Tomoyasu Hotei performs at Shepherds Bush Empire on Nov. 9, 2013, in London
On Saturday, Nov. 9, the lights outside Shepherd’s Bush Empire, a refurbished theater in west London, offer a hint — “Electric Samurai” — of the evening’s featured performer. Inside, the crowd of 1,600 largely Japanese fans murmur quietly in heady anticipation. When the first electronic synths ripple across the room and a tall, lean figure strides onto the stage, they begin screaming his name: “Hotei!…Hotei!…Hotei!”
If you haven’t heard of Tomoyasu Hotei, you’re not alone: The 51-year-old musician-composer has spent the much of the last three decades building a megastar career for himself in Japan. Though Western audiences have likely heard his music — most notably the hypnotically propulsive guitar-driven instrumental “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” that Quentin Tarantino used to great effect in 2003’s Kill Bill — Hotei has yet to become a household name.
But Hotei is trying to change that. Saturday’s show is the kick-off for his first international tour, an opener before he plays in New York City’s Highline Ballroom on Nov. 14. “This is the very beginning,” he tells me, in his rehearsal studio a few days before the London show. Though he’s spent much of his life onstage, he is both surprisingly soft-spoken and charmingly humble. “This is like, hello, here’s Hotei. Because everybody knows that Kill Bill song, but not everybody knows me. So I have to say, Hi.”
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To better introduce himself, Hotei has created an ultra-personal show. He assembled a band of seasoned musicians who has he worked with in the past, including drummer Zack Alford, who played on David Bowie’s most recent album, percussionist Steve Eto, and British-born bassist Tony Grey. He arranged guests appearances with artists he long admired , like Andy Mackay of Roxy Music. And he meticulously arranged a set list that showcased his guitar and producing skills. “In Japan, I’m a singer as well,” says Hotei. “I had many hits, but for the worldwide [shows] I want the focus to be more on my guitar, or me as a sound-maker.”
The question isn’t if Hotei can build an international career. Though it’s rare, Psy proved that Asian artists could cross into the American charts — while singing in Korean, no less — with last year’s “Gangnam Style.” Instead, the question is if Hotei can do it without alienating the core audience that has already given him much success. It’s no small question, particularly when Japan is such a profitable market. (Japan is second only to the U.S. in terms of the size of its music market, with recorded-music sales totaling $4.42 billion in 2012.)
In Tokyo, Hotei’s superstar status had become overwhelming, with crowds of people spotting him wherever he went. “I’m maybe too tall living in Tokyo,” says Hotei. “I’m 6-1, so people recognize me. I could never take the [train] or bus in Japan.” He finally moved, along with his wife, Japanese actress-singer Miki Imai, and their 11-year-old daughter, to northwest London in 2012, wanting to escape the bubble of fame and find a more “normal life.” It’s been a nice change. In London, he says, “the first thing I did was buy a [public transport] card!”
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Even in London, though, Hotei’s adoring Japanese fans still find him. A member of his management team told me that Hotei and his family had recently gone to London’s Victoria & Albert Museum to see an exhibit on a Japanese designer. Hotei drew so much attention from the other attendees, he and his family were forced to leave through the back door to avoid the photo-seeking crowds.
But a global career could shift Japan’s idea of Hotei. After the show outside the Empire, everyone I speak to says they loved the show. Yet Noriko Seike, a Japanese woman living in London who had come to see Hotei with friends, said she was surprised that he hadn’t sung the hits she was more familiar with. “I’ve seen him before, but this show was more for Western people,” she says, adding that she’s been a fan for 25 years. “He didn’t do many Japanese songs, which we expected.” She was quick to add, “but I thought it was great.”
Zack Alford, Hotei’s drummer for the tour, says that although the show is designed for a global audience, he believes there aren’t many changes from Hotei’s Tokyo shows. “I’ve played with him in Japan and was expecting bigger changes for London, but the whole set was only subtly different,” says Alford, at the show’s after-party, explaining that the only major difference was that Hotei sang less Japanese. But the performance was just as spirited as anything Tokyo audiences have seen over the years. “It was great, there was so much energy.”
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After Hotei plays New York, he plans to head back to Tokyo for a few shows. But he’s already got an eye on more European touring and playing smaller gigs than the stadium shows he’s used to in Japan. “Next year, I’ll start playing at more small venues and clubs, and with different people,” he says, saying he’d especially like to play a show in Paris. For now, it seems Hotei isn’t worried about his Japanese fans or the music market — he’s concentrating on the work. I asked him before the show which direction he thought an international career would take his music. “I don’t know, I just want to keep changing. That makes another step and another dream,” he answered. “That’s the only way, isn’t it?”