Fujiya & Miyagi

Fujiya & Miyagi produce deadpan alternative dance tracks heavily shaped by 1970s Krautrock traditions along with 1990s acts drawing from Neu! and Kraftwerk, including Stereolab, Broadcast, Aphex Twin, and the Orb. Their initial full-length effort, Electro Karaoke in the Negative Style, came out in 2003. A darker tone emerged on the fourth album Ventriloquizzing from 2011, offset by the release of Artificial Sweeteners three years later. Krautrock alongside electronic pop and disco continued to inform their sound on the 2019 eighth album Flashback, whereas Slight Variations in 2022 sought to capture the full range of their past, current, and forthcoming styles.

The group originated in Brighton, England during 1999 after guitarist David Best and synth player Steve Lewis connected through a casual football match. They selected the name Fujiya & Miyagi randomly, referencing both the character Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid and a stereo brand. As a duo, they issued Electro Karaoke in the Negative Style on Tirk Records in 2003. For live performances supporting that record, bassist Grunder and drummer Matthew Avery joined to complete the band. During preparations for the follow-up release, Best and Lewis determined the quartet setup did not suit recording, so they returned temporarily to duo format before incorporating Matt Hainsby on bass and extra keyboards. This configuration led to Transparent Things, their second album, which appeared on Tirk in 2006. Lightbulbs, the third studio album, followed in 2008 with Lee Adams as the new drummer, and Ventriloquizzing in early 2011 delved into darker material under producer Thom Monahan, known for work with Vetiver and Devendra Banhart. Later in 2011, Nike commissioned the 37-minute piece "Different Blades from the Same Pair of Scissors" for distance running, which saw digital release.

Before Artificial Sweeteners in 2014, a more stripped-down and upbeat effort, drummer Adams exited the band. Lineup adjustments continued ahead of EP1 in 2016 as Hainsby departed, bringing bassist Ben Adamo and drummer Ed Chivers into the fold. EP2 came later that year, succeeded by EP3 in April 2017, the same date as their sixth album Fujiya & Miyagi on Impossible Objects of Desire, which merged the three EPs into an 11-track collection. That November, Impossible Objects of Desire reissued "Different Blades from the Same Pair of Scissors" within a similarly titled album, marking its physical debut. Flashback, the eighth full-length, arrived in 2019 via the same label. Slight Variations from 2022 spanned the broadest stylistic ground, incorporating Krautrock, dub, disco, house, and art pop along with other influences from their history while considering future directions.