Singer-songwriter Miho Moribayashi's weird and wonderful Hi-Posi has been churning out sweet pop confections for almost two decades. Inspired by a wide array of influences, including new wave, techno-pop, ska, and lounge, Hi-Posi is one in a long list of Japanese artists able to distill seemingly disparate influences into something uniquely Japanese. Hi-Posi was formed in 1988 as a two-member unit centering on Moribayashi, where the confessional, often sex-centered style that she retains today...

Singer-songwriter Miho Moribayashi's weird and wonderful Hi-Posi has been churning out sweet pop confections for almost two decades. Inspired by a wide array of influences, including new wave, techno-pop, ska, and lounge, Hi-Posi is one in a long list of Japanese artists able to distill seemingly disparate influences into something uniquely Japanese. Hi-Posi was formed in 1988 as a two-member unit centering on Moribayashi, where the confessional, often sex-centered style that she retains today was soon defined. The following year saw the addition of guitarist Kenji Kondo and bassist Naomi Araki, and the band appeared in the TBS music contest Ikaten, where they performed the song "Sakasama no sekai chizu". Unfortunately, they were not victorious. Despite the Ikaten setback, Hi-Posi made their major label debut on Toshiba-EMI in 1991, where they released two records, including the theme song to the Tokyo Television program 2x3 ga roppo, on which Moribayashi had become a regular. The group soon returned to the indie world, however, where they released a wide range of records over the next several years, including an album filled with cover songs of cuts from other Japanese bands. In 1995 Hi-Posi dropped two members and returned to the majors as a two-person unit featuring just Moribayashi and Kondo. The unit released a rash of records from this time through the late 1990s, collaborating with the likes of Keigo Oyamada ( Cornelius), Hiroshi Kawanabe (Tokyo No.1 Soul Set), Towa Tei, and Tomoyuki Tanaka ( Fantastic Plastic Machine). Kondo left the unit in 1999, and Hi-Posi's 2000 record Seizensetsu was largely a Moribayashi solo affair. 2000 was also the year that Moribayashi came up with the Hi-Posi's present sound - which blends breathy vocals with a twisted, electronic-influenced pop sensibility - a mix that inevitably invites comparisons to Kahimi Karie, Takako Minekawa, and Pizzicato Five. Hi-Posi's 1997 record 4n5 was released in the United States on the Tokyopop Pictures label. Moribayashi also works as a contract songwriter and voice actress, with over 30 credited works including work for NTT DoCoMo, NHK, Bennesse, Meiji Milk, Wacoal, Toshiba, Pentax, and others.