With Gear Talk, we learn about the gear and instruments of our favorite artists and experimentalists.
Born in Japan and now based in New York, multi-instrumentalist Takuya Nakamura pushes the boundaries of both live electronic music and DJ sets with his mix of live trumpet performance and varied selections. Jumping between drum and bass, classical, jazz, dub and techno, Nakamura has spent three decades existing at the intersections of electronic and instrumental sounds.
His latest work, an ongoing show with Brooklyn's Lot Radio, is a freewheeling exploration of the influences and results of Nakamura's career to date.
Kelly Doherty caught up with Nakamura to find out about his versatile set-up, from his beloved Teenage Engineering kit to his ubiquitous trumpet.
You studied jazz composition and performance during your master's degree, but when did you start to fall in love with electronic music?
Pretty much from the beginning. When I started playing music when I was young in the 80s I was listening to Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk and other synthetic music. It was a new thing and everyone started using it. I was into jazz, but in the jazz world people like Herbie Hancock and Paul Gray used the synthesizer.
In both your DJ sets and your live sets, you work with club-oriented music, but combine it with more organic live elements like trumpet. Why do you like this?
From a young age I played trumpet and piano and keyboard at the same time. I was never just a piano player – I always used some kind of keyboard. The keyboard isn't really organic because it's electric, but you have to play it by hand. Trumpet, I played on and off and got into it when I came to the States because I thought I could get gigs playing trumpet.
Then I started getting more trumpet gigs, so I kept doing that and mixing it up playing keyboards with all kinds of bands. One of my teachers at the New England Conservatory started using me, so I was playing all kinds of music, not just jazz but also Caribbean music.
After 1992, I was in Boston doing a show and I heard early jungle on a stereo and records at a party and I was shocked – I'd never heard it, but I really got into it. But I didn't know what it was, I just thought it was a really good reggae party. It was a different time.
I got into it because it had more complexity than other electronic music, it was more expressive I thought. In New York, one of my friends realized he could play jungle, so we started having a party. There were jazz kids who were looking for something more interesting and we all started playing together. First, I was a drummer playing completely live with a bunch of pedals, and then I started with just a DJ and myself – a mix of DJ and percussion and trumpet.
Could you talk me through your current setup?
The two [Teenage Engineering] The OP-1s act like turntables or sound machines so I can use a DJ mixer to mix it. There are four parts to music – it could have a looping, a bass, different levels so I can make a track. This is the main thing. I never play an audio file from start to finish. Sometimes I focus on the trumpet when I'm on stage. You know, I mix dub and techno and jungle and it really suits the trumpets. That's the main thing for when I'm DJing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bG8vDUPvxU
With solo stuff, it involves more bass and keyboards – whatever's available. But my main things are OP-1 and OP-Z. I use the OP-Z sequencer a lot, it gives a modern sound. I can use it for tight production and then the OP-1 is more like a 4-track tape tool.
It's hard with dance music because it's good to be simple. With jazz you can use more and be a bit more heady, but in dance music you want to keep people dancing and the trumpet is good for that – it's like an MC that gets people excited.
You are obviously devoted to Teenage Engineering products. When there are so many products on the market, what encourages you to stick with their gear?
It sounds very unique. You can do everything now with these items. I just got tired of switching models and was looking for something I could use a lot. In the 90s, we were making tracks and we couldn't do some of the things we can do now, but we still play 90s music sometimes. I don't feel like I need much other gear. I have a few things I like.
At the beginning of it all, I would have to squeeze every possible sound out of a synthesizer and that's what I've done since I was a kid because it was the only option. I practice piano and trumpet every day so I don't have time to always learn about new instruments. With OP-1 and OP-Z I'm still learning new things and it keeps me going. If I need different sounds, I might use another cable or a small Casio keyboard or the JX-3P. I was always changing my gear, but now I can do so much with the OP-1 and the trumpet.
How does your gear affect the songwriting process? Do you drive from your equipment or do you have a specific process?
The first thing is always to get inspiration to start making music. You're driving around and you hear something and you think, “Oh, that sounds good” while you're doing something like taking a walk. The sources of inspiration may be different, but then I'll go home and work on it.
I can't just stay in my room and try to find something. The human brain needs to move or something needs to activate it. The OP-1 is small so I can work on a track in a coffee shop or airplane or anywhere. I'm not going like we're going to do a 140 BPM track.
Takuya Nakamura's essential tool catalog
Synthesizer:
Nord Wave
Arturia Mini Brute
Roland JX-3P
Yamaha CS01
Teenage Engineering OP-1
Teenage Engineering OP-2
Trumpet Effect:
Boss SP-303
Boss PS-2 Digital Pitch Shifter
Catch Takuya Nakamura Lot Radio and learn more about his work here.