“Live Life” Digital Exclusive Single Now Available World-Wide
While Tak Matsumoto's "Strings Of My Soul" has been available on iTunes by the time it went on sale in the U.S. and in Europe, "Live Life" from the very album has now been released as a digital exclusive single. It is available for purchase on iTunes internationally and contains two tracks: An instrumental version of "Live Life" and the regular album version of the song.
Live Life is one of the new tracks on Tak's album and features English lyrics sung by Sam Drysdale. The lyrics for the song are available in the wiki: http://bzwiki.offthelock.com/Live_Life_(Lyrics)
Grab it on iTunes here.
Strings of my Soul Release Message
This is my latest solo album "Strings of my Soul"!
The CD contains all the gems I consider the best and have played the best.
Please feel free to listen to the sound the strings of my soul.
Tak
Strings of my Soul Pre-Order Bonus Detailed
As the Japanese release of Strings of my Soul draws near, certain stores have announced that they will offer pre-order bonuses. These bonuses differ from store to store, but in general you will be able to get a set of postcards, a clear file holder or a set of stickers. This entirely depends on where you are pre-ordering. The letdown is that this mostly applies to actual stores in Japan.
A select few online stores offer a pre-order bonus, though. You can find a list of shops offering a pre-order bonus below.
- Sticker set: [HMV.co.jp] [Musing Online shop]
- Clear file holder: [Tower Records Online]
- Postcard set: [Yamano Gakki Online]
Matsumoto’s “Strings of my Soul” Coming To US
Tak Matsumoto's latest solo album entitled Strings of my Soul will be on sale in the United States on August 7th through 335 Records.
Tak Matsumoto Solo Album “Strings Of My Soul” 6/20 Out!
Tak Matsumoto's very own label, House Of Strings, has announced that Tak Matsumoto's latest album Strings Of My Soul is going to be released on June 20th, 2012. Tak's new album gives off a feeling that it is a best-of compilation as quite a few tracks have already been released on Tak's previous works.
A huge part of the album is made up of tracks from Tak's self-described solo magnum opus, Hana (2002). Tracks such as "Koi-Uta", "#1090 Sen Mu Ichiya", "Hana", "BLUE" ("Misudouji BLUE") and "Romeo & Juliet" are all from Hana, leaving it to account for five of the thirteen tracks from Strings Of My Soul.
While this may the vibe of a best-of compilation, all of the tracks on the album have been remixed and remastered. In addition, Grammy Award winner Paul Brown has been involved as producer, engineer, and mixer on a couple of tracks such as Tak's new song "Live Life". Tak's old friend Larry Carlton also makes an appearance on the track "SUKIYAKI" where the two play a cover together.
The album comes in two flavors: a CD-only edition and a limited CD+DVD version. The CD version will set you back 3,059 Yen while the CD+DVD version will cost you 3,780 Yen.
Pre-order:
CDJapan: [Regular Version] [CD+DVD Version]
Amazon(JP): [Regular Version] [CD+DVD Version]
HMV: [Regular Version] [CD+DVD Version]
See the track listing as well as the CD+DVD version content after the break.
Gibson Tak Matsumoto DC Prototype 2011 #1
Hello fellow B'z brothers!
The hype meter is constantly growing with B'z being in the middle of recording and Shane being back in Tokyo after a short break!
News should be out any day now... Everyone's hoping for February 1st (JST), so check back tomorrow in case there's some hype news!
Photo taken by: TOMUJI OHTANI
Japanese music magazine "Player" has posted a teaser for the new issue on their blog. It will feature a C'mon tour live report as well as a report on Tak Matsumoto's latest gear. The very same gear he also used during the C'mon tour. To get everyone excited, they posted a picture of the latest guitar prototype Tak is using at the moment: The Gibson Tak Matsumoto DC Prototype 2011 #1. (ver wondered what guitar Tak is holding in the picture on B'z official website? Well now you know.
Perhaps I can get ahold of that issue (out Feb 2nd) and report back to you guys! Would certainly be interesting to read that live report... and of course the Tak Matsumoto gear report 
Source: Player Blog
Tak Matsumoto Featured on Taiwanese Rock Band’s Album
Popular Taiwanese rock band Mayday (Chinese: 五月天) has released their 8th studio album Second Round (Chinese: 第二人生) on December 16, 2011. The album was a major hit in Taiwan, generating 129,958 pre-orders in just one week. On that album, there's a track called 三個傻瓜 ("3 Idiots"). If anyone can provide a proper translation for the title, I'd be very grateful.
