Shortly before the release of the next album Overdose in the same year, Keitarō Takanami quit the band, leaving Konishi and Nomiya as the only remaining members. This was quickly followed by a full-length album, Made in USA, a compilation of tracks from their last three Japanese albums which sold 200,000 copies worldwide. The band's American debut came in 1994 with the release of the EP Five by Five on Matador Records. in Tokyo) became another smash hit after it was used as the opening theme of the children's television programme UgoUgo Rūga Ni-gō. In December, the single "The Night Is Still Young" ( 東京は夜の七時, tōkyō wa yoru no shichiji ) (literally, 7 p.m. The band began to get increasing exposure via the theme songs it recorded for television dramas (a common practice for pop bands in Japan), achieving widespread fame with the 1993 single "Sweet Soul Revue", which was featured in a major spring advertising campaign for Kao Corporation (Kanebo Cosmetics). The album would spawn two of their best-known songs: "Twiggy Twiggy" and "Baby Love Child".ġ992 saw a change in direction as the clubby Sweet Pizzicato Five was released. Inspired by the advent of sampling ( De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising is said to have been a major influence), the group put together a sound which would help start the burgeoning Shibuya-kei scene. In 1991, Pizzicato Five signed with Nippon Columbia/Seven Gods (later Triad Records).įollowing three EPs showcasing Nomiya's vocals, Pizzicato Five released This Year's Girl. Takao Tajima left to concentrate on his own band Original Love. In 1990, Maki Nomiya, who had previously released one solo album, joined as the third lead vocalist. The next two albums, 1989's On Her Majesty's Request and 1990's Soft Landing on the Moon, were also commercial failures. With Tajima, the band released its second album, Bellissima! in 1988. Takao Tajima, Original Love's frontman, joined the band soon as the new vocalist. It was a commercial failure, and the record company began pressuring the band to find a new lead singer. In 1987, the band released their first all-new album, Couples. In 1986, Pizzicato V signed with CBS/Sony (now Sony Music Entertainment Japan). They followed this with the single "Action". The band released its first single on Haruomi Hosono's Non-Standard label ( Teichiku Records), a 12-inch release titled "The Audrey Hepburn Complex" which was produced by Hosono, in 1985. Miyata left the group almost immediately but the four remaining members kept the name Pizzicato V. Ryō Kamomiya, Mamiko Sasaki, and Shigeo Miyata were soon recruited after a few years. Pizzicato V began in 1979 when university students Yasuharu Konishi and Keitarō Takanami first met at a local music society conference. Their music has appeared in numerous movies, television episodes, and video games. Pizzicato Five was a hugely prolific group during its existence, usually releasing at least a studio album each year in addition to various EPs and remix albums. With their music blending together 1960s pop, jazz and synth-pop, the group were a prominent component in the Shibuya-kei movement of the 1990s. After some personnel changes in the late 1980s, the band gained international fame as a duo consisting of Konishi and vocalist Maki Nomiya. Pizzicato Five (formerly typeset as Pizzicato V and sometimes abbreviated to P5) was a Japanese pop band formed in Tokyo in 1979 by multi-instrumentalists Yasuharu Konishi and Keitarō Takanami.
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