Something I’ve thought about for a while, a thought usually triggered by me switching on my gear when I sit down and start to write a track…

Music has come in many forms throughout the decades, changing and evolving more rapidly during the 20th century than ever before. Every decade had a distinct sound, even half decades have a distinct sound: early 90s vs late 90s for example, and some artists and musicians are credited for being a highly influential part of those changes, and so the countries that produced these iconic artists become recognised as being highly influential, perhaps even on a global scale. There’s no doubting the influence that the USA and the UK has had on music over the years, particularly in pop and rock music, but I feel that there are other important people (and countries) behind those long lived genres, musical icons and iconic pieces of music.

To cut to the chase:

80s pop without the Yamaha DX7?

90s Hip Hop without the Akai MPC?

90s Turntablism without the Technics 1210?

90s UK jungle without the Akai S series samplers?

90s House without the Akai S series samplers?

Early grime/dubstep without the Sony Playstation?

And I’m sure there are many others to consider…

All of these genres that went on to grow and form new genres and influence music around the globe are kind of indebted to entrepreneurial businesses and creative and imaginative inventors, often from one country in particular, Japan.

I think it’s worth remembering, and for me it kind of brings the world together in a way, makes globalisation seem like it’s not such a bad thing as it has led to so much creativity. People might think that it’s the musicians and producers doing all the creative stuff, but the creativity starts during the design of the instruments that they choose to use. 

Vive le Japon!