Viva! La Woman
Encyclopedia
Viva! La Woman is an album by Cibo Matto
released in 1996 by Warner Bros. Records
. The genre has been described as "urban trip-hop". The album received mostly favorable reviews. Some reviewers dismissed the
album as a gimmick, a fact that disappointed the band.
Two singles were released from the album: "Birthday Cake", as a promotional 7" and "Know Your Chicken", in a variety of formats, for which an accompanying video was released. A video for "Sugar Water" was also made, featuring a split-screen technique, which was directed by Michel Gondry
.
caught the label's attention. The tracks reflected the band's live performances, with pre-recorded samples and loops. Yuka Honda has expressed regret that she did not stand up for herself when others discouraged her from replacing the samples and loops with new recordings.
The album's songs all include food in some way, sometimes as a metaphor. Yuka Honda explains: "Food is something you can't escape. It's there every day." The band would frequently go to restaurants after rehearsal, and "Cibo Matto grew out of those restaurant times."
The album booklet contains illustrations and lyrics accompanying most of the songs. The only tracks for which the booklet features no lyrics are "The Candy Man
", a cover of a song from the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (presumably for copyright reasons; the song also has all lyrical instances of "Willy Wonka" changed to "the candy man") and "Jive", to which the album makes no reference, as it is a hidden track with a length of 18 seconds, consisting of Miho Hatori tapping her thighs, for which she is also credited.
"Theme", unusual amongst Cibo Matto's discography for its length, is a track which features a relatively normal song sung in English with several Italian
words, before shifting into instrumental passages, and leading into a second half which contains entire verses in Japanese
and French
.
As well as spending six weeks at the top of CMJ
's College charts, the album was named as one of the ten best albums of 1996 by Spin
magazine, and was later listed in their "Top 90" albums of the 1990s.
Entertainment Weekly
gave the album an A- grade, summarising the album thus: "Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda[...] are sonic savants who go nutty mixing disparate ingredients, like avant-garde trumpet with bossa nova
bass lines and sugary non-sequitur lyrics. The result, Viva! La Woman[...] is kitschy club music, as kooky and lovable as Hello Kitty
."
Additional musicians
Recording personnel
Design and photography personnel
Additional personnel
Cibo Matto
Cibo Matto are a New York City-based band formed by two Japanese women, Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori, in 1994...
released in 1996 by Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. The genre has been described as "urban trip-hop". The album received mostly favorable reviews. Some reviewers dismissed the
album as a gimmick, a fact that disappointed the band.
Two singles were released from the album: "Birthday Cake", as a promotional 7" and "Know Your Chicken", in a variety of formats, for which an accompanying video was released. A video for "Sugar Water" was also made, featuring a split-screen technique, which was directed by Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
.
History
Warner Bros. signed Cibo Matto after their self-titled EPCibo Matto (album)
Cibo Matto is the debut EP by Cibo Matto released in 1995.Three tracks from this release would find their way onto the group's debut full-length album, albeit with slightly different arrangements and cleaner, better-produced vocal takes...
caught the label's attention. The tracks reflected the band's live performances, with pre-recorded samples and loops. Yuka Honda has expressed regret that she did not stand up for herself when others discouraged her from replacing the samples and loops with new recordings.
The album's songs all include food in some way, sometimes as a metaphor. Yuka Honda explains: "Food is something you can't escape. It's there every day." The band would frequently go to restaurants after rehearsal, and "Cibo Matto grew out of those restaurant times."
Album art and lyrical content
The album's lyrical content balances humorous lyrics in "Beef Jerky", "Birthday Cake" and "Know Your Chicken" with abstract, often emotional narrative-style wording in "Apple", "Sugar Water" and "Artichoke", as well as overall pop music fare in "White Pepper Ice Cream", "Theme" and "Le Pain Perdu". Several tracks feature the group's well-known references to food, primarily present on this release.The album booklet contains illustrations and lyrics accompanying most of the songs. The only tracks for which the booklet features no lyrics are "The Candy Man
The Candy Man
"The Candy Man" is a song from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley specifically for the film and does not appear in the original book or the 2005 film adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...
", a cover of a song from the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (presumably for copyright reasons; the song also has all lyrical instances of "Willy Wonka" changed to "the candy man") and "Jive", to which the album makes no reference, as it is a hidden track with a length of 18 seconds, consisting of Miho Hatori tapping her thighs, for which she is also credited.
"Theme", unusual amongst Cibo Matto's discography for its length, is a track which features a relatively normal song sung in English with several Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
words, before shifting into instrumental passages, and leading into a second half which contains entire verses in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Track listing
- "Apple" (Cibo Matto) – 4:01
- "Beef Jerky" (Cibo Matto) – 2:28
- "Sugar Water" (Cibo Matto, Ennio MorriconeEnnio MorriconeEnnio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
) – 4:29 - "White Pepper Ice Cream" (Cibo Matto) – 5:10
- "Birthday Cake" (Cibo Matto) – 3:15
- "Know Your Chicken" (Cibo Matto) – 4:21
- "Theme" (Cibo Matto) – 10:49
- "The Candy ManThe Candy Man"The Candy Man" is a song from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley specifically for the film and does not appear in the original book or the 2005 film adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...
