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ICHIRO TANAKA
Perfect Stability
A veteran with a career of 45+years, he’s known the field of music production since record players had 78-rpm decks. The difference between a veteran and an expert is experience, and in order to gain experience, you have to survive for a long time.
According to Darwin and his Theory of Evolution, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” This observation perfectly fits this lover of new things. He’s also very active in introducing new systems, which doesn’t mean that he blindly believes in everything new. He always runs repeated comparisons between standard and innovative equipment, and arranges the system lineup accordingly. Victory and defeat are determined by a sense of balance, and this is exactly where his mind is while working: the old and the new, analog and digital, high and low ranges, voice and instruments...
For example, even club music intended to be played on large-caliber speakers won’t lack impact when experienced on a small-caliber home speaker as long as the balance is right. In dealing with rapidly changing times, balance is of utmost importance. “I’m not going to chase after the times, but if you don’t respond you get buried.” There are plenty of reasons why for a long time he worked exclusively on programming as an engineer at Victor.
ICHIRO TANAKAPROFILE
In his childhood he was raised in Nagano. FEN, which he listened to in that time, became the starting point for his today's music.A tape recorder bought for him in his grade school years was the impetus that brought him to his current situation.With no regard to his status as a veteran（a status which everyone will admit）, he never tears down his humble attitude, saying that he learns something new every day.In his off time, he volunteers with maintaining Mt. Sato. By clearing bamboo or removing beehives, he sheds sweat to reset his body and spirit, and that reset is the source of his wonderful music production power.Like the saying “Sickness can be healed, but idiosyncrasies can’t” suggests, his fascination with the new will never go away. The same is true for his love of music. He hopes that thanks to new playback methods like streaming services, Japan will be filled with more music in everyday life and society at large.