Shibuya-kei (渋谷系^?) is a sub-genre of Japanese pop music which originated in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. It is best described as a mix between jazz, pop, and electropop.

Overview[link]

Shibuya-kei gained popularity from the Japanese music corner of some foreign-affiliated retail music chains in Shibuya (Tower Records, HMV^[1]) early in the 1990s and it spread through Japan rapidly.

The term was applied to bands strongly influenced by French yé-yé music and its most notable proponent, Serge Gainsbourg. Typical artists are Flipper's Guitar, Pizzicato Five, and Original Love. As the style's popularity increased at end of the 90s, the term began to be applied to many bands whose musical stylings reflected a more mainstream sensibility. Although some artists rejected or resisted being categorized as "Shibuya-kei," the name ultimately stuck, as the style was favoured by local businesses, including Shibuya Center Street's HMV Shibuya, which sold Shibuya-kei records in its traditional Japanese music section. Increasingly, musicians outside of Japan, such as Britain's Momus, France's Dimitri from Paris, and the US artists Natural Calamity and Phofo are labelled Shibuya-kei.

Terminology[link]

The term "Shibuya-kei" comes from Shibuya (渋谷^?), one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo known for its fashion stores, night life, and being an epicenter of Japanese pop culture, and the Japanese word kei (系^?), which literally means "system"^[2] or, in this context, "style".^[3] So, Shibuya-kei translates to "Shibuya style".

Notable artists[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

• Aira Mitsuki
• Buffalo Daughter
• capsule
• Cecil
• Cibo Matto
• Chappie
• Chocolat
• Cornelius
• Cymbals
• Dahlia
• Fantastic Plastic Machine
• Flipper's Guitar
• Kahimi Karie
• Macdonald Duck Eclair
• Marino
• Nomiya Maki
• Kenji Ozawa
• Paris Match
• Perfume
• Pizzicato Five
• Plus-Tech Squeeze Box
• Round Table
• Kensuke Shiina
• Sakanaction
• Saori@destiny
• Strawberry Machine
• Takako Minekawa
• Together Robots
• Tatsuya Oe (Captain Funk)
• Tōwa Tei
• Yoshinori Sunahara
• Yukari Fresh

For more artists, see Shibuya-kei musicians

References[link]

External links[link]

	Japan portal
	Tokyo portal

• Keikaku - Independent and little known Japanese Artist profiles, reviews, interviews and articles in English.
• allmusic Guide to Shibuya-kei

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Mari Hiki (比企真理, Hiki Mari^?, born March 15, 1968), better known by her stage name Kahimi Karie (カヒミ・カリィ, Kahimi Karii^?), is a Japanese Shibuya-kei musician.

Kahimi sings in English, French, and Japanese (among other languages) with whisper-like vocals. A number of her early songs were written for her by Momus. She also has a strong connection to Cornelius, who collaborated on many early works, and whose trendy Trattoria label released many of her EPs in the mid-'90s. Karie currently lives in Tokyo, Japan, though she spent much of her career in Paris.

History[link]

Kahimi was born the daughter of a major hospital doctor in Utsunomiya. She was raised by her strict father, and says she was not allowed to do things kids usually do, like watching TV, dating, etc. She was influenced by Serge Gainsbourg in her teens and by Cathy Claret´s firt album. After graduating high school, she moved to Tokyo and entered a vocational college to study photography. After graduating, she made a short career as a freelance photographer. In 1990, her friend established a record label and Kahimi was asked to participate. She made her debut as a vocalist, alongside Takako Minekawa as the female duo "Fancy Face Groovy Name". Later in 1994 she released her first solo album "Mike Alway's Diary", which was produced by Keigo Oyamada (aka Cornelius) . At this time she was referred to as "Shibuya-kei Princess", and her personal relationship with Oyamada was highly publicized. She later moved to Paris to pursue her career. She now lives in Tokyo, and recently toured Japan with Yoshihide Otomo and Jim O'Rourke, who has also written songs for her. Her dog, a black french bulldog, is called "Gomes".

