Sony Music Artists Inc.

Puffy AmiYumi

Puffy AmiYumi are a girl rock duo and pop culture icons from Japan. Having sold over 10 million CDs with numerous #1 hits, they are a household name in Japan. They have toured overseas aggressively, and their hit American cartoon show, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, has been broadcast in over 110 countries around the world.

CHATMONCHY

Chatmonchy are two girls from Japan who rock. Playing raw, energy-infused melodic rock music, Eriko (guitar and vocal), and Acco (bass), have been making a buzz all across Japan since their 2005 major label debut. They made their North American debut to much media acclaim at the annual SXSW Music Festival in 2010.

YUKI

After debuting as the vocalist of the hugely popular pop-rock band JUDY AND MARY in 1993, YUKI started her solo career in 2001. Her superb vocals, excellent artistic expressions and unique personality have attracted fans from around the globe.

LiSA

As the lead vocalist of the virtual rock band “Girls Dead Monster” in the anime TV series, “Angel Beats!” the band’s debut album charted at #6 (in real life), and a single reached #2. With her fan base won through Girls Dead Monster, she kicked off her solo career with the album “Letters to U” released in April, 2011.

Kaela Kimura

With six albums including an Oricon #1, live performances on nationwide tours, rock festivals and events, and many TV ad appearances, Kaela Kimura is like no other artist. Among her download hits in 2009 and 2010, her song Butterfly, has become a standard wedding song in Japan.

UNICORN

This legendary rock band with twisted pop sounds reunited in 2009 after a 16-year absence. Their first album after reuniting, “Chambre”, charted at #1 on Oricon (Japanese equivalent of Billboard). They followed this up with a tour that sold out five figure capacity venues, as well as well-received appearances at music festivals.

KISHIDAN

Rooted in Japanese “Yankee” youth gang culture, Kishidan sings rock'n roll with superb theatricality and well-choreographed staging. After a three-year hiatus, they released their most recent album, “Kisarazu Graffiti”, in September 2010.

Base Ball Bear

Formed when they were in the same high school, this four piece rock band has already released several albums on EMI and played their first solo concert at Budokan in January 2010. They simultaneously released two full-length albums, “CYPRESS GIRLS” and “DETECTIVE BOYS”, in September 2010.

Unison Square Garden

Formed in 2004, Unison Square Garden is a three-piece rock group that combines catchy melodies with rock attitude. After making their major-label debut in 2008, they have gone on to tour throughout Japan and expand their fan base far and wide. Their most recent album, “JET CO.”, was released in 2010.

Kanon Wakeshima

Basing her image on Japanese Gothic-Lolita fashion, Kanon plays cello and sings a mixture of classical, electronica and pop. She made her debut performances in Paris in 2009, attracting a record number of attendees, and her 2010 sophomore album has been welcomed with huge enthusiasm around the globe.

Lc5

Lc5, a five piece rock band started by miku of AN CAFE, made their major-label debut in 2010. Their unique sound has miku's charismatic vocals front and center with a top-notch band behind him bringing it all together. Lc5 is expected to be the next big thing in the J-rock scene with a tremendous buzz surrounding their every move.

kanon

Best known as the bassist and otaku icon of the successful visual kei band AN CAFE, kanon has recently started his solo career as a video game producer. His first project, “Pinky☆Distortion”, is a mobile-based “visual novel” adventure game in which users play as a rookie manager of a Visual-kei band to lead them to stardom. kanon is also frequently a guest at overseas anime conventions.

kanon x kanon

kanonxkanon, the “2.5-dimensional Anison (Anime song) unit”, is made up of a “mysterious female cello-vocalist” and an “Otaku-kei male creator”, who happen to have the same stage name, share a passion and respect for Anime and Anison, and are people who-you-know, calling themselves an intangible entity from the 2.5th dimension to create Anime songs.

AN CAFE

With their unique style of "Harajuku dance rock", this visual kei rock band has been very popular in Japan and globally. They toured Europe in 2008/2009 and North/South America in 2009, and held their first solo concert at the legendary Budokan in Japan in 2010. While AN CAFE is currently on hiatus, please see kanon, and Lc5 for current projects.

