Jun Togawa
Vocals/Composer: Jun Togawa
Started: 1980’s
Status: Active
Profile
Born in 1961, avant-garde vocalist and composer Jun Togawa made her debut as an actress in the TV drama show "Shiawase Sensou" in 1980 and continued to be in films, such as "Kazoku Game", "Downtown Heros", "Chibusa" and "Baku!", through the 80s and 90s. She was also in commercials for Toto’s "Washlet", Yamaha electric organs and Ford cars and was the sole star of the one-man play "Hone o oru".In the early 80s she also released her first single "Virgin Blues", which was followed up by the album "Tamahime". Although she started off as an "idol" singer, or at least a parody of one, her unusual personality, surreal and sometimes disturbing lyrics and great vocal range made her stand out from all the other "cute" pop vocalists that were popular at the time. Her vocals are a mix of sugary sweet, shouting, operatics and straight singing, which. especially when combined with her music that goes from military sounding marches to techno-pop and Japanese style melodies to songs with a punk flavour to swing-influenced tracks, is unique. Her lyrics are also interesting, and in songs like "Konchu-gun"(Swarms of insects) and "Mushi-no-Onna"(A chrysalis woman) she used "insects" and "parasites" as metaphors for gaining from the oppressive "humanity" of modern society.
As well as working as a solo artist, she was also the vocalist of The Yapoos, a synth-pop/rock band, Guernica, avant-garde music in a retro 1920’s and 30’s cabaret styleAand most recently Jun Togawa Band, she has been a very influential underground artist, although she never had major pop success due to her un-commercial attitude.
In addition to her songs being re-mixed by artist such as Coba, producer Jim O’Rourke, who worked with Sonic Youth amongst others, even stated that he thought her 2001 album "Goodbye 20th Century" was one of the best albums of the year.
She is currently working with Jun Togawa Band playing a combination of noise-rock, opera, disco, techono-pop and more, and continues to be a well-respected and influential musician with a dedicated fanbase.
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Thoughts
I really like Jun Togawa’s music and think she’s a very interesting artist. Her distinct voice and lyrics are great and make her different to other female singers. However, you will probably either love or hate her voice as it does sometimes sound a little out of tune (as is the case with artists such as Kana and Bjork, who have a slightly similar style to her), so she’s not for everyone. However, her voice suits her music perfectly and the variety in it is wonderful.Click to read/add your opinion!
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Music Samples:
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Kyokutou Hanayome |
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Virgin Blues |
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Pictures
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Discography
Solo CDs
Tamahime-sama
Uratamehime
Kyokutou Ian Shouka
Suki Suki Daisuki
Tokyo Yaban
Shouwa Kyounen
Super Best of Jun Togawa
20th Jun Togawa
CDs with Yapoos
Yapoos Keikaku
Dai Tenshi No Yoni
Dial Y wo mawase!
Dadada ism
YAPOOS NO FUSHIN NA KOUDOU (LIVE)
HYS
Yapoos Best
CD-Y
CDs with Guernica:
Kaizo Heno Yakudo
Shinseiki e no unga
Denri-sou kara no manazashi
Rewriting History
~ In Memori Futari ~
Links
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