Takenoko

Formed in 1981 when Bruno Aujard, Jean Louis Simonet and Jean Michel Louisor met in Bordeaux, France, the trio took their admiration of post punk bands like Talking Heads and Gang Of Four and mixed it with the pioneering sound of Kraftwerk and the new wave of UK electronic bands and set about composing songs with the simple aim to make people dance. Encompassing their interest in Japanese culture, Takenoko, meaning young bamboo shoot – a metaphor for teenager in Japan – was born. Initial demo’s were soon signed and Elle à Tokyo was released on 7” in 1982. A vision of the Far East garnered from magazine stories of Geishas, robots and the arrival of the modern, movement of designers, such as Yohji Yamamoto. Their second single, Lee Harvey Oswald, didn’t appear until 1985. This time darker, the song reflects on the assassination of Kennedy from the perspective of infamy. Questioning human relations became a theme, the contrast and under-lying violence between them. Their final single, Trans Amor Express, was released in 1988 and expressed their synthesized euro pop to the max, transporting the listener across a world of sensuality and was backed by anthemic John Wayne.