" (Leslie BricusseLeslie BricusseLeslie Bricusse is an English composer, lyricist, and playwright.Although best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, Bricusse has worked with many other composers. He was educated at University College School in London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge...
, Anthony NewleyAnthony NewleyAnthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
) – 3:11 - "Le Pain Perdu" (Cibo Matto) – 3:29 (literally French for "lost bread"; means French toastFrench toastFrench toast or Eggy Bread, is a food made with bread and eggs. It is a Christmas time dessert in Portugal and Brazil.Where French toast is served as a sweet dish, milk, sugar, or cinnamon are also commonly added before frying, and it may be then topped with sugar, butter, fruit, syrup, or other...
) - "Artichoke" (Cibo Matto, Kudsi ErgunerKudsi ErgunerKudsi Erguner is a Turkish musician. He is considered a master of traditional Mevlevi Sufi music and is one of the best-known players of the Turkish ney flute.-Biography:...
) – 6:41 - "Jive" (Cibo Matto) – 0:18 (hidden track)
Reception
Allmusic's Heather Phares appraised Cibo Matto as "Fresh and funky", and said of the album, "Viva! La Woman is an innovative and catchy mix of eclectic samples and stream-of-consciousness lyrics. [...] A diverse and entertaining album, Viva! La Woman leaves the listener hungry for more of their crazy food for thought."As well as spending six weeks at the top of CMJ
College Music Journal
College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...
's College charts, the album was named as one of the ten best albums of 1996 by Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine, and was later listed in their "Top 90" albums of the 1990s.
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the album an A- grade, summarising the album thus: "Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda[...] are sonic savants who go nutty mixing disparate ingredients, like avant-garde trumpet with bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
bass lines and sugary non-sequitur lyrics. The result, Viva! La Woman[...] is kitschy club music, as kooky and lovable as Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty
is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. She is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. The character's first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States...
."
Personnel
From the liner notes of Viva! La Woman:- (Where possible, the credits here have been adapted from humorous accreditations in the album's booklet, which are often made to sound sexual or food-related)
- Miho HatoriMiho Hatoriis a singer, songwriter, and musician. She is primarily known as the vocalist of the New York City group Cibo Matto, and the first person to provide the voice of Gorillaz member Noodle.-Biography:...
– singing, howling, moaning, sighing, thigh tapping, booklet illustrations - Yuka HondaYuka HondaYuka Honda is a Japanese musician who resides in New York City. She is a multi-instrumentalist musician, composer, record producer, and co-founder of the band Cibo Matto...
– programming, keyboards, beach guitar, coughs, engineer (4 and 8), mixing
- Miho Hatori
Additional musicians
- Dougie Bowne – percussion
- Dave DouglasDave Douglas (trumpeter)Dave Douglas is an American jazz trumpeter and composer whose music derives from many non-jazz musical styles, including classical music, folk music from European countries and Klezmer. He has been a member of the experimental big band Orange Then Blue...
– trumpet - Josh RosemanJosh RosemanJosh Roseman is an American jazz trombonist.Roseman was born in Boston, and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. Roseman toured Jamaica with The Skatalites and in Australia with the Christopher Hale Ensemble...
– trombone - Jay Rodriguez – saxophone
- Rick Lee – horns
- Marc Anthony ThompsonChocolate Genius, Inc.Chocolate Genius, Inc. is a loose collective of musicians centered around Marc Anthony Thompson, a singer-songwriter from New York City....
– vocal sounds ("oral titillation") - Bernie WorrellBernie WorrellGeorge Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
– organ
Recording personnel
- Tchad BlakeTchad BlakeTchad Blake is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician.He has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including State Radio, Apartment 26, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel, Pearl Jam, Tom Waits, Richard Thompson, Brazilian Girls, Sheryl Crow, November 2nd, Travis, Marike...
– producer, engineer (except 4 and 8), mixing ("beneath low end sonics") - Bob LudwigBob LudwigBob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....
– mastering - John Paterno – assistant engineer
- Mike PiersanteMike Piersante-2009 GRAMMY Awards:Mike Piersante won two Grammy Awards in 2009 for his work as Engineer/Mixer. The first Grammy was for Please Read the Letter a duet track by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant...
– assistant engineer and mixer - Jesse Habkell – assistant engineer and mixer
- Mike Lee – assistant at Electric Lady StudiosElectric Lady StudiosElectric Lady Studios, at 52 West 8th Street, in New York City's Greenwich Village, is a recording studio originally built by Jimi Hendrix and designed by John Storyk in 1970...
- Mitchell FroomMitchell Froom-Career:Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar...
– assistant ("heavy duty shepherding")
Design and photography personnel
- Mike MillsMike Mills (director)Michael C. "Mike" Mills is an American film and music video director and graphic designer. He is perhaps best known for his independent films Thumbsucker and Beginners.-Early life:...
– art direction and design - Garland Lyn – design assistance
- Dave Aron – back cover photo
- Lance AcordLance AcordLance Acord, A.S.C. is an American cinematographer.Acord was born in Marin County, California. He attended Sir Francis Drake High School's School Within A School program and went on to study photography and filmmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute. He began his professional career with...
– basement photo (CD tray) - Thomas Thurnauer – cover illustration
Additional personnel
- Tim Carr – A&R ("and street dancing")
- Simon B. and Grace Jean – management for Tortured Management
- Richard Grabel – "on point"