About 戸川純

Togawa Jun (戸川純), born March 31, 1961, is an experimental Japanese vocalist and visual artist. Debuting in 1984, she began her career as a parody of the typical Japanese idol star at the time. It was soon apparent that her eccentric personality, surreal or disturbing lyrics and extensive vocal range set her apart from the usual cute pop singers that were popular in Japan. Her mash-up of "lolita" voice, straight singing, screaming, and operatics, married to traditional Japanese melodies, militaristic marching themes, and techno-pop continue to endear her to Japanese "maniac" fans, such as devotees of horror or erotic manga, particularly young women. In a 2001 interview, influential alternative musician and producer Jim O'Rourke (known for his work with Sonic Youth, amongst others) picked a Togawa Jun album 20th Jun Togawa as one of his "best albums of the year." Although her deeply un-commercial attitude kept her away from major "pop" success, she survived as an influential and respected underground music figure both solo and as the lead singer of Guernica (ゲルニカ) and Yapoos (ヤプーズ), and she recently released a new CD with her current project Jun Togawa Band (戸川純バンド) featuring elements of noise rock, disco, techno-pop, opera and various other genres, to favourable reviews from many underground music fans in Japan.