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Pizzicato Five (formerly typeset as Pizzicato V and sometimes abbreviated to P5)[4] was a Japanese pop band formed in Tokyo in 1979 by multi-instrumentalists Yasuharu Konishi and Keitarō Takanami. After some personnel changes in the late 1980s, the band gained international fame as a duo consisting of Konishi and vocalist Maki Nomiya. With their music blending together 1960s pop, jazz and synth-pop,[5] the group were a prominent component in the Shibuya-kei movement of the 1990s.[6]

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Pizzicato Five
Pizzicato Five in the early 1990s. From left: Yasuharu Konishi, Maki Nomiya, Keitarō Takanami
Background information
Also known as	Pizzicato V P5
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Shibuya-kei[1][2] J-pop[1][3]
Years active	1979–2001
Labels	Teichiku Sony Nippon Columbia Matador
Past members	Yasuharu Konishi Keitarō Takanami Ryō Kamomiya Mamiko Sasaki Shigeo Miyata Takao Tajima Maki Nomiya

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. Their music has appeared in numerous movies, television episodes, and video games.

History

1980s

Pizzicato V began in 1979 when university students Yasuharu Konishi and Keitarō Takanami first met at a local music society conference. Ryō Kamomiya, Mamiko Sasaki, and Shigeo Miyata were soon recruited after a few years.[1] Miyata left the group almost immediately but the four remaining members kept the name Pizzicato V. 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.[7] They followed this with the single "Action".[7]

In 1986, Pizzicato V signed with CBS/Sony (now Sony Music Entertainment Japan). In 1987, the band released their first all-new album, Couples.[7] It was a commercial failure, and the record company began pressuring the band to find a new lead singer. Kamomiya and Sasaki decided to quit. Takao Tajima, Original Love's frontman, joined the band soon as the new vocalist.[7] He decided to work at these two bands. With Tajima, the band released its second album, Bellissima! in 1988.[7]

The next two albums, 1989's On Her Majesty's Request and 1990's Soft Landing on the Moon, were also commercial failures.

1990s

In 1990, Maki Nomiya, who had previously released one solo album, joined as the third lead vocalist.[4] Takao Tajima left to concentrate on his own band Original Love. In 1991, Pizzicato Five signed with Nippon Columbia/Seven Gods (later Triad Records).

Following three EPs showcasing Nomiya's vocals, Pizzicato Five released This Year's Girl. 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. The album would spawn two of their best-known songs: "Twiggy Twiggy" and "Baby Love Child".

1992 saw a change in direction as the clubby Sweet Pizzicato Five was released.

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). 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. in Tokyo) became another smash hit after it was used as the opening theme of the children's television programme UgoUgo Rūga Ni-gō.

The band's American debut came in 1994 with the release of the EP Five by Five on Matador Records.[7][4] 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.

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. In February 1995, the two set off on a successful 14-stop tour of Europe and America. Another compilation, The Sound of Music by Pizzicato Five, was released in October 1995, again featuring various tracks from the Maki-era albums.

After the 1996 release of the album Romantique 96 and several singles, including the hit "Baby Portable Rock", in 1997 the band formed its own label, Readymade Records, and released the commercially successful album Happy End of the World – the only Pizzicato Five album to be released unchanged in both Japan and the rest of the world.

In 1998, the band released The International Playboy & Playgirl Record in Japan. It would be released a year later worldwide with a slightly different track listing and the shortened title (which was also its Japanese title) of Playboy & Playgirl.

1999 came and Pizzicato Five released the JBL Maxisonic series of EPs, followed by the album Pizzicato Five. It included songs from each of the three EPs in very different forms: "Darlin' of Discothèque" is shorter and instrumental, "A Perfect World" is a lounge-style rearrangement sung by guest vocalist Mieko Hirota and the new song "20th Century Girl" is based on the B-side "Room Service", originally written by Masumi Arichika of TV Jesus.

Final years

In 2000, Matador Records released Pizzicato Five under the somewhat less confusing name of The Fifth Release from Matador. The CD version of this left out the first song "Love Again" but added three extra tracks (one from each of the JBL Maxisonic EPs), while the LP version shared the same title but deviated still further from the original track listing. It would also be Pizzicato Five's last American release.

2001 saw the Japanese release of the album Çà et là du Japon and the announcement that the band was to break up, followed by a series of live events featuring guest performances by old members and two further Big Hits and Jet Lags albums – Pizzicato Five R.I.P. (1998–2001) and Singles (1993–2001).

