Takako Minekawa
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
musician
, composer
and writer
.
"idol
" tradition: she writes and composes most of her material, singing quirky lyrics about subjects such as clouds, cats, and the color white (her personal favorite), with her love of Kraftwerk
and French Pop Music also showing through her unique experimental sound. She often makes use of vintage Casio
keyboard
s and analog Moog synthesizer
s, as well as vocoder
s and other electronic instruments.
Her live debut was in 1990, calling herself Mamene Kirerie as a member of the group Fancy Face Groovy Name alongside Kahimi Karie
and backed by Flipper's Guitar
. She was also a member of the band L⇔R before releasing her solo debut, Chat Chat
in 1994.
Although as a child Minekawa had a short acting career, this interest has not resurfaced in her adult life (aside from her voice exclaiming "PlayStation
!" in a recent commercial for the product).
She has written professionally, as regular columnist in the Japanese edition of Keyboard Magazine; she also contributed a serialized novel to the Japanese quarterly Bungei
.
She married fellow musician Keigo Oyamada (aka Cornelius
) in 2000. The pair have collaborated on several projects. Cornelius remixed some of her songs, including the well-received "Milk Rock". He also produced her album Fun9.
and Pierre Bachelet
. The influence of the British band Stereolab
can also be heard in her music. While there are certainly touches of humor in her lyrics and tone, she is a sincere fan of Krautrock
, particularly the earlier works of electronic music
pioneers Kraftwerk
, to whom she dedicated the song Kraftpark! Another influence is former Yellow Magic Orchestra
member Haruomi Hosono
, who she paid tribute to with cover version
s of his song "Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa" (1984), in 1995 and again in 2007 with Ryuichi Sakamoto
.
In an interview, Minekawa explained her admiration for the band: "I decided to describe the landscape of Kraftpark with sound and narration. This song is not a parody of Kraftwerk. I did it because I love them!"
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Background
As an accomplished all-around musician, Minekawa's musical skills set her firmly outside of the J-PopJ-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
"idol
Japanese idol
In Japanese culture, are media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g...
" tradition: she writes and composes most of her material, singing quirky lyrics about subjects such as clouds, cats, and the color white (her personal favorite), with her love of Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
and French Pop Music also showing through her unique experimental sound. She often makes use of vintage Casio
Casio
is a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946, with its headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Casio is best known for its electronic products, such as calculators, audio equipment, PDAs, cameras, musical instruments, and watches...
keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s and analog Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
s, as well as vocoder
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
s and other electronic instruments.
Her live debut was in 1990, calling herself Mamene Kirerie as a member of the group Fancy Face Groovy Name alongside Kahimi Karie
Kahimi Karie
Kahimi sings in English, French, and Japanese with whisper-like vocals.-Albums:* 1997 - Larme de crocodile * July 15, 1998 - K.K.K.K.K. * May 24, 2000 - Tilt...
and backed by Flipper's Guitar
Flipper's Guitar
Flipper's Guitar were a Tokyo-based Japanese pop band led and later duo by Keigo Oyamada and Kenji Ozawa. The band were influenced by the chirpy sound of British 80s pop groups like Haircut One Hundred, Exhibit B, The Style Council and Aztec Camera, as well as the fashionably eclectic sounds of...
. She was also a member of the band L⇔R before releasing her solo debut, Chat Chat
Chat Chat
-Track listing:# "I Love" - 2:30# "Summertime Blues" - 4:35# "Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä" - 4:22# "Clover" - 5:28# "Moonlight Shadow" - 5:09# "My Love" - 6:54# "Drive My Car" - 2:08# "Gotta Pull Myself Together" - 4:38# "Circling Times Square" - 5:09...
in 1994.
Although as a child Minekawa had a short acting career, this interest has not resurfaced in her adult life (aside from her voice exclaiming "PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
!" in a recent commercial for the product).
She has written professionally, as regular columnist in the Japanese edition of Keyboard Magazine; she also contributed a serialized novel to the Japanese quarterly Bungei
Bungeishunju
, established in 1923, is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine Bungeishunjū. It also grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well as the annual Naoki Prize for popular novelists. It also grants the annual...
.
She married fellow musician Keigo Oyamada (aka Cornelius
Cornelius (musician)
Cornelius is a Japanese recording artist and producer.-Career:Oyamada's first claim to fame was as a member of the pop duo Flipper's Guitar, one of the key groups of the Tokyo Shibuya-kei scene...
) in 2000. The pair have collaborated on several projects. Cornelius remixed some of her songs, including the well-received "Milk Rock". He also produced her album Fun9.