Two projects have been released in 2007. One is the live DVD Muhlifein; the other is the rarities collection Specialothers.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 1997 - Larme de crocodile (Crue-L KYTHMAK-031DA)
• July 15, 1998 - K.K.K.K.K. (Polydor POCP-7296)
• May 24, 2000 - Tilt (Polydor POCH-1949)
• November 21, 2001 - My Suitor (Polydor)
• February 21, 2003 - Trapeziste (Victor VICL-61070)
• May 21, 2004 - Montage (Victor VICL-61374)
• October 25, 2006 - NUNKI (Victor VICL-62135)
• June 9, 2010 - It's here (Victor VICL-63613)

Remix Albums[link]

• 1998 - a K is a K is a K (Polydor)
• 1998 - Kahimi Karie Remixes (Crue-L KYTHMAK-038D)

Compilation Albums[link]

• September 8, 1998 - Kahimi Karie (Minty Fresh [US])
• September 30, 1998 - The Best Of Trattoria Years Plus More (Trattoria Menu.164/FC-023/PSCR-5708)
• 2000 - K.K.Works 1998-2000 (Polydor)
• 2007 - Specialothers (Victor VICL-62433)

LPs, EPs, Singles[link]

• 1992 - Kahimi Karie and the Crue-L Grand Orchestra / Mike Alway's Diary (Crue-L KYTHMAK-003D/CRUKAH-002D)
• 1994 - Girly (Crue-L KYTHMAK-011D/CRUKAH-003D)
• 1995 - I am a kitten (Kahimi Karie sings Momus in Paris) (Crue-L KYTHMAK-015D)
• 1995 - My First Karie (Trattoria Menu.56/PSCR-5348)
• July 26, 1995 - Leur L'existence (Trattoria Menu.62/PSCR-9102)
• October 16, 1995 - Good Morning World (Trattoria Menu.70/PSDR-5237)
• June 9, 1996 - HUMMING ga kikoeru (Trattoria)
• June 26, 1996 - Le Roi Soleil (Trattoria Menu.99/PSCR-5500)
• 1997 - Tiny King Kong (Crue-L KYTHMAK-029D)
• June 29, 1998 - One Thousand 20th Century Chairs (Polydor POCP-7297)
• March 29, 2000 - Once Upon A Time (Polydor POCH-1913)
• April 26, 2000 - Journey To The Center Of Me (Polydor POCH-1927)
• March 24, 2004 - NaNa (Victor VICL-35620)

DVD[link]

• October 4, 2006 - KOCHAB (Victor VIBL-344)
• July 25, 2007 - Muhlifein (Victor VIBL-391)

Special[link]

• May 24, 2000 - K.K. LIMITED EDITION 2000(Live Tour VHS, Live Tour CD, Remix CD, T shirts, Bag, Stickers, Badges and Photobook.Limited only for this)(UPCH-9006)

Appearances on Other Albums[link]

• 1995 - 69/96 GIRL MEETS CASSETTE on Cornelius's album 69/96
• 1996 - Good Morning World on album Sushi 3003
• 1998 - Alcohol on album Sushi 4004
• 2001 - Subete wo yurashite (On a Chair) on Fantastic Plastic Machine's remix album Contact
• 2005 - Cozmo-Naughty on M-Flo's album Beat Space Nine
• 2005 - Several tracks on Otomo Yoshihide's 2005 ONJO album feature Kahimi Karie.
• 2005 - Blue Orb on the soundtrack of the PS2 game We Love Katamari
• 2006 - My Energy, Don't go to Sleep and Eternity is the End of the Beginning on Susumu Yokota's album Wonder Waltz
• 2008 - Le Cheval Blanc on the Detroit Metal City Tribute to Krauser II the metal mix compilation (remixed with eerie distorted guitar wails, in keeping with the heavy metal theme).
• 2012 - Je te dis Au Revoir on the soundtrack of the Nintendo 3DS game Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure.

External links[link]

• Official Site

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2009)

Yukari Fresh (real name Yukari Takasaki (高崎ゆかり, Takasaki Yukari^?)), is a Shibuya-kei artist.^[1][2]

Beginnings[link]

Yukari Takasaki was one of seventeen members of Tokyo's Escalator Records' first bands, Snapshot. The duo (Takasaki and her current husband, Yugo Katayama) released several singles and EPs, but turned to solo and other collaborative work in the later mid-90s.

