Toshio Nakanishi (Tycoon To$h) — Japanese musician and graphic designer

Toshio Nakanishi (1956–2017) was a Japanese new wave pioneer who co-founded Plastics and later helped shape Japan's hip hop and electronic scenes as an artist, producer and label founder.

Overview

Toshio Nakanishi (中西俊夫, January 13, 1956 – February 25, 2017) was a Japanese musician and graphic designer best known as a founding member of the influential new wave band Plastics. He performed under several stage names, including Tycoon To$h and Typhoom Tosh, and later became an important figure in Japan's experimental electronic and hip hop communities.

Musical career and styles

Nakanishi emerged in the mid-1970s at the start of Japan's punk and new wave movement. As a member of Plastics he helped define a playful, synthesizer-driven pop aesthetic that was associated with the broader technopop trend of the era. Over the following decades his musical interests broadened from new wave and synth-pop to include experimental electronics, sampling, DJing and early Japanese hip hop — moving from band-centric work toward production and collaborative projects.

Art, design and projects

Alongside his music, Nakanishi worked as a graphic designer and visual artist, contributing to album artwork, posters and the visual presentation of many projects. He both performed and produced under multiple names and formed or collaborated with several groups and scenes. In the later phase of his career he helped establish the label Major Force, which is widely regarded as an important outlet for experimental hip hop, club music and cross-cultural collaborations in Japan.

Legacy and influence

Nakanishi is remembered for bridging distinct musical worlds: the new wave/technopop moment of the late 1970s and the emerging urban electronic and hip hop scenes of the 1980s and 1990s. His work influenced peers and younger artists who sought to combine pop sensibility with avant-garde production, sampling and international exchange. For readers who want an introduction to his earliest work, see the history of Plastics at Plastics (band).

Notable facts

Aliases: Tycoon To$h, Typhoom Tosh.
Founding member of Plastics (formed in 1976).
Founder and creative force behind the Major Force label and collective.

Death

Toshio Nakanishi died in Tokyo on February 25, 2017. His death, at age 61, was attributed to esophageal cancer. Musicians, designers and fans have continued to cite his cross-genre experimentation and DIY visual sensibility as influential in contemporary Japanese music and design.