is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese techno-pop singer and songwriter who debuted in 2008 on the indies label Cyclops. In 2009, she signed onto Sony Music Entertainment Japan

Sony Music Entertainment Japan

is Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry....

 and joined its sublabel, Epic Records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

.

Biography

SAWA first appeared in 2003 as a member of the group Jack Knife under Stardust Management. The group performed cover routines live and disbanded in April 2004 without releasing any material.

In 2005 SAWA began working with Front Men Entertainment under the name SK-V. Through 2005-2006 this name changed from SK-V to SK5 and finally Kouchi. Although no tracks were released from this partnership, a clip of 坂道 (Slope) is still featured on the Kouchi website today. Titles thought to have been recorded under this label are 坂道 (Slope), メリーゴーランド (Merry Go-Round), Talking, Happiness, and In The Music.

In 2008 she debuted on the indies label Cyclops and released two mini-albums. The first mini-album, Colors, was produced by Takeshi Hanzawa from FreeTEMPO and was released on June 18, 2008. Her second mini-album, Time & Space, was produced by a number of musicians, including Ram Rider, A Hundred Birds, and Kentaro Takizawa. It was released on December 10, 2008 on CD and on iTunes, where it topped the iTunes Music Store's dance chart in Japan.

The following year, Sawa made her major label debut on Sony Music Entertainment Japan's

Sony Music Entertainment Japan

is Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry....

 sublabel, Epic Records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

, releasing two mini-albums, I Can Fly and Swimming Dancing. I Can Fly was released on July 22, 2009 with commercial tie-ins to MBS

Mainichi Broadcasting System

is a broadcasting station in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network , National Radio Network , Japan News Network and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region. MBS is also one of the major stockholders of Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc...

 TV fashion program "Dress" and a summer commercial for Honda

Honda

is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

. The mini-album peaked at #145 on the Oricon

Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 charts and charted for one week. Swimming Dancing was released on November 25, 2009 and reached a peak position of #210 on the Oricon, charting for one week. A new mini-album titled あいにいくよ (Ai ni Ikuyo) was released on April 7, 2010 and saw SAWA working with producers Nawata Hisashi, Jazzin'park, Junya Ookubo Zyun (ANA) and RAM RIDER.

SAWAs first full album title Welcome to Sa-World is set to be released on July 7, 2010. The album will feature 7 tracks produced by SAWA herself.

Full Albums

1. Welcome to Sa-World (July 7, 2010)
   1. Opening Ceremony ～Sa-Worldへようこそ～(-Welcome to Sa-World-)
   2. MerryGoRound
   3. Stars
   4. NightBus
   5. Chocolate Zone ～野生のSAWA～(-Wild SAWA-)
   6. ManyColors
   7. I'm a president
   8. Throw him away!
   9. Danger Zone ～逃げろ！危うしSa-World！～(-Run away! Dangerous Sa-World!-)
   10. Swimming Dancing
   11. Planet-T
   12. Friday Night
   13. Eat It All ～Live in Sa-World～
   14. I Can Fly
   15. あいにいくよ(I will go meet you)
   16. Dream about...
   17. Thank you for visiting ～My name is...～

Mini-Albums

1. COLORS (June 18, 2008)
   1. ManyColors
   2. Blue
   3. Yellow
   4. Pink
   5. Green

   Produced by Takeshi Hanzawa (FreeTEMPO)

2. TIME&SPACE (December 10, 2008)
   1. Stars (Produced by RAM RIDER)
   2. Discovery (Produced by Yukihiro Fukutomi)
   3. Metropolitan Museum(Produced by Nakatsuka Takeshi)
   4. Are You Ready For Love (Produced by A Hundred Birds)
   5. Space Travel (Produced by Kentaro Takizawa)
3. I Can Fly (July 22, 2009)
   1. I Can Fly (Produced by Sound Around)
   2. Sing It Back (Produced by Yukihiro Fukutomi)
   3. NightDesert (Produced by Haioka (BREMEN))
   4. I Love You Always Forever (Produced by Masayuki Ishii (TICA/gabby & lopez))
   5. My Sunny Days (Produced by note native)
   6. Sing It Back -Extended Club Mix- Japanese Ver.
   7. Sing It Back -Extended Club Mix- English Ver.
   8. Sing It Back -Extended Club Instrumental-

   Tracks 6, 7 and 8 only included on Limited Edition copies

4. Swimming Dancing (November 25, 2009)
   1. Swimming Dancing
   2. World-Wide Tea Party
   3. Swimming Dancing -RYUKYUDISKO Remix-
   4. World-Wide Tea Party -Kentaro Takizawa BIG ROOM Remix-
   5. ManyColors -Yukihiro Fukutomi Remix-
   6. Stars -Jazzin'park 31 good night Remix-
   7. Swimming Dancing -Extended Club Mix-
   8. Stars -Jazzin'park 31 good morning Remix-

   Tracks 7 and 8 only included on Limited Edition copies

   Produced by Taku Takahashi

   Taku Takahashi

   is a Japanese DJ and record producer, who debuted in 1998 as a member of the group M-Flo. The group rose to prominence in the early 2000s, with hit singles such as "How You Like Me Now?" and "Come Again." Takahashi was also a member of Avex's 20th anniversary dance music project Ravex, and has...

   
    (M-Flo

   M-flo

   is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of producer and DJ Taku Takahashi and emcee Verbal.Former member Lisa left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career, and the remaining members then started the M-Flo Loves... project working different vocalists for each song over three albums, including the...

   
   )

5. あいにいくよ (Ai ni Ikuyo；I will go see you) (April 7, 2010)
   1. あいにいくよ (Ai ni Ikuyo) (Produced by Nawata Hisashi)
   2. Jet Coaster (Produced by Jazzin'park)
   3. サイダー (Cider) (Produced by Junya Ookubo Zyun (ANA)
   4. SuperLooper (Produced by RAM RIDER)
   5. Samba de Mar -Nakatsuka Takeshi Remix-

   Track 5 only included on Limited Edition copies

Recordings featured in

• Gekkan Probowler's fourth album eRETRO

2. SUMMER OF LOVE

• WIRED CAFE Music Recommendation Precious

8. Lovefool

• Suneohair
  Suneohair
  is the performing name of Kenji Watanabe. He made his solo debut in 1999 with SUN!NEO!AIR.He is best known for his contributions to the soundtrack of the anime adaptation of Honey & Clover and Honey and Clover II, for which he provided the ending themes and...
  
  's sixth album Birthday

9.

• Juicy Fruits

2. Raspberry Dream

• Judy and Mary 15th Anniversary Tribute Album

5. RADIO

• Sound Around's second album Every With You

4. Every With You feat.SAWA

• GUNDAM 30th CUSTOM

8.

• Seaside Town

1. Samba De Mar

• RYUKYUDISKO's fourth album Pleasure

4. SPLASH☆ feat.SAWA

• Kentaro Takizawa's fourth album Big Room

9. Another Landscape feat. SAWA

11. Keep Love Together feat. The Big Room Family a.k.a. Mika Arisaka and Ryohei with Sawa, Mika Sawabe

• Anan Ryoko's debut album Another Beginning

12. Dreaming feat. SAWA

16. Dreaming feat. SAWA -Japanese Ver.-

• House Nation 3rd Anniversary

19. Swimming Dancing

External links

• Official Site
• Official MySpace
• Sawa Blog 「SAWABURO」
• PlanetSAWA Fan Blog