Kemuri was formed in 1995 by singer/songwriter Fumio Ito, a young Japanese man who had spent his high school years in the States. The band, was originally assembled to record a demo which Ito took to the States later that year. On his trip Ito met various punk bands and labels, made numerous friends in the US ska-punk community, and ultimately landed a deal with Roadrunner Records. Kemuri, whose name means "smoke" in Japanese, relocated in early 1997 to San Jose, California, and there recorded their... read more

Kemuri was formed in 1995 by singer/songwriter Fumio Ito, a young Japanese man who had spent his high school years in the States. The band, was originally assembled to record a demo which Ito took to the States later that year. On his trip Ito met various punk bands and labels, made numerous friends in the US ska-punk community, and ultimately landed a deal with Roadrunner Records. Kemuri, whose name means "smoke" in Japanese, relocated in early 1997 to San Jose, California, and there recorded their debut album Little Playmate. With his extensive contacts Ito was also able to place tracks on tracks on compilations by indie labels such Asian Man, Stiff Dog and Ramen. The band toured the States extensively with Rocket From the Crypt, but also found a strong reception back home in Japan, where their energetic ska-punk hybrid, found great favor. While ska-punk or "ska-core" has a festive and fun image, a guiding philosophy for Kemuri is "P.M.A", or "positive mental attitude" which leads to the band having deeper lyrics than many of their competitors. The band maintains fan bases in Japan and internationally, and sings in both Japanese and English. collapse