Masafumi Gotoh (後藤 正文, Gotō Masafumi) (December 2, 1976) is the lead vocalist, main songwriter and rhythm guitarist of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation. Masafumi met fellow band members Kensuke Kita and Takahiro Yamada while attending a music club of Kanto Gakuin University. The three formed Asian Kung-Fu Generation in 1996, with drummer Kiyoshi Ijichi joining the band shortly after.[1] As the main songwriter of the band, Gotō is credited with writing a majority of their lyrics, but has a strong tendency to share songwriting duties equally among his bandmates. His vocal style most often alternates between soft, melodic singing, and harder, harsher, yelling.[2] Masafumi has a degree in economics and his favourite artists include Weezer, Number Girl, Oasis, Teenage Fanclub, and Beck.[3] He produces records for other artists such as Chatmonchy, Dr. Downer and The Chef Cooks Me.[4] He was also one of the founding members of the band Skeletons (スケルトンズ).[5]
Masafumi Gotoh 後藤正文 | |
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Masafumi Gotō in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Gotch |
| Born | (1976-12-02) December 2, 1976 (age 45) Shimada, Shizuoka, Japan |
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| Years active | 1996–present |
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| Website | Sony OID |
In 2010, Gotoh launched his own music label, only in dreams.[6] In 2012, he started a solo project under the name Gotch, and released the single "'lost".[7] In 2014, he released his debut solo album, Can't Be Forever Young and released live album called, Live in Tokyo.[8] In 2016, he released his second solo album, Good New Times, with most songs using English lyrics.[9]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [10] |
JPN Billboard | ||||||||||
| Can't Be Forever Young |
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14 | — | ||||||||
| Good New Times |
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25 | 47 | ||||||||
| Lives By The Sea |
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115 | — | ||||||||
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [10] |
JPN Billboard | ||||||||||
| Live in Tokyo |
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85 | — | ||||||||
| Title | Details |
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| Goto to Togo (with Kiyomaru Togo) |
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| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [10] | |||
| "Lost" | 2012 | — | Can't Be Forever Young |
| "The Long Goodbye" | 2013 | — | |
| "Wonderland" | 2014 | 48 | |
| "Route 6" | — | — | |
| "Taxi Driver" | 2017 | — | Lives By The Sea |
| "Nothing But Love" | 2020 | — | |
| "Stay Inside" (featuring mabanua) |
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| "The Age" (featuring BASI, Dhira Bongs and Keishi Tanaka) |
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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| Nano–Mugen | |
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