Solo debut[link]

Yukari debuted with the cheekily titled Yukari's Perfect! in 1997 on Escalator Records. The record featured such guests as Hideki Kaji and the Genbeat. The poppy, whimsical record gained the attention of Shibuya-kei artists (Cornelius, Kahimi Karie, and other early Shibuya-kei artists) and Germany's Bungalow Records (the label which pressed a split single with Stereo Total later in 1997), even though Yukari was still a newcomer to the solo music scene. Yukari was asked to contribute to the 1998 Sushi 4004 compilation, a compilation which featured other Shibuya-kei artists of repute such as Kahimi Karie, Takako Minekawa, Fantastic Plastic Machine, and Yoshinori Sunahara. The compilation introduced listeners to the world of J pop, and the Shibuya-kei scene.

Middle period[link]

Yukari's debut was followed shortly by a mini-album called Cook Some Dishes. The album is actually a mix of shortened versions of many of the artist's songs. In January 2000, Yukari released Cityrama, which again featured an appearance from Hideki Kaji, along with Mike Alway, Pop Tarts, and several others. Before releasing another full album, Yukari did another mini-album, Erik, named after cyclist Erik Zabel. It was said that Erik was a more mature record, one which featured an artist who had found her place. Reviewers also commented on the glossy, more focused production qualities. February 2003 marked the release of Yukari's third full-length album, Trefoils Hat. The album has been seen as Yukari's most accomplished work to date in that it is her most focused piece. Yukari's songwriterly, poppy side took precedence on this album, leaving some of the more dance-oriented disco tracks out. In 2004, maintaining her consistently cutesy appeal, Yukari informed the world she had changed her name to Yukari Rotten, and that punky electropop was now her sound. Not Dead, the name of the Yukari Rotten debut album, did have more punch and electroclash aesthetic about it than any of her previous works. It featured the single "C.L.I.J.S.T.E.R.S.", referencing Belgian footballer Leo Clijsters. Many of Yukari's songs are about sports heroes, notably Michael Owen and Paul Scholes. Another track "Going To Heaven To See The Househunters & Fat Truckers If It Rains", references "Going To Heaven To See If It Rains" by the Close Lobsters. In February 2005 (by this time, Yukari had gone back to being Fresh), the remix album Me was released. It featured songs from all of her albums, remixed by an international crowd of admired artists. August 2008 saw the surprise release of a mini-album Grrrl, Summer Cape Kid, etc. The unusual feature of this album is that each song was recorded in one shot, unedited. Yukari can be heard playing the drums, singing and whistling throughout. Just one month later, she followed this with two "greatest hits" albums. The first, "Flammable Tapes", contains 22 tracks previously released between 1997 and 2008. The companion album, "Instrumentally Flammable", consists of previously unreleased demos, rare edits, instrumentals and a cappella tracks.

Current situation[link]

Yukari has kept busy over the years, recording with other artists (i.e. Fantastic Plastic Machine and Mansfield), DJing various parties, and hosting her own radio show, Radio Active Man.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

• 07/99 "Lost & Found"
• ??/03 "Horsey Marie"

Albums[link]

• 1997.10.00 Yukari's Perfect!
• 1998.09.22 Cook Some Dishes
• 1999.02.00 New Year's Fresh
• 2000.01.28 Cityrama
• 2001.11.21 Erik
• 2003.02.01 Trefoils Hat
• 2004.05.19 Not Dead (Yukari Rotten)
• 2005.02.26 ME
• 2005.03.24 Twelve Plus Twelve
• 2008.08.27 Grrrl, Summer Cape Kid, etc.^[1]
• 2008.10.08 Flammable Tapes
• 2008.10.08 Instrumentally Flammable

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Official Escalator Records website
• Yukari's 'Radio Active Man' radio show website

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2012)

Kaori Asada (浅田 香織, Asada Kaori^?, born 16 April 1973 in Kyoto, Japan), known by her stage name Bonnie Pink, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. She lived in New York during 1998 and speaks English (many of her songs are entirely in English). She writes and composes all her songs, and plays guitar and piano. Asada has said that the name Bonnie Pink is random and has no special meaning; she chose it because it was easy to remember and because she thought the words were cute together.^[1]

History[link]

