Sankei Sports reported that KEIKO’s (36) parents restaurant made it into the Tokyo compilation of the Michelin Guide 2009.  The guide recommends exceptional restaurants worldwide.

KEIKO is the vocalist of globe and the wife of mega music producer Tetsuya Komuro (49) who was arrested two weeks ago for tax fraud.

The article goes on to say that if the restaurant prospers, will it be able to pay off TK’s debt of Y500,000,000.

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Image courtesy of Sankei Sports

In a press release sent to the media, Tetsuya Komuro’s wife (and globe lead vocalist) KEIKO (36) made her first comments since her husband’s arrest and denying reports that she and Tetsuya were divorcing.

Even their management company has denied the divorce and KEIKO mentioned that she will support her husband through this tough time.  A public apology was issued to the personnel and the people that have been affected by this but wants the truth to come out.

Another anonmyous industry insider has reported that in March, to help alleviate the debt of TK, KEIKO went under the solo name as KCO.  Also, that a major label was planning to start a dance sub-label with TK but because of the arrest, the plan has now fallen through.

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With the arrest of super producer Tetsuya Komuro on Tuesday, a lot of people are wondering what about his wife KEIKO (also vocalist of the group globe).

Reports are coming out of Japan that cite one source saying that TK and KEIKO have been separated for several months and that this probably is what led to TK committing a major crime.  According to the source, KEIKO has been staying at her parents home and that the two were going to divorce.

As media went to KEIKO’s parent’s home and business, the business was closed.  The person who knows the family told media that KEIKO came from a very good family and her mother is a very hard working person but was unaware of TK’s arrest.  But was shocked about the news.

As for Marc Panther (a member of globe), media was unable to reach him since he is in another country at the moment.

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“globe’s third album ‘FACES PLACES’ continues the winning streak with a collection of chart topping hits from members: Komuro Tetsuya, KEIKO and Marc Panther”

BAND: globe

ALBUM: FACES PLACES

LABEL: avex trax

CATALOG #: AVCG-70002

DURATION: 1:12:26

RELEASE DATE: March 7, 2007

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. overdose
2. DEGENERATE
3. FACES PLACES
4. Is this love
5. So far away from home (Beautiful Journey)
6. a temporary girl
7. Because I LOVE the NIGHT
8. Anytime smokin’ cigarette
9. Watch the movie?
10. a picture on my mind
11. FACE
12. Can’t Stop Fallin’ in Love
13. can’t stop PIANO SOLO
14. FACES PLACES (REMIX)

It’s been a little more than a decade when “FACES PLACES”, the third album by globe was released.

Their last self-titled album “globe” raked in 4 million in sales and of course, during this time was the heyday of the TK family with globe, TRF, Amuro Namie, hitomi and a few others leading the charge by chart topping hit one after the other.

The album would feature their chart topping singles “Is this Love” (6th CD single), “Can’t Stop Fallin’ In Love” (7th CD single), “FACE” (8th CD single) and “FACES PLACES” (9th CD single).

As I replay the album again, I recall the TK-related albums beginning and sometimes ending with an instrumental by Komuro Tetsuya.

The second track “DEGENERATE” had that TRF and dance club feel. The song is an all English track featuring Marc Panther with supporting vocals by KEIKO.

The third track “FACES PLACES” is just an awesome song. I remember watching the music video for the first time and seeing that KEIKO dyed her hair blonde and here they were performing and going to foreign countries and the fans going crazy for them. Just an awesome globe song!

The fourth track “Is this love” was a track that I remember slipping right past me. I was purchasing all the CD singles but I remember watching it on “HEY! HEY! HEY! Music Champ” and being a college student at the time, not having the funds to purchase so many other CD singles but watching the music video of the group singing in the middle of a desert and the colors so vibrant, I somehow ended up getting the CD single albeit a little late. A very cool globe song that you just wanted to sing along with over and over.

The fifth track was a song that I played a lot in my car and it would bother friends riding because it was one of those tracks that was just fun and a bit dorky in a J-Pop sense.

The sixth track “a temporary girl” was an all KEIKO song. An ok track!

The seventh track “Because I LOVE the NIGHT” was a track that was another one of those fun globe songs where you just keep singing “Because I LOVE the NIGHT!” and a song that I can imagine people singing it loud during a concert performance.

The eighth track “Anytime smokin’ cigarette”… Wow! I just loved this song to death and played it over and over and over during my commute to college. The concert performance was just uber-cool and sure, it was a bit pro-smoking but just the concert performance and seeing KEIKO in a constant flow of cool vocals, Marc Panther chiming in and smoking his cigarette and TK just jamming. Awesome song!

The ninth track “Watch the movie?” was more of an instrumental song than vocal. You would have KEIKO humming and singing in the background it’s more of an instrumental song with TK showcasing his keyboards and electric guitar playing.

The tenth track “a picture on my mind” was a song that the music shows kept playing over and over on television in Japan when showcasing this album. A cool song and I dig the music!

The eleventh track “FACE” was a CD single a powerful globe track and I just remember wondering why they had two CD single tracks with the word “FACE” in it.

The twelve track “Can’t Stop Fallin’ in Love” was a song that received a lot of airplay. It was a cool track and made me wonder if KEIKO could sing this song perfectly during a live performance. The following track was a piano solo of that song.

The final track “FACES PLACES (REMIX)” is more of a forgettable mix, mainly an instrumental with Marc Panther rapping and a the vocals from KEIKO used at the end.

As for the CD insert booklet, the booklet featured the lyrics and photos of the group.

Even ten years later, I still feel that “FACES PLACES” by globe as one of the coolest albums as it was a big part of Japanese pop culture during the mid-90’s and was a product of the TK-family hype that dominated Japan.

