T.M. Revolution

T.M. Revolution (born Takanori Nishikawa) is something of an heir to the Japanese synth rock megastars TMN. The similarities only begin with the name: T.M. Revolution was made a star in his own right by the producer Daisuke Asakura, a disciple of TMN's mastermind Tetsuya Komuro, and his own electronica-heavy brand of pop/rock betrays ties to the sound of both TMN and Asakura. However, T.M. Revolution didn't score through nepotism alone: his ride to success is largely credited to his involvement with the anime series Rurouni Kenshin and the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, both of them Japanese and world-wide hits; he managed to make it to the top, expanding geographically -- he entered the American market in the early 2000s -- and creatively, doing the occasional bit of voice acting and establishing the acclaimed metalcore side project Abington Boys School. Born in Yasu in central Japan in 1970, Nishikawa dropped out of high school to become a musician, and spent several years struggling to rise from obscurity. From 1990-1993 he sang for the visual kei band Luis-Mary under the nickname Haine, and in 1995 was signed to FunHouse, where he debuted solo with Black or White, released under the guidance of Asakura and still under his real name. He was renamed T.M. Revolution ("Takanori Makes Revolution") in 1996, the first single under this moniker being "Dokusai Monopolize" (1996), which managed to enter the Oricon at number 28. The debut album Makes Revolution (1996) fared a bit better, rising to number 20, but his big break was still ahead. His next release, the single "Heart of Sword Yoake Mae" (1996), was used in Rurouni Kenshin, and lingered on the charts for 45 weeks, allowing T.M. Revolution's second album Restoration Level 3 to rise to number five and sell 369,000 copies in...