the brilliant green

Hailing from Kyoto, Japan, The Brilliant Green operate as a rock trio whose core consists of Tomoko Kawase on vocals, Shunsaku Okuda on bass, and Ryo Matsui on guitar. Additional drummers, guitarists, and keyboard players regularly augment both their studio recordings and live appearances. The band’s edgy yet accessible style recalls early-nineties alternative rock acts such as Liz Phair, the Cardigans, Sheryl Crow, and No Doubt, while also carrying faint traces of the Indigo Girls. Tomoko Kawase’s playful charm surfaces in her sweet vocal tone; bilingual, she moves fluidly between Japanese and English material.

Formed in 1998, the group broke through in Japan with the hit single “There Will Be Love There.” Sales surpassing two million copies earned the band recognition as the country’s best-selling newcomer that year. Their 1998 album Growing preceded the 1999 single Yes and the eleven-track album Terra 2001. The latter release carried the band’s popularity throughout Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and simultaneously sparked growing interest in the United States.