■Koji Tamaki’s “origin” was in the 1970s in his hometown of Asahikawa City, Hokkaido, which was rich in nature and formed a safe zone.
The NHK Hokkaido special “Anzenjichi ZERO ~Miracle of Asahikawa~” will be broadcast nationwide on NHK General on December 20th.
The program was broadcast on NHK Hokkaido on November 15th. After receiving a lot of feedback, it was decided that it would be broadcast nationwide. Furthermore, it has been decided that it will be rebroadcast for the Hokkaido region.
■Program content
Koji Tamaki continues to have a unique presence in the Japanese music world. Since the 1980s, Anzen-Zen has been producing hits with urban melodies such as “Wine Red Kokoro,” but its origins can be traced to Asahikawa City, Hokkaido, where Anzen-Zen was formed in the 1970s. Ta.
“Make music in Asahikawa and attract people to Asahikawa” In my youth, I renovated a farm equipment shed and played music while living in a training camp, but I also struggled every day with crises such as illness and injury, and repeated member changes. be.
This time, we have conducted long interviews with Anzenzai members, former members, and related parties. Along with valuable footage and sound sources from his amateur days, we will remind you of Koji Tamaki, the “origins” of the safe zone, and the “passion” that Japan is forgetting today.
Live performance at Asahikawa City Public Hall
■Story
“Now that I think about it, it might have been the best thing. I didn’t want to go to Tokyo.”
In 1973, Koji Tamaki, Yutaka Takezawa, and three other junior high school classmates formed “Anzen Chiba”. After that, eight members, including current members Wataru Yahagi, Kaimasa Mutsudo, and Yuji Tanaka, as well as Takezawa’s older brother Toshiya, aimed to make their debut through repeated separations and reunions. Among them, what remains etched in their hearts is the “training camp life” that lasted for about four years. He renovated a farm equipment shed in Nagayama, a suburb of Asahikawa City, where the countryside spreads out, and spent all his time practicing there, sleeping and eating together.
“The person who influenced me the most is Takezawa’s older brother.”
“At that time, Tamaki was still young and his lyrics were still that of a child (lol).”
When Tamaki was a teenager, he would freely say that his biggest musical influence was former member Toshiya Takezawa, older brother of guitarist Yutaka Takezawa. He joined immediately after the group was formed, and was mainly responsible for writing the lyrics for Anzenjitsu. Together with composer Tamaki, he created many original songs and took on the challenge of popcon (a contest that was a gateway to success for newcomers at the time). At the time, the Anzen Zone was aiming for the ideal of “creating music in Asahikawa, performing in Asahikawa, and attracting people to Asahikawa.” Tamaki says, “It’s music made by guys who were born and raised in the same place, like an American rock band.” Tamaki and Toshiya deepen their trust as unique songwriting partners.
Former member Toshiya Takezawa
“I changed from “doing music in Hokkaido” to “succeeding in Tokyo.” I felt like if I didn’t succeed here, it wouldn’t mean anything.”
In such a safe zone, there is a great opportunity. At the time, Hoshikatsu, who was active as a producer for Yosui Inoue and Kei Ogura, visited the training camp. After that, they toured nationwide as Yosui’s backing band. However, Toshiya left the group just before that. There was a lot of pressure to write lyrics professionally.
The safe zone where she decided to continue without Toshiya came to an end in her training camp life. “Succeeding in Tokyo” has been replaced as the first goal. It also meant giving up on his commitment to “music made only by local friends.” Since then, Anzenjita has released many hit songs into the world, starting with “Wine Red Kokoro” with lyrics written by Yousui Inoue. Even if it doesn’t match the great ideals of the Asahikawa era.
Handwritten flyers from the time
Handwritten flyers from the time
■Highlights: First public release! More than 10 songs from the amateur era! Live footage too
This time, the program interviewed many people involved in Asahikawa City, and was able to borrow many valuable sound sources, live videos, photos, and flyers from his amateur days. In particular, unreleased songs such as “Mukashi ni Mita Mono”, which first appeared in the national popcon competition in 1976, and “Tell Me Love”, which he composed during his training camp, are songs that Anzenjichi has developed since his amateur days. It shows that he was making The program will not only feature live footage from the Asahikawa City Public Hall, but will also feature many songs from the time as BMG.
handmade tickets
■Highlights: “Love Me to My Bone,” “Gallo,” “Doobie Brothers”…Tracing the roots of the safe zone
This story begins in 1972, when Koji Tamaki and Yutaka Takezawa met in middle school. Tamaki and other members talk about the influence of a wide variety of music, both Western and Japanese, from pop songs that were popular at the time to folk and rock. In particular, the singing voice of Miyuki Nakajima, who competed at the Popcon Hokkaido Tournament in 1975, had a great impact.
■Highlight: “Gari version” caricatures made by the members. There is also a CG animation based on them.
At a time when there were no copy machines or computers, these flyers were made by the members themselves. The impressive caricatures inside have been turned into CG animations. Also pay attention to the mischievous characters that appear here and there in the program.
Portraits drawn by the members themselves
■Highlights: Koji Tamaki’s latest tour, his hometown performance in Asahikawa, and a message to young people who want to pursue music
Koji Tamaki’s tour has been going on since this summer. I took time out of my busy schedule to interview him for this program at the end of August, just as he was about to perform at his hometown Asahikawa Civic Cultural Center. Former members listening to Tamaki sing in Asahikawa. Now, I chased the thoughts that were intersecting again.
Furthermore, at the end of this interview, Tamaki looked back on his half-century and had a message for young people who aspire to be in contemporary music.
Program information
“Hokkaido Special “Safety Zone Zero ZERO ~Miracle of Asahikawa~””
◇NHK General/Nationwide
12/20 (Friday) 23:50-25:02
◇NHK General/Hokkaido
11/30 (Sat) 16:45-17:57 (rebroadcast)
*A one-week missed broadcast will be available on NHK Plus after the broadcast (can be viewed from all over the country)
Cast: Koji Tamaki, Yukihiro Takezawa, Kaimasa Mutsudo (Anzenjichi), Toshiya Takezawa, Kazuyoshi Tamaki, Takahiro Miyashita, Masahito Shindo (former member), Katsu Hoshi (music producer)
Program site
https://www.nhk.or.jp/hokkaido/lreport/articles/300/104/81/
Yuuki Takezawa
Initial producer Hoshikatsu
CG animation
CG animation
