Akira Art Meets Japanese Techno - Ken Ishii’s Extra MV Directed by Koji Morimoto
When native Sapporo DJ Ken Ishii dropped his 1995 LP Jelly Tones on the beloved Belgian electronic record label R&S, it was an immediate hit among techno fanatics, catulpting him to global recognition within the scene.
For the music video of his hit single “Extra”, Ishii collaborated with anime director and animator Koji Morimoto, noted for his work on projects such as Akira, Memories, Mind Game and Animatrix.
The resulting product follows many of the imaginative themes of Morimoto's other projects, with bright trippy effects, cartoonish gore, and an animation style that heavily utilizes moving perspective.
The project in essence condenses a Koji Morimoto film into a four minute experience.
In 1996, the following year, the video went on to win MTV’s “Best Dance Music Video of The Year”, a very prestigious award at that time. The project remains one of the most well known techno music videos of all time and is beloved by fans of Morimoto’s work.
