is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the disco Velfarre located in

Roppongi is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous for the affluent Roppongi Hills development area and popular night club scene. A few foreign embassies are located near Roppongi, and the night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike. It ...

, Tokyo. In the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike i ...

singles chart of April 1996, he monopolized all the top 5 positions as the songwriter and producer, a world record. In 1995, he monopolized all top 3 positions of the copyright distribution rankings for the JASRAC Award, a record in Japan's music history. At his peak as a record producer the artists he predominantly produced for came to be known as TK Family and at one time included

Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of ...

hitomi Hitomi may refer to:. People * Hitomi (given name), a feminine Japanese given name * Hitomi (voice actress) (born 1967), Japanese voice actress * Hitomi (singer) (born 1976, as Hitomi Furuya), Japanese singer and songwriter * Hitomi Nabatame (b ...

, TRF, Tomomi Kahara and

Ami Suzuki is a Japanese recording artist, DJ, and actress from Zama, Kanagawa, Japan. Having been discovered at the talent TV show ''Asayan'', she was one of the most popular female teen Japanese idol, idols in the late 1990s. However, in 2000, Suzuki fac ...

amongst others. As of 2008, records produced by him had sold more than 170 million copies, primarily in Japan. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 42 million copies, making him the fourth best-selling lyricist in Japan.

Life and career

1979–1994: Early career and TM Network

His career started as a keyboardist for Speedway in 1979. In 1984, he created the

TM Network TM Network is a Japanese rock/new wave/pop musical band, made up by Tetsuya Komuro (keyboardist), Takashi Utsunomiya (vocalist) and Naoto Kine (guitarist). They became popular in Japan as the "futuristic pop songs with synthesizer" after the r ...

with Takashi Utsunomiya and Naoto Kine. A year later, in 1985, his first solo work was the soundtrack ''

Vampire Hunter D is a series of novels written by Japanese author Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano since 1983. As of April 2022, 40 novels have been published in the main series, with some novels comprising as many as four volumes. They ha ...

'' for the anime movie ''

'', and his band, TM Network, did the

closing credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...

song "Your Song". He subsequently composed other soundtracks such as '' Heaven and Earth'' and ''Seven Days War''. As a solo singer, Komuro released singles "Running to Horizon" and "Gravity of Love" in 1989. "Running to Horizon" topped the Oricon charts. "Gravity of Love" also topped the Oricon charts, beating out

Seiko Matsuda , known professionally as , is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter, known for being one of the most popular Japanese idols of the 1980s. Since then, she is still actively releasing new singles and albums, doing annual summer concert tours, win ...

's "Precious Heart". In 1989 and 1990, Komuro collaborated with

Warren Cuccurullo Warren Bruce Cuccurullo (born December 8, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, restaurant owner and former body builder who first worked with Frank Zappa during the 1970s. He was also a founding member of Missing Persons in the 1980s ...

. As a composer and producer, Komuro wrote a song "My Revolution" for Misato Watanabe. The song received the Golden Award at 28th Japan Record Awards in 1986. TM Network released single "The Point of Lovers' Night" on July 7, 1990. The single also topped the Oricon weekly charts, beating out

Wink A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. A wink is an informal mode of non-verbal communication usually signaling shared hidden knowledge or intent. However, it is ambiguous by itself and highly dependent upon additional c ...

's single " Yoru ni Hagurete (Where Were You Last Night)". TM Network changed its name to TMN in 1990. In 1991, he collaborated with

X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...

drummer and pianist Yoshiki as V2. TMN disbanded in 1994.

1994–1997: Success as a record producer

By the early 1990s, Komuro was spending much of his time writing songs for and producing many other musicians and bands. He was also an early pioneer of

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...

in Japan, and came to stardom in the 1990s as producer with a long string of hits with artists such as TRF (TK Rave Factory),

Tomomi Kahala born on August 17, 1974 in Tokyo), is a Japanese pop singer. She is famous for working with Tetsuya Komuro who gave her much success in the 1990s, which led to her deep dip in popularity after 1999, the year in which she released her first n ...

, Ryoko Shinohara and H Jungle with t. In 1994, he composed the musical score to the Japanese anime film '' Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie'', based on the

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', '' Monster Hunter'', '' Street Fighter'', ''Mega Man'', ''De ...

video game.

Ryōko Shinohara is a Japanese singer and actress. As a singer, she is best known for the 1994 song " Itoshisa to Setsunasa to Kokoro Zuyosa to" with producer Tetsuya Komuro, which charted at number one and made her the first female artist in Japan to record a d ...

recorded the theme song of the anime film, " Itoshisa to Setsunasa to Kokoro Zuyosa to", with Tetsuya Komuro. The single of the theme song was released on July 21, 1994, and sold over two million copies on Oricon charts. This score was removed from the US release of the film. He was mainly helped in this task by the mix engineers Pete Hammond and

Dave Ford David Alan Ford (born December 29, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Ford attended Lincoln-West High School, and after graduating in 1975, was selected with the 23rd pick by the ...

