Meet Japan’s Newest Loop Star: Tako
For the new Japanese Loopstation champion, dexterity is everything. “I have two sides: the aggressive hip hop/rap side and the chill atmospheric vibe. I want to grow both of them.”
When my younger brother first red pilled me on beatboxing, he was smart. He started with loopstation videos. The depth and melodic elements of loopstation performances are much more easily accessible, and they became my entry point. Years later, I have a love and appreciation for solo beatbox, but loops are still my favorite.
With my beatbox newsletter, I know that at times, my tastes will often drive the content around here. The people and music that I find interesting will likely find their way into your inboxes more often than those I don’t connect with. But if something is important, I will write, even if it’s not my thing.
Today, however, I get to tackle something that is both important and interesting to me: Beatboxing in Japan. With the Grand Beatbox Battle 2023 in Tokyo, all eyes are on the country, and there is a lot of investment in communal infrastructure there. What’s more, the beatboxers are stepping up their game, putting out unique and inventive compositions that catch my attention.
So today I’m bringing you an interview with Ryo Takahashi, aka Tako, the 2022 Japanese Loopstation Champion. The 20 year old looper has impeccable English, which he learned over nine years living in the US, and has made a name for himself by performing all sorts of musical genres. That fluidity is one of the draws to beatbox, where the only limit to creativity is your imagination. Since it’s all coming from the mouth, it’s not like instrumentation is ever going to be spot-on, so why not try it all?
The loop champ joined me over Zoom from his home in Kyoto to discuss the burgeoning Japanese scene, the tiring ubiquity of EDM drops in loopstation competitions, and his musical influences, both in and out of the beatbox scene.
Tako: My name is Ryo Takahashi. I am 20 years old and I currently live in Kyoto, Japan. I'm currently in college right now, and wondering what I want to do in the future. I am studying international relations.
I've been beatboxing for about six years. I started when I was in seventh grade or something. I started as a solo beat boxer, but I haven't really gotten into the community as a solo beatboxer. I started going into battles as a looper. So that's the music experience that I've done—except I played the flute in band.
Tani: Why do you perform as Tako?
Tako: It comes from my last name Takahashi. People call me Yo, like, Y-O because the R in my first name is kind of silent. Then out of nowhere, a friend called me yo-tako. And that's when I was thinking of a stage name. I'm very bad at making names, so I just went with it.
Tani: And what's the image on your Instagram? Is it a squid?
Tako: Taco is a food that you know, but it's also octopus in Japanese. So, there's this one friend of mine that made this octopus illustration for my social media.
Tani: What pushed you to pick up a loop station?
Tako: My interest in loops started when I saw Grand Beatbox Battle videos. I started watching GBB from start to finish in 2017—like Saro—and I was blown away by battles like Thorson vs Penkyx. And when I saw BreZ vs NME, I was so inspired by BreZ. That's when I bought the loopstation.
Tani: What's this past year been like for you? You kind of came out of nowhere, but you just said it's been a years long process.
Tako: It hasn't been a long time since I've actually been in the community, two years. The second year is really when I started to take off with 5v5 [Beatbox League’s team looping competition]. I was on Team Antrix.
My 2022 Japanese championship run—when I won—that's when people started to take notice of what I'm doing. It's just been crazy to see how everyone that I've been looking up to is excited to know who I am and what I do.
Tani: BreZ talked in his reaction to your Japanese Championship videos that from round to round, and from track to track, you're really spanning genres. Why are you so comfortable moving across tempo, drum patterns, drum kits, you're doing all these things. What inspired you to do that?
Tako: I'm not satisfied with my performances. Always. Looking back at myself, I think of ways I could do better. That builds with every competition that I get into, and I don't want to be doing the same thing over and over again.
I don't want people to get bored, expect what I'm going to do. I think that's a problem that I see among loopers these days, because everyone's trying to make the craziest electronic drop. I wanted to shift away from that and be different.
I'm really into rap, hip hop and vibey, atmospheric, chill music. So I have two sides of me, and that's two sides I want to grow. For battles I want to grow this aggressive hip hop/rap side, and for showcases I go for a chill atmospheric vibe.
Tani: Which musical artists that aren't beatboxers are you listening to? Does that help with your genre flexibility?
Tako: I'm listening to an album that's been released by Quadeca. He's a YouTube rapper who made a diss track on KSI. But his recent album, “I Didn't Mean to Haunt You,” is the craziest thing I have ever heard. It's experimental, haunting music with hip hop elements to it, but it’s also very vibey, atmospheric. That's like one of my inspirations right now.
When I take inspiration from different artists I actually focus on flow. The way you kind of say words in any music is kind of underappreciated, and a lot of people I think are not focusing on flow.
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Tani: You’re now known across the world, so what’s next for you?
Tako: Since I am the Japanese Champ, I'm qualified for Worlds in Berlin. I might attend if I have the money. But also the Japanese scene hasn't been appreciating loops that much, but they finally added a loop category for the Japan Cup. And the cash prize for each category is about $7,000. It's crazy.
Tani: Who are your friends in the Japanese loop scene?
Tako: The one I'm closest to is Rusy, and Gutti and Yamasou, but the Japanese scene is very close, everyone's very nice to each other.