Members

Members (at time of disbandment)

• Yasuharu Konishi (1984–2001) – songwriter, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, vocals.

He was the only founding member to stay with the group until the end. He is a music producer now.

• Maki Nomiya (1990–2001) – lead vocals

Their third vocalist. She is also a solo singer, a narrator, a fashion model and a dress designer now.

Former members

• Keitarō Takanami (1984–1994) – guitar, keyboards and vocals.

One of the founding members; he is a guitarist and a music producer now. He changed his name to 高浪敬太郎 (Keitarō Takanami) later, and was also known as "K-taro."

• Mamiko Sasaki (1984–1987) – lead vocals

One of the original members and was the first vocalist of this group.

• Ryō Kamomiya (1984–1987) – keyboards

One of the original members; he is a composer and an arranger now.

• Takao Tajima (1987–1990) – lead vocal, guitar, harmonica

Their second vocalist. He had already come out as Original Love's vocalist then. He is a solo singer and is also a music producer now.

Discography

Studio albums

• Couples (1987)
• Bellissima! (1988)
• On Her Majesty's Request (1989)
• Soft Landing on the Moon (1990)
• This Year's Girl (1991)
• Sweet Pizzicato Five (1992)
• Bossa Nova 2001 (1993)
• Overdose (1994)
• Romantique 96 (1995)
• Happy End of the World (1997)
• The International Playboy & Playgirl Record (1998)
• Pizzicato Five (1999)
• Çà et là du Japon (2001)

References

External links

• (in Japanese) Official Pizzicato Five website with discography
• Matador Record's page on Pizzicato Five
• (in Japanese) Extremely thorough fan site
• Comprehensive database of translated Pizzicato Five lyrics
• Pizzicato Five Discography Song by Song Index
• Pizzicato Five at AllMusic
• Pizzicato Five discography at Discogs
• J-pop.com overview

На других языках

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[de] Pizzicato Five

Pizzicato Five (oft auch P5) war eine japanische Popmusikgruppe, bekannt im Westen vor allem in ihrer späteren Formation als Duo von Nomiya Maki (japanisch 野宮真貴) und Yasuharu Konishi (小西康陽). Ihnen wird zusammen mit der Gruppe Flipper's Guitar oft eine Führungsrolle in der Shibuya-kei-Bewegung im Tokio der 1990er Jahre zugeschrieben. Sie sind für ihre eklektischen und energischen Kompositionen bekannt, die oft wie „neue“ Releases der späten 1960er Hipster-Szene klingen. Ihr Schlagwort „A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular“ gibt die ironische, aber ehrgeizige Sicht der Gruppe wieder. Sie veröffentlichten während ihrer 16-jährigen Existenz mindestens ein Album pro Jahr, dazu verschiedene Singles und Remix-Alben. Die Ursprünge der Formation liegen im Jahr 1979, die tatsächliche Gründung erfolgte 1984 und die formale Auflösung im 2001, auch wenn es 2002 noch ein Abschiedskonzert gab.[1][2][3] Auch über 15 Jahre nach ihrem Ableben als Band sind Pizzicato 5 weiterhin Gäste im Radio, so beispielsweise im November 2017 in der Nightlounge von NDR Blue.[4]

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- [en] Pizzicato Five

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[es] Pizzicato Five

Pizzicato Five (conocidos también por sus iniciales P5, en japonés ピチカート・ファイヴ) fue un grupo japonés de pop, conocido sobre todo por el dúo de Maki Nomiya y Yasuharu Konishi. Sus canciones eclécticas y alegres se inspiran en los años 1960 y 1970. Estuvieron en activo 16 años y se disolvieron en marzo de 2001.

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[ru] Pizzicato Five

«Pizzicato Five», (с англ. — «пиццикато-пять», сокращённо «P5») — японская поп-группа, наиболее известная западной аудитории в своём позднейшем составе — как дуэт Маки Номии и Ясухару Кониси. Группа, наравне с «Flipper's Guitar» называемая зачинателем движения сибуя-кэй, известна благодаря своим энергичным и эклектичным композициям, зачастую звучащим как «новые» произведения «хипстеров» 1960-х годов. Лозунг «A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular» — «Новый, шикарный стереофонический звук» отражает ироничную и эффектную позицию группы. Созданная в 1985 году, группа распалась в марте 2001-го.

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