I Believe In Music

by Ikutaro Kakehashi

(Book). Published to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Roland Corporation, this is the inspiring and heartfelt memoir of Ikutaro Kakehashi, a pioneering figure in electronic music instruments and the company's visionary founder. From war-torn Japan to his first watch repair business to the dawn of and subsequent enormous leaps of electronic musical instruments, Kakehashi's story is sometimes wry, sometimes touching, always wise. Through it all, Kakehashi has believed in music above else: his first priority has always been an unwavering passion for expanding the potential for artistic expression. Everyone from music aficionados to those looking for time-tested business savvy will enjoy his unique story. The book features fantastic photos throughout, including an 8-page full-color section. Ikutaro Kakehashi founded the Roland Corporation in 1972. He lives in Hosoe-cho, Hamamatsu City, Japan. Robert Olsen worked for 25 years in the international music trade before switching careers to become a college instructor and free-lance author. He lives in Northbrook, IL.

Genres: Music, Biography

1 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Ikutaro Kakehashi (梯 郁太郎) was a Japanese engineer, inventor and entrepreneur. He was the founder of several companies during his life, firstly musical instrument, amplifier and effects manufacturer Ace Electronic Industries Inc. (Ace Tone) in 1960. Several years later, in 1972, he founded the much better known Roland Corporation. Roland is famous world-wide in the musical instrument & recording field due to having introduced many innovative and influential products like the TR-808 electronic drum machine, the JC-120 guitar amplifier and too many others to list...

Reviews

[Matty Demont · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the beautifully written memoire of Ikutaro Kakehashi, the founder of Roland Corporation. Let me start by explaining why I wanted to read his memoire. In 1992, I purchased my first synthesizer, a Roland JV-30. This was my introduction into the world of electronic musical instruments. Over the years, my taste refined towards vintage electric pianos such as the Fender Rhodes, the Wurlitzer 200A, and the Hohner Clavinet D6. In the early 2000s, I discovered an electric piano sound which I assumed to be a Rhodes in songs such as The Headhunters' Funk Hunter and St. Germain's Pont des Arts. The sound was very "Rhodeske", but had this mysterious extra bite and punchiness. My inability to replicate this sound with my Fender Rhodes MkI 88 spurred me to post a question on an online Rhodes forum. A member claimed it was the sound of the Roland P-330, a module version of the RD-1000. I subsequently searched for that module and found one. Then, I read that the sound of the P-330 is similar to the MKS-20 module, but that the latter has analog chorus and tremolo. I posted a search advert on a second hand site and was subsequently contacted by a seller who turned out to be Roland's former product manager of the Benelux. Through various long emails, he kindly explained how Roland developed Structural Adaptive Synthesis, the engine behind that punchy "Rhodeske" sound I loved so much, and how Mr Kakehashi initially resisted the integration of a pitch bend despite widespread demand by customers. Eventually, Roland developed Advanced Structural Adaptive Synthesis, which was integrated in the Roland Rhodes Mk-80, which also featured ... a pitch bend! Indeed, the songs I mentioned earlier both featured the use of the pitch bend, as if the artists wanted to shout out that this is the new Rhodes sound of the 90s! In 2006, I stumbled across a very special vintage 60s organ with valves, the National (Technics) Electronic Organ SX-601 (1963). Turns out that this organ was designed by Mr Kakehashi during his early pre-Roland years when he was running his Ace company.

All these events led me to become intrigued by the man behind these innovations. I ordered both this book and its successor ("An Age without Samples") and read through them during my ski vacation in Hokkaido, Japan, which tremendously added to the reading experience. The book is a honest account of a man who got orphaned at an age of two and then subsequently worked hard to start up a radio business until he discovered his life vocation: electronic musical instruments. With great modesty, he describes how he started up Roland and saved the company from bankruptcy through several crises. He was driven by a strong vision, which turns out to be the most important ingredient to thrive in this competitive business environment. It is also the story of a Japanese with limited English skills trying to conduct business in the US and Europe. Throughout the text, we can see the warmth and love he has, not only for the technology and the products he helped designing, but also for the people behind Roland. It is a mesmerizing story that should inspire not only musicians (to get a view behind the scenes of the instruments they use), but also business people. In his final book "An Age without Samples," Mr Kakehashi provides a few updates on this memoire. Hence, I recommend reading both books to get a complete picture of this innovator and great human being.