Fuji Fabric is a classic example of a band whose music is unclassifiable. Their music is all over the map stylistically, with touches of jazz, kayokyoku pop, soul, samba, folk and even disco. Vocalist/guitarist Masahiko Shimura sings soulfully and confidently and is one of Japan's most promising young songwriters. The band takes its name from a textile company in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, which is where Fuji Fabric's two founding members, Shimura and Takayuki Watanabe, the son of Fuji...

Fuji Fabric is a classic example of a band whose music is unclassifiable. Their music is all over the map stylistically, with touches of jazz, kayokyoku pop, soul, samba, folk and even disco. Vocalist/guitarist Masahiko Shimura sings soulfully and confidently and is one of Japan's most promising young songwriters. The band takes its name from a textile company in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, which is where Fuji Fabric's two founding members, Shimura and Takayuki Watanabe, the son of Fuji Fabric's owner, come from (Watanabe is no longer in the band, by the way). Watanabe and Shimura formed a cover band soon after they first met as junior high school students in Yamanashi. After graduating from high school, Watanabe and Shimura relocated to Tokyo and recruited other musicians to join the band. The buzz surrounding the band steadily increased, and following the release of their first mini-album A la Carte in late 2002, there was a bidding war among major labels to sign Fuji Fabric. Toshiba-EMI eventually signed them, but that label has found it hard to promote Fuji Fabric, probably because their music is not readily pigeonholed.