Takasaki's musical style, oriented towards hard rock and heavy metal, did not gel with the band and in 1981 he decided to make his original band, Loudness, alongside bandmate Higuchi. The many heavy metal albums produced by Loudness brought him international fame and vast critical acclaim. He is the only member of Loudness that has been in the band since its inception, producing more than 20 studio albums in 25 years. Takasaki has also continued the production of solo works, starting with Tusk of Jaguar in 1982 and is now committed to a new side project called Ji-Zo. In 1998 and in 2002, he was also directly involved in the reunion of Lazy for the release of two new studio albums and for a tour. Takasaki found enough time to start Killer Guitars, a company co-founded and managed with fellow guitarist George Azuma. He is responsible for several of the guitar designs.

Style

His guitar playing style is characterized by complicated heavy metal riffs executed at great speed and with extreme precision, often using alternate picking technique and little vibrato. His compositions are usually filled with melodies and hooks, in order to make well-constructed songs, instead of long neo-classical themes like some of his peers do. His shred guitar work has attracted many fans over the world and his musicianship has often been compared to the ability of guitarists of his age like Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Steve Vai, David T. Chastain and others. In 1986 he declared that the main influences for his compositions and guitar solos came from the work of Deep Purple’s guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and from Japanese music for koto.

Equipment

Takasaki uses ESP Signature Random Star guitars and several Killer guitars, mostly the KG Prime model. He is co-owner of the Killer Guitars label, which are made and distributed by ESP. He has used Marshall Amplifiers in the earlier years and later years of Loudness. He used Marshall JCM2000 DSL heads after 2000, but he can be seen using two JMP-1 preamps in the video for "Metal Mad" in 2008. He used two JVM410H heads during the Munetaka Higuchi: Forever Our Hero concert in 2009. In 2010, in the video for "King of Pain", he can be seen using a Marshall SL 1959RR Randy Rhoads signature head. He used Metaltronix amplifiers near the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, and then Peavey amplifiers around the early 1990s. He has also used Roland JC-120 combo amplifiers. His equipment in the 80's was completed by Boss, Guyatone and Ibanez effects and Harmonizer, Roland delays, Mesa Boogie amps and Celestion speakers. He also currently has his own signature Shredneck.

Solo albums

• Tusk of Jaguar (1982)
• Ki (1994)
• Wa (1996)
• Gene Shaft (2001)
• Made in Hawaii (2002)
• Splash Mountain (2004)
• Maca (2005)
• Osaka Works #128 (2006)
• Nenriki (2006)
• Black Brown (2007)

External links

• Official website
• http://www.kiyokatsu.com/AKIRA_TAKASAKI/
• http://www.takasaki.net/
• Akira Takasaki profile