New music release
Japanese Band Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra Releases Greatest Hits Album
Celebrating the 35th anniversary of their 1989 debut, legendary Japanese band Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra recently released their greatest hits album, titled ‘NO BORDER HITS 2025→2001 ~The Best of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra~’.
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, a ska band from Japan, has blended a base of Jamaican ska music with other genres via their unique filter, resulting in an original style they call “Tokyo ska”.
The album centers around songs featuring guest vocalists, including the band’s latest collaboration ‘Tell Me, Ouroboros (feat. Asako Miyazaki (SHISHAMO))’.
And the ‘NO BORDER’ trilogy of songs that echo the band’s boundary-hopping philosophy: ‘Ichinichi Hana feat. imase & Narashino High School Brass Band’, ‘Vague Me of Summer Days (feat. SUPER EIGHT)’ and ‘Like Flowers Fall (feat. Masaki Suda)’.
The album also revisits the trilogy of songs that shook up the Japanese music scene in 2001 and 2002: ‘Mekureta Orange” (feat. Takao Tajima)’, ‘Canary In The Sky (feat. Yusuke Chiba)’ and ‘Forest Burning Beautifully (feat. Tamio Okuda)’.
A total of 51 songs were selected by Skapara drummer Kin-ichi Motegi for the 3-CD set, and just like the album’s title ‘NO BORDER HITS 2025→2001’, the lineup of songs perfectly reflects the band’s core theme of “no borders”.
The album begins with the song ‘Paradise Has No Border feat. NO BORDER ALL STARS’. This is a rerecording of Skapara’s signature song ‘Paradise Has No Border’ featuring 10 wind instrument performers.
These NO BORDER ALL STARS were assembled from past collaborators and celebrity friends of the band who play wind instruments, including the world-renowned actor Ken Watanabe – making his first appearance with Skapara.
Watanabe lends not only his trumpet skills but also his voice to the track.
The 3-CD set concludes with Skapara’s latest song, ‘Haven’t given up yet, have you?’.
Musicians include:
Trumpet: Ken Iikawa (HEY-SMITH), You Yokoyama (SUPER EIGHT)
Trombone: Haruko Nagaya (Ryokuoushoku Shakai), Kenta Hamano (Zainichi Funk)
Tuba: Shinya Ishihara (Saucy Dog)
Alto sax: Tamio Okuda
Tenor sax: Mitsuru (HEY-SMITH), Takao Tajima
Bass sax: Sakana-kun
Trumpet & voice: Ken Watanabe
The band made their debut in 1989 with their self-titled album ‘Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra’, known to fans as the “Yellow Album”. After various lineup changes, the band currently consists of nine members.
In October 2019, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra received the Best Performance Award in the Alternative category at Mexico’s largest music awards, Las Lunas del Auditorio, in recognition of their live performances that have thrilled audiences in Mexico over many years.
Now celebrating the 35th anniversary of their debut, the band has entered a new phase as they continue to embody the theme of “no borders”, expanding their Tokyo Ska utopia from the forefront of the music scene.
Visit their official website here.
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