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• Lida's solo project
• YURA sama's solo project

Dacco

This duo was formed by Lida and YURA-sama, former members of the popular Visual-kei band Psycho le Cemu in 2005. They also have solo projects, Lida’s Ninjaman Japan and YURA-sama' s Brother.

Kana Nishino

Born in 1989, Kana Nishino is a major pop/R&B star in Japan. With her true to life love songs and clear voice, she has established herself as an icon among young women of her age. She has sold over 25 million ringtone downloads and over 850,000 physical copies of her 2nd album making it the best selling album by a female solo artist in Japan in 2010.

CHEMISTRY

This super star vocal duo's successes includes six Oricon #1 albums (some of which have sold over one million copies), seven Oricon #1 singles, and the theme song to the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan. Now enjoying their 10th anniversary year (they debuted in 2001), the duo has stayed on top of the scene in Japan and greater Asia.

Asako Toki

Asako Toki is a singer who got her start as vocalist of the pop band “Cymbals”. She has gone on to have a highly successful solo career, releasing well-received singles and albums, having her songs used prominently in commercials and TV programming, and collaborating with numerous artists.

OKAMOTO'S

This young four-piece from Shinjuku, Tokyo’s sound is psychedelic garage mixed with R&B a la the Rolling Stones, the Who and the Stooges. Their name comes from avant-garde painter Taro Okamoto and each member has taken Okamoto as the stage surname in the spirit of the Ramones. 2010 brought them to USA, Australia, and Hong Kong and Vietnam in May, 2011.

Ziyoou-vachi

Formed in Kobe in 2009, Ziyoou-vachi played high-profile gigs at the 2010 Fuji Rock Festival and at a secret party for the fashion brand Hysteric Glamour. When they took the stage, their powerful performances left a major impact on some people who really love music and who are clued into cutting-edge musicians and fashions. So in one evening, the name Ziyoou-vachi flooded all over the web, and rumor had it that they’d soon become a national sensation. Indeed, last March their first album “Majo Gari” (Witch Hunt) was released nationally on their own label Ziyoou Records. Their major-label debut is due this fall.

Sambomaster

Takashi Yamaguchi (Vocals, Guitar), Yoichi Kondo (Bass, Chorus), and Yasufumi Kiuchi (Drums, Chorus) make up this three-piece, especially notable for their funk and soul-influenced rock sound and their plainspoken yet profound lyrics. Playing live, they bowl over audiences with performances that sometimes feature Yamaguchi speaking passionately to the audience. Their 2005 single “Sekai wa sore o ai to yobun da ze” (That’s what the World Calls Love) was used as the theme music to a TV drama and became a major hit. By touring often and working hard, the band has gained a wide-ranging fanbase.

KURONEKO CHELSEA

Literally translated, “Black Cat Chelsea” is a young new 4-piece rock band formed in 2007, when all its members were freshmen at high schools in Kobe. They made their major label debut in 2010, the same year lead singer Daichi Watanabe won the best new actor award at the Japan Grammy Awards for his role in the movie “Oh, My Buddha!”.

OWARIKARA

OWARIKARA is a four-piece psychedelic rock band that formed in 2008 and quickly made a name for themselves through their self-released demo and frequent, energetic live performances. Following up a successful Canadian tour in 2010, the band releases their second full-length album in May 2011.

ROLLY

Starting his career in the rock band Scanch, ROLLY is a guitarist, vocalist, and producer, as well as an actor. His unique and theatrical personality has built a strong fan base, and his memorable appearance in the film "Suicide Circle" has gained him many fans abroad as well.

UNLMITS

Formed in 2002, this 4-piece rock band with two female vocalists gained popularity with their melancholy melodic lines and energetic live shows. Making a major label debut on Sony Music Records in 2010, they will play at Taishan MAO Rock Festival in China in September 2011, and their single to be released in Japan in the same month is the ending theme song to the TV Anime series, BLEACH from July 2011.

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• JAPAN MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

Art School

This legendary rock band with twisted pop sounds reunited after a 16 year absence, charted at #1 and sold out five figure capacity venues.

