Biography
Though she now makes her home in Paris, the Japanese singer/songwriter Kahimi Karie remains tied to the sleek, trend-setting image and sound of Tokyo’s Shibuya district, the same scene that shaped fellow artists Fantastic Plastic Machine, Pizzicato Five, and Cornelius. Cornelius, whose real name is Keigo Oyamada, played a pivotal role in launching her recording career; in the early ’90s, when she worked as a music photographer and he was her boyfriend, Oyamada invited her to perform with a band on a label run by one of his friends, thereby introducing her sweet, sensual, yet innocent vocal style to listeners. Almost at once, following the appearance of her debut EP, she rose to superstardom in Japan, issuing multiple gold-status singles, presenting a radio program, and supplying the theme song for one of the country’s most popular animated series. She went on to work with members of Pizzicato Five, French indie pop vocalist Katerine, and, above all, Scottish singer/songwriter Momus, who composed and produced tracks for numerous subsequent singles and albums, among them her 1998 self-titled U.S. debut issued by Minty Fresh Records. That same year she made her first concert appearance in the States, serving as the opening act on Momus’ U.S. tour; the pair traveled together again the next year, during which Karie also brought out K.K.K.K.K. domestically on Le Grand Magistery, Momus’ American label. Journey to the Centre of Me reached stores in mid-2000.