. Both were working for

PWL Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE) is the production company one-time pop and dance record label owned by British pop mogul Pete Waterman. The label, originally PWL (Pete Waterman Limited), is most famous for being the home of hit record prod ...

, which was the home of the British producing team

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considere ...

. Not only that, "TK" is also credited for the rise to fame of

Daisuke Asakura is a Japanese musician, songwriter and producer who is known for his compositional work and skill at the keyboards. Early life and career Asakura's childhood consisted of piano and electronic organ lessons, though he was expected to follow the ...

, a popular Japanese composer, keyboardist and music producer who began his major musical career as a backup keyboardist for

. Asakura is reported to view Komuro as his "Sensei" or "Teacher". In 1997, he started his overseas career with the remix of the theme music for the soundtrack to the 1997 American film '' Speed 2: Cruise Control'', which Japanese MMA fighter

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and English pro wrestler

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later adopted as their entrance music.

1998–2007: Following career

Tetsuya Komuro and Keizo Obuchi 19991020

Komuro also released albums as a solo singer or musician and was involved in the bands

Globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...

, Kiss Destination and Gaball. On December 31, 1998, his band Globe's song "Wanna Be A Dreammaker" received the grand prix award at the 40th edition of

Japan Record Award is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Until 2005, the show aired on New Year's Eve, but has since aired every December 30 on TBS Japan at 6:30 P.M JST a ...

. In 1999, Komuro, Utsunomiya and Kine reunited under their old name of TM Network, and remain active to this day. Komuro worked in collaboration with French keyboardist Jean Michel Jarre from 1998 to 2001. The duet wrote the theme song for the 1998

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

, " Together Now", as well as several other tracks and remixes. He and Jarre also performed a concert on beaches in Okinawa on January 1, 2001.

2008: Fraud

On November 4, 2008, Komuro was arrested and charged with fraud, for taking ¥500,000,000 in exchange for a promise to sell to a Hyōgo-based investor the copyright to his songs, which he had already sold to somebody else (which was

Avex Group is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

Holdings according to reports). Reportedly, he planned to use the money to pay a portion of his ex-wife's alimony. He admitted the fraud at his trial in January 2009. In March 2009, Masato Matsuura, president of the

Holdings, recovered the losses for the plaintiff, paid him extra ¥100 million in compensation and a further ¥48 million in delay damages. Matsuura also stated that Komuro will work at Avex in a company position directly under his control. On May 11, 2009, Komuro received a suspended three-year prison sentence. According to the sentencing judge, Komuro's acceptance of responsibility and the fact that restitution had been made greatly influenced the final sentence, and further went on to state that no good to society would come from Komuro's imprisonment.

2009–2020: Comeback

At the

Holdings' concert tour a-nation 2009, Komuro made a surprise appearance on August 22, 2009. He played a medley of his hit songs at the piano and later reunited on stage with his fellow members of the J-pop group globe,

Marc Panther A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe of ...

and his wife Keiko Yamada. Komuro composed AAA's double A-side single " Aitai Riyū/Dream After Dream (Yume Kara Sameta Yume)". The single was released on May 5, 2010. He composed almost all the songs on ''

Love Songs A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order ...

'', the 2010 album of Japanese pop-star

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevanc ...

. He also composed the 2013 single "Feel The Love" by

. In January 2018, Komuro announced his retirement from the music industry, following revelations of an

affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of ...

he had with a nurse who had been taking care of his wife Keiko after her brain surgery. In July 2020, Komuro once again returned to the industry producing singles for

Nogizaka46 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46 (formerly Keyakizaka46), Yoshimotozaka46, a ...

. in February 2021, it was reported that Keiko's divorce had been finalized.

Discography

;Studio albums * ''Digitalian is Eating Breakfast'' (December 9, 1989) * ''Psychic Entertainment Sound'' (with Mr. Maric, September 21, 1990) * ''Hit Factory'' (October 21, 1992) * ''Piano Voice: TK Piano Works'' (March 19, 2003) * ''Far Eastern Wind – Winter'' (February 13, 2008) * ''Far Eastern Wind – Spring'' (March 5, 2008) * ''Far Eastern Wind – Summer'' (July 23, 2008) * ''Far Eastern Wind – Autumn'' (September 10, 2008) * ''Digitalian is Eating Breakfast 2'' (May 4, 2011) * ''Digitalian is Eating Breakfast 3'' (March 6, 2013) * ''EDM Tokyo'' (April 2, 2014) * ''Jobs #1'' (March 15, 2017) * ''Jazzy Token'' (July 22, 2022) ;Live albums * ''Tetsuya Komuro Jungle Massive'' (July 19, 1995) * ''TK-Trap'' (May 22, 1996) * ''Synthesized Trance Vol. 1'' (November 20, 2002) * ''Synthesized Trance Vol. 2'' (February 26, 2003) ;Compilation albums * ''Saga: Tetsuya Komuro Classic Selection'' (December 2, 1992) * ''TK Million Works'' (November 16, 1996) * ''Arigato 30 Million Copies: Best of TK Works'' (March 23, 2000) * ''TK Works Super Tune: Best Selections'' (March 19, 2003) * ''Piano Globe: Globe Piano Collection'' (March 19, 2003) * ''Piano Wind: TK Ambient Selection'' (March 19, 2003) * ''The Greatest Hits: S'' (February 22, 2006) * ''The Greatest Hits: A'' (February 22, 2006) * ''TK Instrumental Works Selection 1986–2003'' (February 22, 2006) * ''Komuro Tetsuya Meets Vocaloid'' (March 28, 2012) ;Remix albums * ''Blue Fantasy – Love & Chill Out With Trance Remixes'' (June 21, 2002) * ''Cream of J-Pop'' (July 4, 2007) * ''Digitalian is Remixing'' (March 21, 2012) * ''DEBF EDM 2013 Summer'' (September 25, 2013) ;Soundtracks * ''

