Artist of the Day: Shinichi Osawa
Who is Shinichi Osawa you may ask? Well today I will introduce you to the world of 大沢 伸. Shinichi Osawa is a Japanese electronic artist, who mainly bases his music in the Acid jazz, House, and Electro house sub genres. There is a good chance that you may never have heard of him. He isn't completely unknown to the UK, afterall he was voted as one of Top 100 Japanese Pop Artists by HMV.
Shinichi Osawa started his musical career in 1991 as the leader and bassist of Mondo Grosso, a musical group which was highly popular in Japan. However, in 1995 after they release two official albums Mondo Grosso was disbanded. After the break up Shinichi Osawa started to do much more solo work, this lead to him making the album “Closer” in 1998 which was his first attempt at an Acid Jazz/House combination. Although it was not a very big hit, it did help him form his unique style of music. The same can be said about his second solo album MG4 released in 2000. Although it did not properly take off, it did reinforce his style of music.
Osawa was also involved with the gaming industry for a while, he provided the hypnotic array of techno music for the popular PSP puzzle game Lumines in 2005. However, he did not compose anything for its sequel.
Then in 2007 his career started to take off, he moved to the record company avex trax and released his hit album “The One” under his real name. This then gave him international fame allowing him to play at such venues as the Electric Daisy Carnival a huge Electronic festival in the USA.
Osawa was also involved with the gaming industry for a while, he provided the hypnotic array of techno music for the popular PSP puzzle game Lumines in 2005. However, he did not compose anything for its sequel.
Then in 2007 his career started to take off, he moved to the record company avex trax and released his hit album “The One” under his real name. This then gave him international fame allowing him to play at such venues as the Electric Daisy Carnival a huge Electronic festival in the USA.
Songs such as “Push” really show how well he combines in factors from House, Acid Jazz, and a hint of funk and post-rock mixed in.
Shinichi Osawa then went on to make his second album under his own name, SO2. Like most his other albums, it was based around Acid Jazz, and House. However he also added a dash of ambient music style in this album giving it a more peaceful vibe. Although it was not as far reaching as “The One”, SO2 was still a big hit in Japan earning him the place of #95 on the top 100 Japanese pop artists.
It'd be hard to argue Shinichi Osawa is not an innovator for electronic music. He created a new style of music, and was still not afraid to modify it and create a new and improved beast. I personally cannot wait for him to release a new album, and I'm convinced it will be another great success.
Give them a listen and if you like what you hear please support them.
For more info about Shinichi Osawa please visit his Website, Soundcloud, Myspace, or Wiki page
- Alasdair Kerr
