{{Short description|Japanese musician and writer}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2014}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Takako Minekawa | image = Takako Minekawa.jpg | caption = Minekawa in 2007 | landscape = yes | birth_name = | alias = Mamene Kirerie | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|06|03}} | origin = Japan | instrument = {{hlist|Synthesizer|guitar}} | genre = {{hlist|[[Shibuya-kei]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2014/09/02/music/dustin-wong-takako-minekawa-let-imaginations-run-wild-new-album/|title=Dustin Wong and Takako Minekawa let their imaginations run wild on new album|newspaper=[[The Japan Times]]|date=September 2, 2014|access-date=September 12, 2020|last=St. Michel|first=Patrick}}</ref>|[[electropop]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/dustin_wong_takako_minekawa_team_up_for_new_collaborative_album|title=Dustin Wong and Takako Minekawa Team Up for Second Collaborative Album|magazine=[[Exclaim!]]|date=July 30, 2014|access-date=September 13, 2020|last=Hudson|first=Alex}}</ref>}} | occupation = {{hlist|Musician|singer|songwriter}} | years_active = 1990–present | label = {{hlist|Umor Rex|[[Thrill Jockey]]|Plancha|Polystar|[[Emperor Norton Records|Emperor Norton]]|March}} | associated_acts = {{hlist|[[Buffalo Daughter]]|[[Cornelius (musician)|Cornelius]]|L⇔R|[[Dustin Wong]]}} | website = }} {{Nihongo|'''Takako Minekawa'''|嶺川貴子|Minekawa Takako|born June 3, 1969}} is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, and writer.
==Career== In her childhood, Minekawa acted in film and television.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/takako-minekawa-mn0000790646/biography|title=Takako Minekawa|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=September 12, 2020|last=Phares|first=Heather}}</ref> Minekawa's first musical venture was playing in Lolita, a band she formed with several college friends.<ref name="allmusic"/> She then performed under the alias Mamene Kirerie in the duo Fancy Face Groovy Name with [[Kahimi Karie]], backed by [[Flipper's Guitar]].<ref name="allmusic"/> Minekawa debuted as a solo performer in 1995 with the release of her first album ''[[Chat Chat]]'' by the Japanese label Polystar, followed later in the year by the [[extended play|EP]] ''[[(A Little Touch Of) Baroque in Winter]]''.<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="winters">{{cite book|chapter=Takako Minekawa|last=Winters|first=Kelly|title=Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music|editor-last=Pilchak|editor-first=Angela M.|publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]|volume=53|year=2005|isbn=978-0787680664}}</ref>
With her second studio album, ''[[Roomic Cube]]'' (1996), Minekawa began pursuing a more refined musical style rooted in influences from [[bossa nova]], [[French pop music]] and experimental [[electronic music]].<ref name="allmusic"/> It increased her popularity in Japan, while also crossing over to listeners in North America,<ref name="winters"/> where it received airplay on [[college radio]] stations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emperornorton.com/mod/artistpage.php3?artist=takako_minekawa|title=Takako Minekawa|publisher=[[Emperor Norton Records]]|access-date=September 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030207160552/http://www.emperornorton.com/mod/artistpage.php3?artist=takako_minekawa|archive-date=February 7, 2003|url-status=dead}}</ref> She released her third studio album ''[[Cloudy Cloud Calculator]]'' in 1997.<ref name="allmusic"/> The EPs ''Recubed'' and ''Ximer... C.C.C. Remix'', consisting of remixes of tracks from ''Roomic Cube'' and ''Cloudy Cloud Calculator'' respectively, were released in 1998.<ref name="allmusic"/> 1999 saw the release of Minekawa's fourth studio album ''[[Fun 9]]'', which featured prominent contributions from her then-partner [[Cornelius (musician)|Cornelius]].<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="winters"/>
In 2000, Minekawa released the EP ''[[Maxi On]]'', a collaboration with American [[experimental pop]] band Dymaxion, after which she took an extended break from her musical career.<ref name="allmusic"/> After a 13-year hiatus, Minekawa recorded a new album, ''Toropical Circle'', with collaborator [[Dustin Wong]], which was released in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18005-takako-minekawa-dustin-wong-tropical-circle/|title=Takako Minekawa / Dustin Wong: Toropical Circle|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=June 18, 2013|access-date=June 18, 2013|last=Greene|first=Jayson|author-link=Jayson Greene}}</ref> Minekawa and Wong released two subsequent collaborative albums, ''Savage Imagination'' (2014) and ''Are Euphoria'' (2017).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2017/04/18/music/dustin-wong-open-opinion-latest-album-takako-minekawa/|title=Dustin Wong is open to opinion on his latest album with Takako Minekawa|newspaper=[[The Japan Times]]|date=April 18, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2020|last=Aoki|first=Ryotaro}}</ref> The duo also collaborated with American [[experimental music]] band Good Willsmith on the album ''Exit Future Heart'', recorded in [[Chicago]] and released in 2018.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/dustin-wong-takako-minekawa-good-willsmith-exit-future-heart-stream/|title=Dustin Wong, Takako Minekawa, and Good Willsmith's New Album Is Pure Bliss|magazine=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]|date=May 7, 2018|access-date=September 13, 2020|last=Joyce|first=Colin}}</ref>
==Musical style and influences== {{Multiple issues|section=yes| {{Tone|section|date=August 2020}} {{Citations needed|date=August 2024}} }} Minekawa's musical skills set her firmly outside of the [[J-pop]] "[[Japanese idol|idol]]" tradition: she writes and composes most of her own material, singing about subjects such as clouds, cats, and the [[White|color white]] (her personal favorite). Her love of [[electronic music]] pioneers, such as [[Kraftwerk]], as well as [[French pop music]]<ref name='hc'>{{cite web|last=Eguchi |first=Weston |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1999/2/19/takako-minekawa-pmusic-and-colors-are/ |title=Takako Minekawa | Arts | The Harvard Crimson |publisher=Thecrimson.com |date=July 7, 2013 |accessdate=August 6, 2013}}</ref> can be seen in her unique experimental sound. She often makes use of vintage [[Casio]] keyboards<ref name='hc'/> and analog [[Moog synthesizer]]s,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-12-24-1998358101-story.html|title=Takako Minekawa: Cloudy Cloud Calculator (Emperor Norton 7010)|newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|date=December 24, 1998|access-date=April 21, 2021|last=Considine|first=J. D.|author-link=J. D. Considine}}</ref> as well as [[vocoder]]s and other [[electronic instruments]].
Minekawa's musical influences are varied. Some of her favorite French artists include [[Françoise Hardy]] and [[Pierre Bachelet]]. The influence of the British band [[Stereolab]] can also be heard in her music, and there are touches of humor in her lyrics and tone. She also enjoys [[Krautrock]], particularly the earlier works of [[Kraftwerk]], to whom she dedicated the song ''Kraftpark!''<ref name='hc'/> Minekawa explained her admiration for the band in an interview: "I decided to describe the landscape of Kraftpark with sound and narration. This song is not a parody of Kraftwerk. I did it because I love them!"{{citation needed|date=December 2010}} <!-- needs to be formatted and completed --> Another influence is [[Yellow Magic Orchestra]] member [[Haruomi Hosono]], whom she paid tribute to with [[cover version]]s of his song "[[Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film)|Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa]]" (1984) in 1995 and again in 2007 with [[Ryuichi Sakamoto]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Takako Minekawa|url=http://www.whosampled.com/cover/view/11259/Takako%20Minekawa-Kaze%20No%20Tani%20No%20Nausica%C3%A4_Narumi%20Yasuda-Kaze%20No%20Tani%20No%20Nausica%C3%A4/|publisher=[[WhoSampled]]|accessdate=July 16, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Discogs release|2562103|Various – Haruomi Hosono Strange Songbook – Tribute To Haruomi Hosono}}</ref>
==Other ventures== Minekawa has written professionally as a regular columnist for the Japanese edition of ''[[Keyboard (magazine)|Keyboard]]'' magazine. She also contributed a serialized novel to the Japanese quarterly ''[[Bungeishunjū|Bungei]]''.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}}
==Personal life== Minekawa married fellow musician Keigo Oyamada ({{aka}} [[Cornelius (musician)|Cornelius]]) in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|title=Article: A cult figure, made in Japan|newspaper=[[The Record (Bergen County)|The Record]]|date=August 9, 2002|last=Tuzeeo|first=Salatore Jr.}}</ref> They divorced in 2012.<ref name="allmusic"/> Together they have one son, Milo.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2006/10/19/music/cornelius-pops-back-with-touching-sounds/|title=Cornelius pops back with touching sounds|newspaper=[[The Japan Times]]|date=October 19, 2006|access-date=September 12, 2020|last=Robson|first=Daniel}}</ref> Minekawa and Cornelius have collaborated on several projects, including a remix of Minekawa's ''Cloudy Cloud Calculator'' track "Milk Rock", and several tracks on Minekawa's album ''Fun 9''.
==Discography== '''Studio albums''' *''[[Chat Chat]]'' (1995) *''[[Roomic Cube]]'' (1996) *''[[Cloudy Cloud Calculator]]'' (1997) *''[[Fun 9]]'' (1999) *''Toropical Circle'' {{small|(with [[Dustin Wong]])}} (2013) *''Savage Imagination'' {{small|(with Dustin Wong)}} (2014) *''Are Euphoria'' {{small|(with Dustin Wong)}} (2017) *''Exit Future Heart'' {{small|(with Dustin Wong and Good Willsmith)}} (2018) * ''Traces of the ceiling'' (2025)
'''Extended plays''' *''(A Little Touch Of) Baroque in Winter'' (1995) *''[[Athletica]]'' (1997) *''Recubed'' (1998) *''Ximer... C.C.C. Remix'' (1998) *''[[Maxi On]]'' (2000) *''Kannazuki'' {{small|(with [[Haco]], Dustin Wong and Tarnovski)}} (2019)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20021206220213/http://www.polystar.co.jp/takako/index2.html}}
{{Takako Minekawa}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Minekawa, Takako}} [[Category:1969 births]] [[Category:20th-century Japanese women singers]] [[Category:20th-century Japanese singers]] [[Category:21st-century Japanese women singers]] [[Category:21st-century Japanese singers]] [[Category:English-language Japanese singers]] [[Category:Japanese women singer-songwriters]] [[Category:Japanese male singer-songwriters]] [[Category:Japanese women pop singers]] [[Category:Japanese women in electronic music]] [[Category:Shibuya-kei musicians]] [[Category:Electropop musicians]] [[Category:Japanese child actresses]] [[Category:Living people]]