Hajime Tachibana

Hajime Tachibana, born in Tokyo in 1951, is a musician, graphic designer, visual artist and multi-media creator whose work sits right at the intersection of Japanese new wave, electronic pop and contemporary graphic culture. His name in Japanese is 立花ハジメ. He first studied in London in 1973 at the Camden Art Centre while attending Waseda University, returning to Japan the following year and joining the graphic-art group Work Shop MU!!. This background in design became an important part of his approach to music, with records, stage presentation, instruments and visual material often treated as parts of the same project. 

 
In 1976, Tachibana formed Plastics with Toshio Nakanishi and Chika Sato, with Masahide Sakuma and Takemi Shima joining the line-up shortly afterwards. Tachibana played guitar, while the group developed a highly stylised mixture of new wave, electronic pop, punk and funk. Plastics quickly became associated with Tokyo's emerging techno-pop scene and attracted international attention after their 1979 single "Copy/Robot" appeared on Britain's Rough Trade. Their debut album, 'Welcome Plastics', followed in Japan in 1980, and 'Welcome Back Plastics' appeared internationally through Island in 1981. The band toured extensively in Europe and the United States before splitting at the end of 1981. 

 
Tachibana's musical direction changed considerably after Plastics. He moved increasingly from guitar towards saxophone and began developing his own instruments, including the handmade Alps series. His first solo album, 'H', appeared in 1982 on Alfa, produced by Yukihiro Takahashi. The record already showed how far he was moving away from the compact pop structures of Plastics, combining saxophone, electronics, experimental instrumentation and short, fragmented compositions. 'Hm', released through the YEN/Alfa connection in 1983, continued that approach.

 
The 1984 album 'Mr. Techie & Miss Kipple' pushed the concept further, bringing together electronic textures, saxophone, manipulated sounds and Tachibana's increasingly distinctive visual world. Tracks such as "Replicant J.B.", "Steel Necro Music" and "Theme From Barricade" reflected his interest in treating the recording studio almost like another design environment. During this period he was also active behind the scenes as a graphic designer, record-jacket designer, stage designer and video director. 

 
Music was only part of Tachibana's activity during the 1980s and 1990s. He became increasingly prominent as a graphic designer and visual artist, working on record covers, typography, videos, exhibitions and computer-related projects. In 1991 he received the Grand Prize at the ADC Awards, one of Japan's major graphic-design honours. His design work and music continued to overlap, with many of his records functioning as extensions of his broader visual practice rather than simply conventional pop releases. 

 
After several solo projects during the 1980s and early 1990s, Tachibana formed Low Powers in 1997. The group released 'Low Powers' that year on For Life, bringing a more rock-oriented format into his work. The project later returned in a reformed version, with 'Low Powers With The Friends' appearing as a download in 2019 and concentrating largely on new recordings of material connected with the 1997 album. 

 
His 2002 album 'The END' was another sharp change in format. Rather than following the conventional idea of an album, it consisted of ringtones and other very short pieces, fitting perfectly with Tachibana's interest in computers, digital media and the changing relationship between music and technology. At the time, he described the project in deliberately open-ended terms, making it something that could be approached as much through its presentation and concept as through conventional listening. 

 
Tachibana returned to more conventional musical activity with 'Monaco' in 2013, although even this release appeared in an unusual format: a strictly limited edition on USB memory stick. 'GalleriAprotia' followed in 2014 as a download-only release. He was also involved in The Chill, formed in 2007 with Chiharu Konno, Gota Yashiki and Kuni Sugimoto, while Plastics periodically returned for reunion performances and recordings. Plastics' later appearances included the 2016 "Welcome Back Plastics" performances with Tachibana alongside Toshio Nakanishi and other musicians. 

 
In the late 2010s and 2020s, Tachibana continued moving between music, design and other forms of creative work. The Low Powers name was revived for live activity, while Hm became another outlet for his music. He also published "ORIGATO PLASTICO", his first collection of poetry, in 2021, adding another medium to a career that had already moved between sound, graphics, video, typography, software and performance. Tachibana returned with new solo material in 2026. His album 'dad bb' was released on 10 August 2026, accompanied by the 12-inch single 'ZOUNDS!', marking his first new album in thirteen years. 

 
Alongside the 2026 music, Tachibana has continued to be involved with the legacy of Plastics and Low Powers. In 2025, Sony Music issued 'hajimeht', his first career-spanning best-of collection, bringing together material from different stages of his musical career and further underlining the connection between his early electronic/new-wave work and his later experimental projects.