Bonnie Pink debuted in 1995 with the single "Orenji", under her real name, Asada Kaori. Her first album, Blue Jam, was released that same year under the Pony Canyon record label. She described it as a "mixture of bitter honey, blues music, momentary silence, irresistible madness, teardrops, sour grapes, hopeful bombs, big big love, and a few green apples" in the jacket. It introduced her unique style of music that has been defined as an off-beat mix between jazz, blues, pop, and rock. The next year she met Tore Johansson, Swedish producer for The Cardigans, who became her good friend and produced much of her work. The song "It's Gonna Rain!" was the fifth ending of the popular Rurouni Kenshin anime. She wrote her third album, Evil & Flowers (1998), while in isolation in the Swedish countryside. She hoped to find inspiration there, but became depressed. She put her feelings of frustration into the songs.^{[citation needed]} She went to New York alone to take a vacation and to study music after having released her third album in 1998. She went back in 1999 and contracted with Warner Music Japan.

On her fourth album, Let Go, she worked with Mitchell Froom, New York producer of Elvis Costello, Cibo Matto, and Suzanne Vega. He gave her co-production credit for the album because he was so impressed with her. Her fifth album, Just a Girl, came out in 2001. The next year she collaborated with other artists and released Re-Pink, a remix album. Present came out in 2003 and Even So in 2004. Golden Tears, which features the single "So Wonderful", came out in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Bonnie Pink released a new single "Love is Bubble" in May 2006. Her June 2006 single "A Perfect Sky", featured in an Anessa makeup commercial with popular model Yuri Ebihara, reached number 2 on the Oricon singles charts, making it the most successful single in Bonnie Pink's career. Her "best of" album sold out quickly on Amazon Japan and reached number two on the Oricon charts and continued to chart in the top 30 becoming one of the top selling albums of the year. In November 2006, she was featured in M-Flo's single "Love Song". The single was a hit for both M-Flo and Bonnie Pink, it debuted at number 7 on the Oricon charts, which is a big leap from M-Flo's previous singles and gained Bonnie Pink another top 10 single.^{[citation needed]}

Her song "Cotton Candy" was used as the ending theme for the anime Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor in 2005, and "Love is Bubble" was the theme song for the Japanese movie Memories of Matsuko, in which she also featured. Her single "Last Kiss", which appears as the last song on her greatest hits album, was the ending theme to the popular Gantz anime.^{[citation needed]}

Bonnie Pink's single "Anything for You", although not as successful as "A Perfect Sky", still reached number 9 on the Oricon charts, achieving moderate success. Bonnie Pink, shortly after releasing her previous single, began performing on popular TV music shows and promoting her latest single, "Water Me", which was the theme song for the popular TV drama Watashitachi no Kyōkasho ("Our Textbooks") a dark, melancholy drama about a young girl's suicide and the effect on her school. The single "Water Me" reached number 6 on Oricon on its release date and number 8 on the weekly charts. On 7 July 2007, Bonnie Pink performed at Live Earth in Kyoto.

Bonnie Pink's album Thinking Out Loud was released on 25 July 2007, her first album to be sold in both CD and CD+DVD formats. The first press of both editions came with an access ticket containing the AD/Password to reserve tickets for her tour, "Bonnie Pink Tour 2007 "Thinking Out Loud" Final at Nippon Budokan" on a special designated website. The CD pre-orders made the album number 1 on the Amazon.com Japan Top Sellers. The album debuted at number 4 on the Oricon Daily Charts and number 5 on the weekly charts selling approximately 53,605 copies. As of 5 September 2007, her album had sold approximately 90,000 copies. Bonnie Pink was on her "Thinking Outloud Tour" from late 2007 to early 2008.

In April 2008, Bonnie Pink made a guest performances for Domoto Tsuyoshi's solo project 244 Endli-x album I and Ai. She was featured on the last track, "Say Anything", which she wrote the lyrics to with Domoto.

The English version of Bonnie Pink's single "Ring a Bell" is only available through digital download. "Ring a Bell" was used as the theme song for the American release of the Xbox 360 game Tales of Vesperia. The single was released in Japan and America on iTunes to celebrate Bonnie Pink's 35th birthday. Its Japanese counterpart, "Kane o Narashite", was released on 6 August 2008. Bonnie Pink's thirtieth single, "Joy / Happy Ending", was released on 8 April 2009. One, her 10th studio album, followed on 13 May 2009.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website