A good number of hits featured on this album and fortunately, not remixed but the original tracks which was satisfying to know. (Note: Many TK produced albums at the time featured remix versions of the song, not the originals)

But all in all, an album that I can listen to with as much enjoyment that I had back then, still exhibit that same feeling today. “FACES PLACES” was definitely a cool album.

FACES PLACES

globe

ARTISTS: Various

ALBUM TITLE: avex dance matrix ‘95 Live

CATALOG #: AVCD-11357/B

DURATION: (DISC 1) DISCO WEEK in VELFARRE: 1:00:51 (DISC2) TK DANCE CAMP: 1:11:49

RELEASED on December 14, 1995

DISCO WEEK in VELFARRE

1. Samantha Gilles - Here Comes the Night
2. Maio & CO - Dark in the Night
3. METAL MIND MANIACS - F.A.Y.
4. Cappella - Move It Up
5. Youco Kaido - Every Wednesday
6. The Secret Life - I Want You
7. Nicki French - Total Eclipse of the Heart
8. Michael Fortunati - Bany Break It Up!
9. EUROGROOVE - Dive to PAradise
10. m.c.A*T - Kaze ni Sakebu - Energy Guy no Theme
11. Technotronic Feat. Ya Kid K - Move it to the Rhythm
12. Jaki Graham - Style
13. Bananarama - I Found Love
14. John Robinson - Everybody

TK DANCE CAMP

1. TRF - masquerade
2. TRF - survival dance~no no cry more~
3. hitomi - GO TO THE TOP
4. Amuro Namie with SUPER MONKEYS - TRY ME ~ Watashi wo Shinjite~
5. Amuro Namie - Taiyou no Season
6. Suirei - Koi wo surutabini kizu tsuki yasuku
7. globe - Joy to the love (globe)
8. Sakamoto Ryuichi - VOLTEX OF LOVE
9. TRF - CRAZY GONNA CRAZY
10. TRF - Overnight Sensation
11. H Jungle with T - GOING GOING HOME
12. H Jungle with T - WOW WOW WAR TONIGHT ~toki ni wa okose yo MUUVUMEN’TO~

In 1995, there were two live events which brought many artists together courtesy of the avex trax label. The first was “DISCO WEEK in VELFARRE” which was promoting the club music scene of the avex-owned dance night club (which shut down on New Year’s Day 2007) and the other was the outdoor concert “TK DANCE CAMP” (a pre-cursor to avex’s a-nation Summer live event) celebrating the emerging popularity of the TK family ala popular producer and musician Komuro Tetsuya.

The album “Avex Dance Matrix ‘95 Live” would feature a total of two discs and also two VHS releases.

The DISCO WEEK in VELFARRE would feature the type of groups that would perform at VELFARRE and some songs that would remind me of the early Juliana’s Tokyo years in the early 90’s with signficant songs such as METAL MIND MANIACS “F.A.Y.” (aka Fuck All Y’all) and Nicki French’s club revival with her classic hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. And of course, Technotronic feat. Ya Ki K with “Move It To the Rhythm”.

It was great to hear the crowd cheering the artist at VELFARRE and you can tell the club was full of energy. What is missing though on the CD is on the LaserDisc with the debut performance of MAX (Formerly the SUPER MONKEYS) and a cool performance by (the then spelled in lower case) trf. But they do have m.c.A*T’ featured and also a performance by TK’s EUROGROOVE group.

But for me, the disc that I have listened to and truly enjoyed was the “TK DANCE CAMP”. For me, avex trax in the mid-90’s was all about the emerging TK family.

During this time, TRF was the top group and establishing avex trax as a record label. Komuro Tetsuya then would produce the music for teen idol Amuro Namie which would dominate the charts and break records from 1995-1998. globe would be the group that would come out in the forefront and feature Komuro Tetsuya along with KEIKO and Marc Panther and hitomi would be the fashion model that Komuro Tetsuya was bringing to the masses as a singer. Of course, part of the TK mystique was taking someone who can’t sing but making them popular and through a dare, he did it with DOWNTOWN comedian (and “HEY! HEY! HEY! Music Champ host) Hamada Masatoshi (aka Hama-chan) which he took the comedian to the top of the charts with “WOW WOW WAR TONIGHT”.

But part of the mystique at that time was that mega-producer mystique of Komuro Tetsuya and what he had accomplished at that time before going to the next phase of the music industry in 1999 with the likes of pop stars such as Utada Hikaru and Hamasaki Ayumi.

But I still listen to this CD because you can hear the crowd as they were excited by these groups and artist. It was definitely a golden time for the J-Pop fan during that time and something I will never forget. One of the few live CD’s featuring various artists from the avex trax label and this album was worth owning for this disc alone.

The CD insert features track listings for both discs and pictures from the live performance.

“avex dance matrix ‘95 Live” is one of those live CD’s that I will probably treasure, mainly for the nostalgic factor of the mid-90’s. As a big trf fan back then, to see how the group exploded into popularity was phenomenal. To see how globe would then exploded into the music scene and dominate the charts and of course, Amuro Namie winning the hearts for her music and dance and hitomi winning the hearts of fans by her sexiness, it was a charming time.

But the best part of me was two tracks. When Amuro Namie and the Super Monkeys performed “TRY ME” and got the crowd going like crazy and the final track where H Jungle with T performed “WOW WAR TONIGHT” and everyone from the TK family would join on stage with the dancers and support Hama-chan as he was tired, sweaty and basically just screaming the lyrics and the other performers just singing and dancing along on stage with him. That was incredible.

Definitely a golden year for J-Pop if you were a TK fan.