Open Reel Ensemble / Braun Tube Jazz Band

Formed in 2009 by Ei Wada and his friends, Open Reel Ensemble combines old school, reel-to-reel tape decks and modern technology to form “musical instruments” they use for performance of their compositions. Ei Wada also has his solo project “Braun Tube Jazz Band”, which uses TV picture tubes to generate sounds.

SAWA

Catching the attention of many club DJs and producers thanks to her incredible voice, SAWA also possesses the rare charm present in many of the best J-pop artists. SAWA also performs internationally, having appeared in Korea in 2009. She released her debut full-length album, “Welcome to Sa-World”, in July 2010.

TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA

This nine piece ska band from Tokyo celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2009. Through their ska-based music and amazing live performances around the world, including major American and European festivals such as Eurockeennes, Rock en Seine and Bonnaroo, they have gained diehard fans, commercial success and great credibility.

KATTENI-SHIYAGARE

KATTENI-SHIYAGARE is a swing/jazz band with punk influences that formed in 1997. This 7-piece guitarless group blends the music styles of the 40s through the 60s with punk rock sensibilities and attitude to create a unique style of music that has been turning heads throughout Japan and the world.

T-SQUARE

Making their debut in 1978, T-SQUARE is a pop/smooth jazz band Japan can boast to the world. The group has released over thirty full-length albums throughout their long career and has enjoyed acclaim both in Japan and worldwide. Adding to their great popularity in Korea, their first concert in Taiwan proved to be a huge success and they will continue to venture overseas.

Emiri Miyamoto

Born in Tokyo in 1983, violinist EMIRI MIYAMOTO spent her childhood in Germany. At 14, she won first prize at the German Youth Music Competition. She has performed 20+ songs for film and TV, including the theme song for anime "NODAME CANTABILE in Paris”, released four albums, and is currently the culture segment anchor for a major TV news show in Japan.

Maki Nomiya

As the vocalist of Pizzicato Five in the 90s, Maki Nomiya became wildly popular both domestically and overseas as an icon of the Shibuya-kei music scene. Now, she contributes her entirely unique presence and voice to multiple fields, including music, art, culture and fashion. Her essence is distilled and captured in her theatrical live performances, which are garnering top reviews.

Akiko Yano

This truly original and talented artist/pianist/vocalist has released 27 original albums and done numerous collaborations not only with internationally acclaimed musicians but for film studios like Ghibli.

Schroeder-Headz

A club jazz trio project by the keyboard player, Shunsuke Watanabe who has played for top notch Japanese pop and rock artists like Puffy, Chemistry, Ko Shibasaki, De De Mouse, Motoharu Sano, Bonnie Pink, Kirinji, Kohei Dojima and so on. Named after Schroeder who appeared in the American cartoon, Peanuts, the piano, bass, drums trio plays music imagining the image in the brain of a boy who has contemporary musical ears through listening to classical, jazz, dance, electronica music, etc. and paying respect to Vince Guraldi's trio who made music for animated adaptations of Peanuts.

SAITO JOHNNY

Keen sense of melody, impressive guitar skills, and sweet voice are among this 23 year-old's talents. Hand-selected by Taylor Swift to open for her at the Budokan and other shows in Asia, Johnny engaged the crowd with his blue-grass-influenced solo acoustic playing and honest lyrical quality. More to come from one of SMA's newest signings!

Kaori Momoi

Kaori Momoi is one of Japan’s most respected actresses, her career spanning 40 years and over 60 films. She has worked with legendary directors including Akira Kurosawa and Shohei Imamura, and has won several Japanese Academy Awards. In addition to acting, she also has a successful music career, having released numerous albums and singles.

Rina Takeda

Rina Takeda is a nineteen-year-old karate/action actress and singer who has already had main roles in three feature films: “High Kick Girl” in 2009, “KG Karate Girl” in 2011 and “Kunoichi” in 2011. As a vocalist, she has released the single “High Kick Girl” and sang the theme song of “KG Karate Girl”, “Ready☆Steady☆Go!”.

Nobuo Furukawa

This renowned young cello player has not only been the first cello player of Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra but collaborated with other classical ensembles and other genres of music, including KOBUDO, his permanent trio project with Shakuhachi (Japanese traditional flute) player and pop composer/pianist.