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Information About

Takako Minekawa





Musical Information

  Name Takako Minekawa
  Img Replace this image1svg
  Background solo_singer
  Origin Japan
  Instrument Synthesiser s
  Genre Shibuya-kei
  Occupation Singer , Songwriter , Musician
  Years Active 1990–present
  Label Polystar , Emperor Norton
  Associated Acts Cornelius , Buffalo Daughter , Kahimi Karie


is a Japanese Musician , Composer and Writer .


BACKGROUND

As an accomplished all-around musician, Minekawa's musical skills set her firmly outside of the 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''.


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 Hardy 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!''

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!"



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