Influences
Minekawa's musical influences are as varied as her lyrics. An avowed fan of French pop, some of her favorite French artists include Françoise HardyFrançoise Hardy
Françoise Madeleine Hardy is a French singer, actress and astrologer. Hardy is an iconic figure in fashion, music and style. She is married to the singer and movie actor Jacques Dutronc.-Biography:...
and Pierre Bachelet
Pierre Bachelet
Pierre Bachelet was a French singer-songwriter with a gentle romantic voice.Bachelet spent part of his childhood in Calais and developed a lifelong appreciation of the North of France, which inspired his hit song "Les corons" .His other hit songs include "Elle est d'ailleurs" , "Écris-moi" ,...
. The influence of the British band Stereolab
Stereolab
Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...
can also be heard in her music. While there are certainly touches of humor in her lyrics and tone, she is a sincere fan of Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
, particularly the earlier works of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
pioneers Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
, to whom she dedicated the song Kraftpark! Another influence is former Yellow Magic Orchestra
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Sakamoto first worked with Hosono as a member of his live band in 1976, while Takahashi recruited Sakamoto to produce his debut solo recording in 1977 following the split of the Sadistic Mika Band...
member Haruomi Hosono
Haruomi Hosono
, also known as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese popular musician, best known internationally as a key member of the rock band Happy End and the pioneering electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra.-Biography:...
, who she paid tribute to with cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of his song "Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa" (1984), in 1995 and again in 2007 with Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
.
In an interview, Minekawa explained her admiration for the band: "I decided to describe the landscape of Kraftpark with sound and narration. This song is not a parody of Kraftwerk. I did it because I love them!"
Discography
- Chat ChatChat Chat-Track listing:# "I Love" - 2:30# "Summertime Blues" - 4:35# "Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä" - 4:22# "Clover" - 5:28# "Moonlight Shadow" - 5:09# "My Love" - 6:54# "Drive My Car" - 2:08# "Gotta Pull Myself Together" - 4:38# "Circling Times Square" - 5:09...
(1995) - (A Little Touch of) Baroque in Winter(A Little Touch Of) Baroque in WinterBaroque in Winter is a 1995 Christmas EP by Takako Minekawa.-Track listing:# "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" – 3:03# "Christmas Wish" – 2:51# "La Valse Grise n° 3 on Aminúre" – 1:45# "Snow Frolic" – 1:57...
(1995) - Roomic CubeRoomic CubeRoomic Cube is a 1996 album by Takako Minekawa. Track #2 'Fantastic Cat' came to prominence in 2006 when featured in the memorable Miller Brewing Company beer advertisement with a man on his bicycle descending down a hill.-Track listing:...
(1996) (top 20 on the CMJ college charts) - AthleticaAthleticaAthletica is a 1997 EP by Takako Minekawa.-Track listing:# "Metromusica" - 8:33# "Slow Flow Mole" - 7:00# "Klaxon! " - 4:12# "Fabie " - 5:25# "Fabie " - 3:31...
[EP] (1997) - Cloudy Cloud CalculatorCloudy Cloud CalculatorCloudy Cloud Calculator is a 1997 album by Takako Minekawa. It was released by Emperor Norton Records in the United States. It is Minekawa's fourth album...
(1997) - Ximer ...c.c.c.remix (1998)
- Fun 9Fun 9-Track listing:# "Gently Waves" - 1:50# "Plash" - 4:11# "Flow in a Tide" - 3:42# "Fantastic Voyage" - 4:56# "Tiger" - 4:46# "Shh Song" - 1:52# "Spin Spider Spin" - 2:56# "Flash" - 1:21# "Fun 9 " - 0:09# "Soft Graffiti" - 4:58...
(1999) - Recubed [EP] (1999)
- Maxi OnMaxi On-Track listing:# "Maxi On!" - 2:46# "Lullaby Of Gray" - 3:44# "A Report On An Investigation" - 4:53# "Brioche" - 1:43# "Picnic At Loose Rock" - 5:45 # "Follow My Dreams" - 4:22# "Sleeping Bag" - 5:24...
(2000)
External links
- Nippop Profile | Takako Minekawa
- US music label page - Emperor Norton RecordsEmperor Norton RecordsEmperor Norton Records, was a Los Angeles-based electronica, hip-hop, and dance-music record label. Among the artists featured on the label were Ladytron, Arling & Cameron, Money Mark, Ugly Duckling, and Fantastic Plastic Machine...
- Fan site with extensive gallery