Anyway, close to the end of the song, the singer shouts Tak, come on! and we get to hear Tak's signature sound. His solo proves to be a worthy finish for the song. In the album's booklet he's credited as "Feat. Tak Matsumoto by courtesy of VERMILLION RECORDS".
Check out the song below. Tak's solo starts at around 3:30.
Matsumoto on Anna Tsuchiya Best Collaboration Album *Update*
After having released her triple A single "UNCHAINED GIRL" last month, rock singer Anna Tsuchiya has recently announced on her official website that she's going to release a "Best Collaboration Album" on December 21st. The album is going to come in two flavors: CD and CD+DVD.
Among others, Tak Matsumoto has been mentioned to be on the collaboration album as composer.
*UPDATE (January 23rd, 2012)*: The launch of the album was postponed in December, but a new date has now been announced: March 28th, 2012. The title of the song Tak is collaborating on has also been revealed: ALL RIGHT NOW. This is a completely new song by Anna Tsuchiya and will feature Tak. It is currently unclear as to what extend Tak is involved. My guess would be: Composition, Arrangement and Guitar.
Past projects Tak Matsumoto was involved in include(but are not limited to):
- Fantasia by Takamiy (Released: August 25, 2010)
- Chuo-sen by Kine Naoto (Released: April 7th, 2010)
- SET IT ON BLAST!! by Stevie Salas (Released: July 15th, 2009)
Source: B'z松本、ハイスタ難波書き下ろし曲収録! 土屋アンナのコラボ・ベスト登場 - TOWER RECORDS ONLINE
Matsumoto Visits International Music School For Teenagers
Tak Matsumoto has visited an international music school called LIVEJAM. They held an event about "the surroundings in which everyone can study hard together to achieve a goal as a band".
When asked to come to the school, Matsumoto gladly accepted the request: "If it's for the kids, I'll do it with pleasure". He also spoke highly of the school's new program called JAM PROGRAM. He thinks it's a great thing to connect the children to one another and making new friends of music.
Tak talked about his experiences of being in a band at the event. He furthermore elaborated on various things from "How B'z succeeded", "How I practiced playing the guitar" to "What's a band?", "What's rock?". Afterwards, they went on to a Question & Answer session where members of LIVEJAM could ask Matsumoto questions and he would try to reply in an easy to understand manner.
One of the children asked "When you were young, what would you do in your free time?" to which Tak replied "I played Super Mario. I was really good at it!".
Another question was "Recalling past live performances, what moment will forever be in your memory?" to which Tak replied "Probably when Inaba suddenly disappeared from the stage. I could still hear him singing, but I couldn't see him. When I wondered where he was, he actually fell off the stage. But even though he fell off the stage, he was still singing!"
Everybody was very delighted to have Matsumoto-san as a guest. They were listening very closely to everything he had to say and enjoyed the time with him. To finish off the event, they took a group picture:
Tak Matsumoto DC Standard Plus Top Now Available in Japan
Hey folks, it has been quiet on the B'z front these days, but I'm still alive and kickin'. Today, I bring you this piece of news: Tak Matsumoto is releasing another Epiphone Double Cutaway(DC) model in Japan. It's available in Japan starting today at a price of 122,850 Yen. It comes with a hard case and a limited edition gigbag.
Judging from the picture above, it looks like Tak has already used that guitar while touring North America this year.
Epiphone has also posted quite a stunning article about Tak's new gem:
Epiphone announces the new Tak Matsumoto DC Standard Plus Top Cherry Outfit, a stunningly beautiful guitar designed by Epiphone and Tak Matsumoto exclusively for Japan. From his blistering solo work and his long-standing association with the band B'z to his GRAMMY winning albums with renowned artists like Larry Carlton, Tak Matsumoto has proved himself not only one of Japan's true masters of the fingerboard, but one of the world's most powerful rockers. With a searing tone that is utterly infectious, Matsumoto has bridged the musical gap between East and West and proved that rock is truly a universal language. Now, Epiphone brings Tak's unique design and superior tone home with the one-of-a-kind Limited Edition Tak Matsumoto DC Standard Plus Top Cherry Outfit which embodies Tak's own asymmetrical take on the popular DC Standard Les Paul style with a carved Hard Maple cap with AAA Flame Maple Veneer and a stunning Black Cherry finish.
Check out the full article here: Introducing the Tak Matsumoto DC Standard Plus Top (Japan Only)
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