"Tonovan: Musician Kazuhiko Kato and His Era" Director Hiromi Aihara: What her experience in the music industry brings to the film [Director's Interview Vol. 407]

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2024.05.29Fumio Koda

In 1975, a Japanese band appeared on the legendary music program "The Old Grey Whistle Test" on the British BBC2. The band's name was " Sadistic Mika Band ." The members were Mika on vocals, Masayoshi Takanaka on lead guitar, Tsugutoshi Goto on bass, Yutaka Imai on keyboards, Yukihiro Takahashi on drums, and leader and guitarist Kazuhiko Kato, a lineup so impressive it's hard to imagine today. When you watch the videos on YouTube and social media, you're amazed at the sophisticated performance that seems impossible from about 50 years ago. You'll also be mesmerized by the amazing performance of the band's members.

Kazuhiko Kato, aka "Tonovan," who led the Sadistic Mika Band, is a band leader, solo artist, composer, producer, and arranger, and has worked on countless artists and songs. "Tonovan: Musician Kazuhiko Kato and His Times" is a documentary film that follows the trajectory of this solitary genius Kazuhiko Kato. The film is structured to bring out the person of Kazuhiko Kato through the testimonies of many people who knew Tonovan.

Hiromi Aihara, who planned, composed, directed and produced this film, comes from a background in music, having produced numerous music videos at the record company Victor Entertainment (hereafter referred to as Victor). Aihara has an unusual background as a film director, but how did he end up becoming a director and making this film? We spoke to him.

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It all started with a comment from Yukihiro Takahashi

Q: It seems that a comment from Takahashi Yukihiro was what triggered the production of this film.

Aihara: After the preview of "Onkyo House Melody-Go-Round" (20), Yukihiro said, "I think Tonovan (Kato) should be appreciated a little more," and that has stayed in my mind ever since. It was around November 2019. After that, I started researching Kato from around February to March 2020, and I realized once again what an amazing person he was. Then I decided to make a movie about him around May. From there, I started calling and meeting various people and interviewing them. It was quite difficult because it was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Q: I had assumed that Aihara-san and Yukihiro-san had been close friends for a long time, but it seems that you only met recently at Onkyo House Melody-Go-Round.

Aihara: I met him for the first time on the previous film, " SUKITA: A Moment Carved by Artists " (2018). Of course, we weren't on a relationship where we could eat meals together, but rather just work connections. Yukihiro, Hosono, and the professor are all legends. It wasn't like, "Let's go out for dinner" (laughs).

Q: How much did you know about Tonovan in the first place?

Aihara: Of course, I knew about "Yopparai Returns," Sadistic Mika Band, and the album commonly known as the "Europe Trilogy." I was in the music industry, but I was in charge of a lot of bands, including Southern All Stars. Because of that, I had never had the opportunity to work with Kato. Kato-san has a first-class sense not only of music, but also of fashion and food, and he was a bit like a cloud.

Q: How did you start your research and interviews?

Aihara: Basically, I looked up books and CDs. I read " Ego: Kazuhiko Kato Talks About Kazuhiko Kato " (SPACE SHOWER BOOKS)* and other books to find out what kind of people were involved with Kato, and then I contacted them. I've been in the music industry for a long time, so I can usually connect with the person I'm looking for through one person. If I say "I was at Victor," the hurdle for the other person is lowered. I don't think it would have been so smooth if the staff didn't know the music industry.

*) It has been expanded and restructured and will be republished in May 2024 as " Those Wonderful Days: Kato Kazuhiko Talks about 'Kato Kazuhiko' " (Hyakunensha).

Music industry experience brings

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