As the main composer in the The Mad Capsule Markets, Takeshi Ueda helped to a develop a sound that was instantly recognizable and brought huge success for the band, both in Japan and abroad. When, in March 2006, the band announced that they would be going on an indefinite hiatus, all the members embarked on their own projects in the form of endeavours both musical and otherwise.
While his clothing line "FUZZ REZ ZWEEP" had already been set up in October 2005, Takeshi took the opportunity to expand the line by setting up an online store with clothes that had the concept of "MUZIK+Earth+Peace."
He also continued with musical projects by working with other artists by remixing (most notable was his remix of Merry's Japanese Modernist featured on their 2006 single, Calling.) He also worked with the two-piece group Lynchburg Lemonade on the song RADIO SWEETS under the project name Takeshi Ueda x Lynchburg Lemonade in 2007. This was for the collaboration album PINK & BLACK, which celebrated the 10th anniversary of the clothing brand "Katie."
In late 2008, Takeshi formed a new solo project, AA=. The name means "all animals are equal,", in reference to George Orwell's Animal Farm, a theme, which is also prevalent in the project's lyrics.
For the project, he brought together three recognised musicians as support members to bring his vision to life. Takayoshi Shirakawa (BACK DROP BOMB) took the role as vocalist, Nobuaki Kaneko (RIZE) on drums and Minoru Kojima (ex-creature creature, DIES IN CRIES, The Mad Capsule Markets) on guitar. The project signalled the first time that Takeshi and Minoru had worked together in almost 20 years, when Minoru left Mad Capsule Markets shortly after the release of their debut album.
In October 2008, the first single from AA= was released in the form of the anthemic PEACE!!!. The song and accompanying music video quickly garnered excitement from both his long time fans and new listeners alike.
AA= performed their first lives at COUNTDOWN JAPAN 08/09 in Tokyo and Osaka alongside acts such a Shonen Knife, HALCALI and Polysics. They performed in front of several thousand people, seemingly in opposition to most new acts' first appearances.
Before the release of their debut album, two additional music videos were produced for the songs FREEDOM and LOSER to help with the promotion for their upcoming album. The songs and videos for both songs were premiered via the band’s myspace page rather than being released as physical singles.
The project's debut album, #1, was released in February 2008. The release of the CD also highlighted Takeshi’s altruistic and environmentally conscious side with 100yen from each sale being donated to the charity WWF, the album production being carbon neutral and the album’s packaging being certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) as being environmentally friendly.
A month later, AA= embarked on its first one-man tour, performing in Nagoya, Osaka and a tour final at Tokyo’s Shibuya-AX.
While the project is still in its early stages, Takeshi has managed to achieve a lot in such a short amount of time, promising great things for the future.
AA= is the solo project of The Mad Capsule Markets's bassist Takeshi Ueda. The music is made up of punk mixed with digital hardcore, which continues from the later work Takeshi did with The Mad Capsule Markets. This takes on a more melodic twist though drawing some comparisons with the band’s work in the 90s.
