Isao Tomita

冨田勲　/　とみたいさお

Pioneer of electronic and synthesizer music in Japan

April 22, 1932 – May 5, 2016　・　Suginami, Tokyo, Japan

From Tokyo
Composer
Keyboardist
Film and TV score composer

My Take

I have a real soft spot for Isao Tomita, the kind of artist who makes me believe in quiet, obsessive genius. Picture a Keio-educated Tokyo guy, born back in 1932, hunched over one of those enormous early Moog modular synths and patiently rewiring Debussy's "Clair de Lune" into something that sounds like moonlight drifting through deep space. That 1974 album "Snowflakes Are Dancing" still gives me chills, because he wasn't just slapping bleeps on classical melodies, he was reimagining the whole color of the sound. He scored anime too, like the sweeping "Jungle Emperor" theme, then poured years into ambitious projects woven around "The Tale of Genji." No flashy ego, just a craftsman married to his machines. He passed in 2016, but those crystalline electronic tones feel timeless to me.

Overview

Isao Tomita (April 22, 1932 – May 5, 2016) was a Japanese composer born in Suginami, Tokyo, who became internationally recognized as a trailblazer of synthesizer and electronic music. A graduate of Keio University, he began his career writing orchestral film and television scores before turning to elaborate synthesizer arrangements that introduced Western classical works to a new sonic dimension. He is best known for his electronic rendition of Debussy's Clair de Lune, the grand orchestral fantasy Genji Monogatari Gensō Kōkyō Ezu, and the sweeping score for the anime Kimba the White Lion. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Fourth Class, with Small Ribbon.

1. Profile

Name (English): Isao Tomita
Name (Japanese): 冨田勲
Reading: とみたいさお
Born: April 22, 1932 – May 5, 2016
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Taurus / Monkey (申)
Origin: Suginami, Tokyo, Japan
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Active years: Unknown
Occupation: Composer / Keyboardist / Film and TV score composer / Recording artist / Arranger

2. Background

University: Keio University
Debut: Unknown

Awards & achievements

Order of the Rising Sun, Fourth Class, with Small Ribbon (year unknown)

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

5. Works & records

Category	Title	Role	Year
Representative work	Genji Monogatari Gensō Kōkyō Ezu	—	Unknown
Representative work	Clair de Lune	—	Unknown
Representative work	Symphonic Poem Kimba the White Lion	—	Unknown

6. Links

Official sitehttp://www.isaotomita.net/
Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%86%A8%E7%94%B0%E5%8B%B2