Ego-Wrappin (stylised as EGO-WRAPPIN) is a Japanese jazz and rock musical duo, composed of vocalist Yoshie Nakano and guitarist Masaki Mori. The group formed in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

in 1996, releasing their debut album ''Blue Speaker'' in 1998. The band gained national recognition with their

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

and

kayōkyoku is a Japanese pop music genre, which became a base of modern J-pop. ''The Japan Times'' described ''kayōkyoku'' as "standard Japanese pop" or " Shōwa-era pop". ''Kayōkyoku'' represents a blend of Western and Japanese musical scales. Music i ...

inspired song "Midnight Dejavu (Shikisai no Blues)" (2000).

Biography

Ego-Wrappin' was formed in 1996 in Osaka. Originally the band focused their activities in the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

region, performing at

live house A live house (ライブハウス) is a Japanese live music club – a music venue featuring live music. The term is a Japanese coinage ( wasei eigo) and is mainly used in East Asia. It most frequently refers to smaller venues, which may double as ...

s alongside acts such as

Mondo Grosso , also known by his stage name Mondo Grosso, is a Japanese musician, DJ, record producer and composer currently signed onto Avex Trax's Rhythm Zone label. Previously he was signed to Sony Music Japan's FEARLESS RECORDS division and released album ...

and Attica Blues. Initially, the group released music through the independent label Metro Crew Records, including their debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

''Calling Me'' (1996). In 1998, the band were featured in the soundtrack for the

Eri Fukatsu is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 18th Yokohama Film Festival for '' Haru'' and the best actress award at the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival for her performance in ''Villain''. She also received acclaim for her r ...

-starring drama ''Kirakira Hikaru'', covering

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

' "

Disney Girls (1957) "Disney Girls (1957)" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1971 album '' Surf's Up''. It was written and sung by Bruce Johnston, who also plays upright piano, Moog synthesizer, and mandolin. Johnston later rerecorded the so ...

". In June of the same year, the band released their debut album, the English language ''Blue Speaker'', through independent label RD Records, an Osaka-based subsidiary of

Hip Land Music Corp. , a subsidiary of small entertainment conglomerate Hip Land Group, is a Japanese record label formed in 1988. Sublabels Its sublabels include: *RD Records, *Monte Bleu, *on the beach, *basque, *GrindHouse Recordings, *MirrorBall, *Plants Lab ...

The album was successful on local Osaka area independent music charts, and was praised by musician

Seiichi Yamamoto is a Japanese musician. While perhaps most famous for his role as guitarist for the noise rock band Boredoms, he has released multitudes of records both as a solo artist and with several other musicians and bands, in addition to composing the so ...

. In 1999, the band released two extended plays: their first Japanese language extended play ''His Choice of Shoes Is Ill!'' in February, followed by ''Swing for Joy'' in November. A song from the extended play, "A Love Song", which featured Osaka ska band Determinations, received strong airplay on regional radio stations such as FM Ishikawa and FM North Wave (Hokkaido). From 2000, the band began performing concerts in Tokyo and other regions of Japan, outside of Kansai. In 2000, the band came to national attention with their song "Shikisai no Blues", a

and

song written in the style of 1960s jazz singer

Mina Aoe , professionally known as , was a Japanese female ''enka'' singer who had a series of popular hits in the late 1960s and continued charting late into her career. With her distinctive husky voice, she acquired the nickname "Queen of the Blues" ...

. Originally the song was released as a part of the extended play ''Shikisai no Blues''. When it was later released as a stand-alone single/extended play in 2001, it sold over 193,000 copies in Japan. In May 2001, Ego-Wrappin' established their own sub-label of

Toy's Factory is a Japanese record label founded in the late 1980s as a subsidiary of the entertainment company VAP, based in Japan. On May 30, 1990, it was established as an independent company. Toy's Factory, as of the first half of 2012, is the four ...

called Minor Swing, and released their third album ''Michishio no Romance''. This album, as well as ''Night Food'' (2002) and ''Merry Merry'' (2004) were commercially successful, all being certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pr ...

. ''Night Food'' featured the song "Kuchibashi ni Cherry" (2002), which was the theme song of the

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

drama ''Shiritsu Tantei Hama Mike''. In 2006, Ego-Wrappin' released their fifth album ''On the Rocks!'', and toured Europe for the first time, performing concerts in Denmark and Sweden as a part of the Tokyo Sound Revolution event. During the tour, Ego-Wrappin' formed a support band, The Gossip of Jaxx, who performed during the album's tour. In 2009, the band released ''Ego-Wrappin' and the Gossip of Jaxx'': an album featuring music recorded with this support band. In 2010, the band released ''Sure Shot'', a split single with rock band

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...

. In 2014, Ego-Wrappin' performed the theme songs for the drama '' Reverse Edge: Ōkawabata Tanteisha''.

Discography

*''Blue Speaker'' (1998) *''Michishio no Romance'' (2001) *''Night Food'' (2002) *''Merry Merry'' (2004) *''On the Rocks!'' (2006) *''Ego-Wrappin' and the Gossip of Jaxx'' (2009) *''Naimono Nedari no Deadheat'' (2010) *''Steal a Person's Heart'' (2013) *''Dream Baby Dream'' (2019)

References

External links

*
Toy's Factory label site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ego Wrappin 1996 establishments in Japan Japanese jazz ensembles Japanese musical duos Japanese pop music groups Japanese rock music groups Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from Osaka Reggae fusion groups Toy's Factory artists Universal Music Japan artists