Tak Matsumoto News

Today it was made public that GLAY’s guitarist TAKURO is releasing his first solo instrumental album 「Journey without a map」. Tak Matsumoto, a long-time friend of TAKURO’s, has agreed to produce the record with him. “We both love music and guitars. I’m sure this record will have something that will make you feel something.”, says Tak. He further adds that he’s very delighted to be working together on a music project with a long-time friend.

TAKURO’s album is out on December 14th, with a Japan tour in support of the album scheduled for February 2017.

Tak Matsumoto News

Tak Matsumoto’s recent solo tour 「Tak Matsumoto Tour 2016 -The Voyage-」 is finally out on DVD and Blu-ray! To commemorate the release, Tak has as usual released a message for his fans. Check it out below.

Tak Matsumoto News

TV Asahi’s music program 「Music Station」 celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. On that occasion, a special edition of the show is being held on September 19th, dubbed 「Music Station Ultra Fes」. Tak Matsumoto is set to appear on the show and will possibly perform a rendition of 「#1090 ~Million Dreams~」, an updated version of the very same song, that has been used as the theme song for Music Station for years.

Tak will not be in the studio in Japan, but will be performing live from Los Angeles. Possibly because he is currently at work on the next B’z record.

Tak Matsumoto News

Tak Matsumoto’s latest live show 「Tak Matsumoto Tour 2016 -The Voyage-」 has finally been announced as a home video release! The release will feature the final show at the Nippon Budokan on DVD and Blu-ray, and will be out on 28th anniversary of the B’z debut: September 21st, 2016. Bonus content will feature two optional angles to the guitar spectacle for select songs:

1. Stage View: Stage view allows viewers to experience the whole atmosphere and stage scene while taking in the music.
2. Close-up View: Ever wanted to know how Tak plays his guitar? Well, now you can! Close-up view allows viewers to see Tak’s fretwork up close for the entire song.

[SET LIST]

01. Dream Drive
02. enigma (+ STAGE VIEW)
03. Vermillion Palace (+ CLOSE-UP VIEW)
04. Step to Heaven
05. Koi Uta
06. Hana (+ STAGE VIEW & CLOSE-UP VIEW)
07. Theme from Fist of the North Star ~The Road of Lords~ (+ STAGE VIEW & CLOSE-UP VIEW)

08. Theme from ULTRAMAN
09. THE THEME OF B.J. (+ STAGE VIEW)
10. THE WINGS (+ STAGE VIEW & CLOSE-UP VIEW)
11. 99
12. Wanna Go Home
13. Hopes
14. Under The Sun
15. Drifting (+ STAGE VIEW)

16. The Voyage (+ STAGE VIEW)
17. Mystic Journey
18. Ups and Downs (+ STAGE VIEW & CLOSE-UP VIEW)
19. enigma ~epilogue~ (+ STAGE VIEW)
20. RED SUN ~ SACRED FIELD (+ CLOSE-UP VIEW)
21. GO FURTHER (+ CLOSE-UP VIEW)
22. #1090 ~Million Dreams~ (+ CLOSE-UP VIEW)

Tak Matsumoto News

Gibson has announced that they are releasing a Tak Matsumoto custom 1959 Les Paul model based on the 1959 Les Paul #9-1156 owned by Tak himself. Gibson created a digital model of Tak’s guitar by using a 3D scanner, to then build it as one of their flagship models. Tak has used said guitar during his latest solo tour 「Tak Matsumoto Live 2016 -The Voyage-」 and is currently using it as his main guitar.

On BARKS, Matsumoto was quoted as saying “I bought the #9-1156 in 1993. A Japanese instrument dealer introduced me to it and I chose one model ordered from the U.S. Among the candidates there was also a cherry sunburst one, but I chose my current one based on its wood and color.” He continues: “I used it on the B’z album 「The 7th Blues」and my solo album 「Hana」, among others. I choose it during recording when I am working on a mellow part or need that vintage sound. I also used it to do the main part of 「Mystic Journey」, found on my lastest solo album 「enigma」. Furthermore, I played it live on stage in 1996 during my 「Rock’n Roll Standard Club」 tour.”

“I received a prototype during rehearsal for my tour, and the grade of perfection was so high, that made me realize one more time how great Gibson is. I use it during live performances as well as recording. It is currently my go-to guitar.”, says Matsumoto.

A Japan-exclusive limited run of 30 guitars will be hand-signed by Tak Matsumoto and cost you around $14,000. The regular guitar will cost you around $11,000. The guitar will be on sale from July 1st, 2016.

For pictures and more detailed information, check out Gibson Custom’s product page here.

Tak Matsumoto News

Tak Matsumoto’s tour 「Tak Matsumoto Tour 2016 -The Voyage-」 in support of his latest solo album 「enigma」 wrapped up this month with its tour finale at the Nippon Budokan. The tour finale was broadcasted live on the internet through the NTT DoCoMo owned streaming service dTV. While it wasn’t clear when exactly the show will be available in on-demand format, the service has announced yesterday that the show will be available for on-demand viewing from May 25th to August 24th.

Although the Japanese streaming service offers a 30-day trial, it does not accept foreign credit cards. Therefore, unlike Hulu Japan, it is not possible to sign up for an account.

Source: B’z Official Website