Fishmans
Encyclopedia
Fishmans was a Japanese dub music
band formed in 1987, and are known for their unique sound and the distinctive vocals of lead singer Shinji Sato.
, pop
, drum and bass
, hip hop
, ska
, etc.), coupled with Sato's distinctive androgynous vocals, gained them acceptance in Japan's underground scene.
Fishmans released several albums on the Japanese indie label Media Remoras, exploring different sounds and trying to avoid Reggae cliches, but always keeping a Dub foundation to their sound, powered by Motegi and Kashiwabara’s rock-steady rhythm section. In 1995 they signed with Polydor Records
. By this time both Kensuke Ojima and Hakase had left the band. Neither was replaced and the resulting trio would work with a series of guest musicians on their next records, mainly Honzi (keyboards, violin, accordion and vocals) and Darts Sekiguchi (guitar). The addition of Zak on sound mixing rounded out this second phase of the band, which further evolved its sound to incorporate space rock, ambient and shoegaze elements. Song length started to grow as well, as these new tendencies blended in with their dub foundation.
was released in 1996, and included what is probably the band's most recognizable song, "". This was followed by the album Long Season, a 35-minute long song divided into 5 parts. Their final studio album, , was released in 1997.
Fishmans performed its final concert on December 28, 1998. They played many of their best songs and concluded with a full performance of Long Season. Sato left the stage immediately after a single "goodbye" with his eyes teary. This was to be Kashiwabara's final performance with the band, though Sato and Motegi planned to continue working as Fishmans. However, Sato died the following year on March 15 due to heart problems that he had suffered since birth.
After Sato's death, Kin-Ichi Motegi began working as a stand-in drummer for Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
, whose original drummer died around the same time as Sato. He eventually became a full-fledged member of the band and plays drums and sings lead vocals with them. Kashiwabara, who had planned to abandon the music industry, eventually joined forces with Ooya Yuusuke (ex-LabLife) to form Polaris, whose spacey and dubby tracks bore some resemblance to Fishmans' sound in the late '90s.
Following Sato's death, their popularity continued to grow. In 2004, a tribute album Sweet Dreams for Fishmans was released, and included covers by artists as diverse as OOIOO
, Bonobos
, and UA
. This was followed by the albums Kuchu and Uchu in 2005, which included rare and unreleased tracks alongside their best hits.
On November 22, 2005 the remaining members of Fishmans paid tribute to their fans and Shinji Sato, by performing at the Rising Sun Rock Festival. The show lasted three and a half hours, and featured many guest singers, who performed the vocals. The following month, a tribute art exhibition "The Long Season Rewind" was held in Shibuya
with contributions from various artists.
Most recently in 2006, The Long Season Revue was released on DVD
. The live concert was originally only screened in theatres and it featured the original members of the band together with a cast of supporting musicians such as UA
, Asa-Chang, Hanaregumi, Oki Yuichi (of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
) and Ikuko Harada of Clammbon. Following these concerts, Honzi, long-time contributor with the band, also died.
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
band formed in 1987, and are known for their unique sound and the distinctive vocals of lead singer Shinji Sato.
Biography
The band was formed in 1987 by Shinji Sato (vocals, guitar, trumpet), Kin-Ichi Motegi (drums, vocals sampler) and Kensuke Ojima (guitar and vocals). The addition of Yuzuru Kashiwabara (bass) and Hakase (keyboards) rounded up the original line-up. Their first recorded appearance is on the 1989 compilation Panic Paradise. Two years later, their first album Chappie Don't Cry was released. The band's easy-going sound (mainly influenced by reggae and dub but also including elements of rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, etc.), coupled with Sato's distinctive androgynous vocals, gained them acceptance in Japan's underground scene.
Fishmans released several albums on the Japanese indie label Media Remoras, exploring different sounds and trying to avoid Reggae cliches, but always keeping a Dub foundation to their sound, powered by Motegi and Kashiwabara’s rock-steady rhythm section. In 1995 they signed with Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
. By this time both Kensuke Ojima and Hakase had left the band. Neither was replaced and the resulting trio would work with a series of guest musicians on their next records, mainly Honzi (keyboards, violin, accordion and vocals) and Darts Sekiguchi (guitar). The addition of Zak on sound mixing rounded out this second phase of the band, which further evolved its sound to incorporate space rock, ambient and shoegaze elements. Song length started to grow as well, as these new tendencies blended in with their dub foundation.
was released in 1996, and included what is probably the band's most recognizable song, "". This was followed by the album Long Season, a 35-minute long song divided into 5 parts. Their final studio album, , was released in 1997.
Fishmans performed its final concert on December 28, 1998. They played many of their best songs and concluded with a full performance of Long Season. Sato left the stage immediately after a single "goodbye" with his eyes teary. This was to be Kashiwabara's final performance with the band, though Sato and Motegi planned to continue working as Fishmans. However, Sato died the following year on March 15 due to heart problems that he had suffered since birth.
