The Fantastic Plastic Machine

Artists like Cornelius and Pizzicato Five reflected an image of bustling multiculturalism in their musical manifestations of Shibuya, but Tomoyuki Tanaka’s music most embodied what it felt like to walk along the crossings. A seasoned DJ and fixture in Kyoto’s acid jazz scene, he commanded a vast knowledge of deep cuts and had a sharp sense for how to work a crowd. As Fantastic Plastic Machine he brought the club approach to his records, crafting a chilled-out metropolitan sound that’s easy to imagine pumping through the speakers of a high fashion boutique. (His song “Different Colors” notably featured in a Japanese Louis Vuitton ad.) Tanaka is considered the biggest influence in more electronic-focused Shibuya-kei offshoots like picopop, and his music remains inextricably linked to the sophisticated image of Shibuya.