INOYAMALAND & Manami Sakamoto^JP

INOYAMALAND

Inoyamaland (Makoto Inoue and Yasushi Yamashita) is a synth duo from Japan, musical forms have been categorized as ambient, electronic, environmental etc.

Formed in the ‘80s as a side project from Hikashu members Makoto Inoue and Yasushi Yamashita. They began sessions and producing theatrical pieces in parallel with Hikashu’s band activities. In order to distinguish the unit name from Hikashu, they started to use a new name, Inoyamaland ( the fictional land “Ino-yama” , combined their family names ).

Their work drew attention of Haruomi Hosono, produced their debut album under the title of “Danzindan-Pojidon” at his Yen label in 1983. In the late ‘80s, the duo became involved in environmental music business, working with Sound Process Design ( an acoustic consulting company formed by Munetaka Tanaka with Satoshi Ashikawa, before Ashikawa’s tragic death in 1983). They worked directly with figures like Hiroshi Yoshimura and Takashi Sekiguchi (Bamboo from Asia), some works were released from SPD’s house label Crescent. In 1998, they met Kazunao Nagata, who then presided over Transonic Records, and some sources of the duo, which had not been released until then, were made into cd one after another. Nagata’s present label, ExT Recordings also has several Inoyamaland titles including “Danzindan-Pojidon (new master edition) “. “SWIVA” (ExT 2020 September) is their latest album.

Their works has been now released from foreign labels ; “Commissions” / Empire of Signs in America, produced by Spencer Doran ( Visible Cloaks), “Danzindan-Pojidon” / WRWTFWW in Switzerland, and “Fuku-Ura” / Longform Editions in Australia.

The duo had been away from the venues for long time though, as they gain international attention, they are back on stage and continue to perform to this day.

Manami Sakamoto

Manami started her VJ career in 2010. While she was performing at major Tokyo nightclubs such as WOMB, ageHa and VENT, she also showcased her work at large-scale music festivals including MUTEK.JP, ULTRA Japan, Summer Sonic and Rock in Japan. Based on motion graphics and VFX, Manami provides visuals for various stages, such as fashion shows or concerts. She is highly reputed for her well-designed visual content as a VJ. Manami continues to expand her career overseas, and has received offers from New York, Berlin, London Singapore, China and Korea.