After Sato's death, Kin-Ichi Motegi began working as a stand-in drummer for Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
, commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band officially formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene...
, whose original drummer died around the same time as Sato. He eventually became a full-fledged member of the band and plays drums and sings lead vocals with them. Kashiwabara, who had planned to abandon the music industry, eventually joined forces with Ooya Yuusuke (ex-LabLife) to form Polaris, whose spacey and dubby tracks bore some resemblance to Fishmans' sound in the late '90s.
Following Sato's death, their popularity continued to grow. In 2004, a tribute album Sweet Dreams for Fishmans was released, and included covers by artists as diverse as OOIOO
OOIOO
OOIOO are an all-female group founded by Boredoms drummer Yoshimi P-We.According to allmusic's Kieran McCarthy "It's next to impossible to describe their sound, because — by design — it rarely follows consistent patterns"...
, Bonobos
Bonobos
Bonobos is a dub band from Osaka, Japan. They formed in August of 2001. Their current lineup includes; Chunho Sai , Yasuyuki Sasaki , Natsuko Morimoto , Bondo Tsuji and Izumi Matsui...
, and UA
UA (singer)
, simply known by the stage name UA , is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She debuted under Speedstar Records in 1995 with the single "Horizon".-Biography:...
. This was followed by the albums Kuchu and Uchu in 2005, which included rare and unreleased tracks alongside their best hits.
On November 22, 2005 the remaining members of Fishmans paid tribute to their fans and Shinji Sato, by performing at the Rising Sun Rock Festival. The show lasted three and a half hours, and featured many guest singers, who performed the vocals. The following month, a tribute art exhibition "The Long Season Rewind" was held in Shibuya
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
with contributions from various artists.
Most recently in 2006, The Long Season Revue was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. The live concert was originally only screened in theatres and it featured the original members of the band together with a cast of supporting musicians such as UA
UA (singer)
, simply known by the stage name UA , is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She debuted under Speedstar Records in 1995 with the single "Horizon".-Biography:...
, Asa-Chang, Hanaregumi, Oki Yuichi (of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
, commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band officially formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene...
) and Ikuko Harada of Clammbon. Following these concerts, Honzi, long-time contributor with the band, also died.
Members
– vocals, guitar, trumpet – drums, sampler, backing vocals – bass (1988–1998) – keyboard (1990–1995) – guitar, backing vocals (1987–1994)Studio albums
- Chappie, Don't CryChappie, Don't Cry"Chappie, Don't Cry", or as it's sometimes spelled, "Chappie,Don't Cry", is the first mainstream album by the Japanese dub band, Fishmans. "Chappie" is believed to be referring to Charlie Chaplin. The album cover also has a Chaplin-esque hat on it.- Tracks :...
(1991, Media Remoras) - King Master George (1992, Media Remoras)
- Neo Yankees' Holiday (1993, Media Remoras)
- Orange (1994, Media Remoras) (1996, Polydor)
- Long Season (1996, Polydor) (1997, Polydor)
Live albums
- Oh! Mountain (1994, Media Remoras)
- 8月の現状 (1998, Polydor)
- 98.12.28 男達の別れ (1999, Polydor)
Compilations
- Fishmans 1991–1994 Singles & More (1999, Pony Canyon)
- Aloha Polydor (1999, Polydor)
- 宇宙 ベスト・オブ・フィッシュマンズ (2005, Polydor)
- 空中 ベスト・オブ・フィッシュマンズ (2005, Polydor)
- Fishmans Rock Festival (2007) (vinyl box set of all Polydor-era releases)
Singles
- "ひこうき" (1991)
- "いなごが飛んでる" (1991)
- "100ミリちょっとの" (1992)
- "Walkin'" (1993)
- "いかれたBaby" (1993)
- "Go Go Round This World!" (1994)
- "My Life" (1994)
- "Melody" (1994)
- "ナイト クルージング" (1995)
- "Baby Blue" (1996)
- "Season" (1996)
- "Magic Love" (1997)
- "Walking in the Rhythm" (1997)
- "ゆらめき in the Air" (1998)
- "いかれたBaby" (2005)
Videos
- The Three Birds & More Feelings (2000, Polydor)
- 記憶の増大 (2000, Polydor)
- 若いながらも歴史あり96.3.2 @ 新宿 Liquid Room (11/09/2005)
- 男達の別れ 98.12.28 @ 赤坂 Blitz (2005, Universal Music Japan)
- Fishmans In Space Shower TV: Episode.3 (2007)
- Fishmans In Space Shower TV: Episode.2 (2007)
- Fishmans In Space Shower TV: Episode.1 (2007)