Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra - World Famous (1991)

«“I'd make time for Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra anytime,” said no less an authority than the band's one-time producer, veteran reggae guitarist Dennis Bovell. Starting out in the late '80s as a ska revival group playing the streets and clubs of their hometown, the sharply suited Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra quickly became the flag-bearers for the Japanese ska scene. This movement gained popularity in the 1990s and included the arguably more “authentic” ska sounds of the Ska Flames and the Determinations from Osaka. Like those two acts, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra's sound is largely instrumental, with powerful, punchy arrangements that re-create the jump-up energy of Jamaican ska originals such as the Skatalites. It's a sound as vibrant as any modern-day ska – anywhere. Over the course of more than 1,000 live shows, the band has forged a live reputation that has seen it invited to perform at England's Glastonbury Festival and France's Eurockeennes. Redefining their sound over the course of more than ten albums (including the occasional European release), the deaths of two bandmembers, and the departure of their bandleader, Asa-Chang, the ten-man-strong Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra have also recorded with some of the biggest names in Japanese music.» (AMG)

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