'' (December 21, 1985) * ''Seven Days' War'' (August 5, 1988) * '' Heaven and Earth'' (June 1, 1990) * ''Mademoiselle Mozart'' (December 26, 1991) * ''Hatachi no Yakusoku'' (November 27, 1992) * '' Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie'' (November 21, 1994) * ''Hitori ni Shinaide'' (September 10, 1995) * ''Private Actress'' (November 18, 1998) * ''Baober in Love'' (March 2, 2004) * '' Zoids: Fuzors'' (January 19, 2005) * '' Punchline'' (2015) * ''Sunny: Tsuyoi Kimochi Tsuyoi Ai'' (August 29, 2018) ;Box sets * ''TK 1998'' (November 26, 1998) * ''TK Box: Tetsuya Komuro Hit History'' (May 31, 2011) * ''Far Eastern Wind -Complete-'' (March 28, 2012) * '' Tetsuya Komuro Archives'' (June 27, 2018) * ''Tetsuya Komuro Archives Professional Products'' (March 27, 2019) ;Singles * "Running to Horizon" (October 28, 1989) * "Gravity of Love" (November 17, 1989) * "Christmas Chorus" (December 1, 1989) * "Heaven and Earth" (April 21, 1990) * "Eien to Nazukete Daydream" (December 12, 1991) * "Haitoku no Hitomi ~Eyes of Venus~" (as V2, January 19, 1992) * "Magic" (October 1, 1992) * "Pure (Hyper Mix)" (November 27, 1992) * "Silent Lover" (with

C+C Music Factory C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C" ...

, April 21, 1995) * "Speed TK Re-Mix" (July 9, 1997) * "Call Me Anytime" (with Y.U.M, September 20, 2000) * "Blue Fantasy – Love & Chill Out" (October 24, 2001) * "Speed TK Re-Mix: Hono no Koma" (October 24, 2001) * "Embryo" (with Lifecell, 2003) * "Someday MF Remix" (January 5, 2006) * "If You Like It or Not" (February 5, 2006) * "@Buddha Bar" (March 7, 2006) * "Someday 2006" (April 22, 2006) * "Arashiyama" (August 8, 2006) * "I Want You Back (MF247 Remix)" (October 4, 2006) * "Angelina (MF Prepromix)" (December 9, 2006) * "Guts Daze!! (DJ TK Mix)" (April 1, 2007) * "Now 1" (January 30, 2013) * "Nijūniseiki e no Kakehashi" (with Kenichi Maeyamada, December 4, 2013) * "Freedom (Remode)/Love Again (Remode)" (July 8, 2015) * "#Run" (feat.

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, December 23, 2015) * "Have Dreams!" (with Tsunku feat.

May J. , better known by her stage name May J., is a Japanese pop music, pop and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer who made her major label debut under Sony Music Japan on July 12, 2006, with her first mini-album ''All My Girls''. She was born to an Iranian m ...

, April 13, 2016) * "A New Lease on Life" (May 9, 2016) * "Blue Ocean" (June 15, 2016) * "Get Wild 2017 TK Remix" (March 8, 2017) * "Guardian" (feat. Beverly, June 6, 2018) * "Running to Horizon (206 Mix)" (April 28, 2021) * "Trust On Me -Theme of E.T.E-" (feat.

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, October 16, 2022)

References

External links

*
Tetsuya Komuro Infosite

Tetsuya Komuro anime
at Media Arts Database
Tetsuya Komuro
at Oricon {{DEFAULTSORT:Komuro, Tetsuya 1958 births Anime composers Avex Group artists Electronic composers Globe (band) members Japanese composers Japanese fraudsters Japanese guitarists Japanese film score composers Japanese keyboardists Japanese male composers Japanese male film score composers Japanese male singer-songwriters Japanese singer-songwriters Japanese record producers Japanese techno musicians Living people People from Fuchū, Tokyo Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists