Chara | Profile

With her wild earthy look and distinctive voice, Chara is one of the most easily identifiable artists on the music scene. Making music that is at the same time innocent and mature, clean and dirty, Chara's sound is an unfiltered reflection of what's going on inside, pretty much incomparable to any music by western contemporaries. Interested in music and fashion since she was a small girl, Chara recorded a demo and sent it off to CBS/Sony in 1990. The tape landed her a deal with Epic records, and she debuted with a show at Club Quattro in Tokyo the following year. She released the single Heaven the same year, following up with the long player Sweet shortly afterward. The records generated a significant buzz, and Chara had soon gathered a sizable cult following that was buying her records and packing her shows. Media tie-ups came quickly, with Chara's music being featured in spots for Shiseido, Suntory, and others. She released Soul Kiss, her second album, in 1992, followed by Violet Blue and Happy Toy over the next two years. After taking some time off to have her first child, Chara returned to the public eye in 1996 in Shunji Iwai's Swallowtail Butterfly. The fictional band from the film, The Yen Town Band, featured Chara on v... Read More

With her wild earthy look and distinctive voice, Chara is one of the most easily identifiable artists on the music scene. Making music that is at the same time innocent and mature, clean and dirty, Chara's sound is an unfiltered reflection of what's going on inside, pretty much incomparable to any music by western contemporaries. Interested in music and fashion since she was a small girl, Chara recorded a demo and sent it off to CBS/Sony in 1990. The tape landed her a deal with Epic records, and she debuted with a show at Club Quattro in Tokyo the following year. She released the single Heaven the same year, following up with the long player Sweet shortly afterward. The records generated a significant buzz, and Chara had soon gathered a sizable cult following that was buying her records and packing her shows. Media tie-ups came quickly, with Chara's music being featured in spots for Shiseido, Suntory, and others. She released Soul Kiss, her second album, in 1992, followed by Violet Blue and Happy Toy over the next two years. After taking some time off to have her first child, Chara returned to the public eye in 1996 in Shunji Iwai's Swallowtail Butterfly. The fictional band from the film, The Yen Town Band, featured Chara on vocals, and appeared on the film's soundtrack. After Swallotwail Butterfly, Chara released the blockbuster album Junior Sweet, which sold over one million copies in Japan - one of the country's few million sellers in 1997. The album featured arrangements from Towa Tei and Hoppy Kamiyama, and featured composition work from Shinichi Osawa of Mondo Grosso. She also appeard on the Great 3 single Caligula, helping out on songwriting and chorus duties. The follow-up Strange Fruits appeared in 1999, featuring support from Tei and Asano, among others. Chara also teamed up with Yuki from Judy and Mary to release a single as Chara + Yuki. The following year saw the release of Caramel Milk -The Best of Chara, along with several other singles and the full-length Madrigal. In 2002, Chara released the single Skirt with help from Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, and debuted her girl band Mean Machine, another collaboration with Yuki and several other female artists. The record, entitled Cream, was a stripped down, lo fi affair that recalled Breeders, Sleater-Kinney, and other punk influenced girl bands. Chara released the albums Yoakemae in 2003, and Scenery Like Me in 2004. Chara is married to actor Tadanobu Asano, who she originally met on the set of the Shunji Iwai film Picnic. Collapse