Noriyuki Makihara

In the early 1990s Noriyuki Makihara arrived in the crowded J-Pop environment and resisted the usual pattern of fleeting careers by maintaining an active presence for nearly two decades. Breakthrough tracks such as 1991’s “Donnatokimo” and 1992’s “Mou Koi Nante Shinai” were followed by efforts to align his production with current trends, although the earliest recordings still displayed prominent Casio keyboard-style synthesizers. Over time he established himself as a current artist; a phase of softer sales was underscored when “Ashioto” served as the theme for the Nagano Winter Olympics. A late-1990s resurgence arrived with material including “Hungry Spider,” which drew on American alternative influences. Releasing a steady succession of singles and albums through the first decade of the 2000s, he remained stylistically close to mainstream J-Pop yet secured a lasting position among its recognized figures through sustained output. In late 2007 Makihara reentered the Oricon charts with “Kanashimi Nante Nan no Yaku ni mo Tatanai to Omotteita,” where the single held strong rankings for months.