Because of people like Rofu and Sarukani Japan has been popping off. I think that's the main reason why GBB is hosted in Japan this year. The demand for beatboxing has been growing exponentially, but I feel like loops are still kind of neglected, and people are mostly into solo beatboxing. I'm really excited for what loopstation in Japan has to offer this year because of how we've been neglected for so long.
Mark, the main organizer for Japanese Loopstation Champs, and JLC and [the rest of us], we're trying our best to get our names out there. We've been supporting each other for a long time, so the connection is there.
Tani: For sure. When SORRY won tag-team loops at GBB2021, that was the first time anybody from Japan had won at GBB or had won at one of these, you know, top two World Champs type events. You know, what, what was that like for you and your peers to see that happen?
Tako: We were sure that Sorry was gonna win. So it was like, “Oh, damn, they actually won,” which was crazy. But especially the first [international] champions from Japan is a big thing. And It motivated me and everyone in the scene. I'm really proud of Rusy. He is idolized by a lot of people.
Tani: And now, with the GBB coming to Tokyo, what's the chatter like?
Tako: The Japanese community is heavily based around Twitter, and a lot of people were tweeting how they are unsure about how they feel about GBB in Japan. It's going to be full of Japanese people, and they were worried that the crowd wouldn't be hyped up as much as previous years.
People were saying you wouldn't be able to see beatboxers hanging out, like jams and stuff. That's a big part of GBB, beatboxers sharing their ideas and skills.People are worried that that's not going to happen, but I'm not sure. I think it's gonna go great.
Tani: Who are some loopers who you're really excited to meet in person?
Tako: BreZ is my idol, so I'm really excited to meet BreZ. Frosty has been really involved with the Japanese community. He's in most of the Discord calls and he said, that the Japanese community is special because everyone's like, so supportive of each other. I've been talking to him and yeah, I'm really excited to see Frosty too. He's also one of my big inspirations.
Tani: Last but not least, what’s your favorite round you’ve ever made?
Tako: My first round in the semis in Japanese champs, I think it's like a very vibey kind of routine, and my Beatbox League shoutout is pretty good. And also it's like one of the atmospheric rounds.
Recent Event Roundup
This week we’ve got a unique roundup. Jongho Lee ,aka Sonus, the new Korean vice-champion, drops in with some thoughts about his first live-event in Korea, and what it was like joining the beatbox community during Covid.
The 2022 Korean Beatbox Champs were held in Studio Carré in Seoul, a new venue for the competition. For many of the competitors, it was their first time on stage, and the results were quite impressive. Korea Beatbox TV, the hosting organization, has been known for high-production value both in-person and on their YouTube page, and the 2022 champs were no different. I’'ll let Sonus take it now.
I started the journey 2020 online when COVID hit, so there weren't really any events going on in real life. So the 2022 Korea Beatbox Championship was my first live event in South Korea. Not only was this an event to showcase my skills, but it was also a place where I get to hang out chill and engage in with fellow beatboxers who share the same passion.
When I spoke to judges like Hiss, Two.H H-Has, I was really surprised to know that they knew me. These judges inspired me to beatbox and are the backbones of South Korean beatbox community. The fact that they said my beatbox also inspires them made me super happy. Because I was the one who was watching their YouTube videos in my room, just like trying to copy them, and trying to someday be like them.
So we went to a venue where it's not normally a stage, it's a place where K-Pop stars shoot music videos, so the [in-person] audio wasn't as good as I expected. But the post production was really good, as you can see. And fortunately my sounds all came through.
Every Korean beatboxer was really strong. Their styles weren't really developed to their fullest, but their basics and their tech was impeccable to me, at least for the stage. And the fact that they all wanted to battle, I could like see on their stage that they really wanted to win. And I could see their zeal. And that's what really inspired me again after the KBC.
I also got to see people that loved my art form. I always think that it's such a blessing, and we should not take it for granted, that there are people who love the innate sounds that come out of our mouth. And to see them reciprocate their energy back to me in real life was amazing. This is a this is an experience that like cherish for the rest of my life.SpeshFX is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Upcoming Calendar: Events
- JPN CUP ALL STAR BEATBOX FESTIVAL. Yokohama, Japan. January 28
- Indonesian Beatbox Party: Tangerang, Indonesia. February 3-4.
- Beatcity Japan. Tokyo, Japan. February 25.
- Loop Mayhem. Kassel, Germany. February 25.
- Canadian Beatbox Championship. Toronto, Canada. March 11.
- Crossroads Beatbox Battle: Kansas City, USA. March 17-19.
- Florida Beatbox Festival: Agen, France. March 31 - April 1.
- Circlejam Beatbox Festival: Klagenfurt, Austria. June 9-10.
- Beatbox Battle World Championship: Berlin, Germany. August 2-6.
- Beatland in-person final: Bali, Indonesia. August 25.
- Grand Beatbox Battle: Tokyo, Japan. October 18-21.
Upcoming Calendar: Wild Cards
- Oceana Beatbox Championship: Open until January 25.
- Beatbox Battle Junior Championship Series: Open until January 31.
- GBB Solo and Loop 1st Round, U18: Open until February 4th.
- GBB Tag-Team, Producer Showcase: Open until February 11th.
- Loop Insider Showcase Battle: Open until February 28.
- Beatland: Open until March 31.
If I missed any upcoming events or Wild Cards, hit me up on Instagram, I’m @HateItOrLevitt or @SpeshFX.
