, known by the stage name , is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

musician. He is the vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for the bands

Gesu no Kiwami Otome is a Japanese band that formed in 2012 by indigo la End front-man Enon Kawatani. Describing themselves as "hip-hop/progressive", the band debuted in 2013 with independent label Space Shower Records, later signed by Warner sub-label Unborde. In 2 ...

Indigo la End indigo la End is a Japanese rock band led by vocalist and songwriter Enon Kawatani. The band released their debut extended play in 2012 with independent label Space Shower Records, and were later signed by Warner Music Group, Warner sub-label Unb ...

Genie High Genie High (ジェニーハイ) is a Japanese progressive indie band, notably fronted by Enon Kawatani (川谷健太) of Gesu no Kiwami Otome (ゲスの極み乙女) and Ikkyu Nakajima (中嶋イッキュウ) of Tricot (トリコ). The band in ...

, the instrumental band Ichikoro, and also works as a songwriter for other musicians.

Biography

Kawatani grew to like music when he was eight years old, when he heard

T.M.Revolution is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, voice artist, radio personality, and businessman. He performs under the stage name T.M.Revolution (TMR), which stands for , stemming from the famous '80s pop electronic band TM ...

's song "High Pressure" (1997). He began composing music while he was a university student at the

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology The commonly known as TUAT is a Japanese national university headquartered in Fuchū, Tokyo. This university focuses on the study of agriculture and engineering. The undergraduate organization of the university has two faculties, Agriculture and ...

. There, he met Masao Wada (currently known as Gesu no Kiwami Otome's bassist Kyūjitsu Kachō) at the light music club. In April 2009, Kawatani formed the band

, mostly performing live performances in the

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

, Shimokitazawa and

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

areas of Tokyo. Indigo la End released 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.

''Sayōnara, Subarashii Sekai'' in April 2012, though the independent label

Space Shower Music Space Shower Music is a Japanese record label and talent agency owned by Space Shower Network, best known as the operator of Space Shower TV. History The company was founded in 1999 as , whose primary shareholder was Polystar. In 2004, Space Sho ...

. In May 2012, Kawatani asked members of other bands who played at the Shimokitazawa Era live house to form a musical project together, as a fun activity outside of their regular projects, and called this band

. Kawatani continued to release music with Indigo la End, with their second extended play ''Nagisa nite'' in September 2012 and their first album ''Yoru ni Mahō o Kakerarete'' in February 2013. A month after their debut album, Gesu no Kiwami Otome also debuted through Space Shower Music, releasing the extended play '' Dress no Nugikata''. In December 2013, both of Kawatani's bands were signed to

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

sub-label

Unborde Unborde (アンボルデ ''anborude''; stylized as unBORDE) is a Japanese record label established on December 21, 2010 as a sublabel of Warner Music Japan. The label is currently led by Ryoma Suzuki, Rip Slyme's producer. Current roster As of Ju ...

. Both musical units released their major label debut releases on April 2, 2014: ''

Minna Normal is the third extended play by Japanese band Gesu no Kiwami Otome, released on April 2, 2014. This was their first major label release through Unborde. Background and development Gesu no Kiwami Otome was first formed in May 2012 by Indigo la ...

'' for Gesu no Kiwami Otome and ''Ano Machi Record'' for Indigo la End. In August 2014, Gesu no Kiwami's song " Ryōkiteki na Kiss o Watashi ni Shite" was used as the drama ''Around 30-chan: Mushūseis opening theme song and released as a single. It reached number four on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...

chart, and was 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 ...

. The band's debut album '' Miryoku ga Sugoi yo'' (2014) reached number four on Oricon's album charts, and their second, ''

Ryōseibai is Japanese rock band Gesu no Kiwami Otome's second studio album, released on January 13, 2016. Promotion and release "Romance ga Ariamaru" was used as the theme song for the 2015 science action film ''Strayer's Chronicle is a 2015 Japanese ...

'' (2016), reached number one, after several commercially successful singles released in 2015: "Watashi Igai Watashi ja Nai no", "Romance ga Ariamaru" and "Otonatic". In 2014, Kawatani composed songs for musicians outside of his two bands for the first time, when he gave the boyband

SMAP SMAP was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a six-pi ...

two songs for their album ''Mr. S''. Kawatani worked with the band again in 2015, on their single "Ai ga Tomaru made wa", and has also worked with

Tomohisa Yamashita , also widely known as , or Tomo, is a Japanese singer, actor, and TV host. Yamashita joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates as a trainee in 1996 (age 11) and made his small acting debut for NHK's ''Shonentachi'' (1998) and has be ...

, and the girl group

Team Syachihoko Team Shachi (stylized as TEAM SHACHI), formerly , is a Japanese female idol group consisting of four girls from the city of Nagoya. Overview Team Syachihoko is a sister group of two other girl groups managed by the Stardust Promotion talent age ...

on their single "Shampoo Hat" (2014).

Personal life

Kawatani's real name is Kenta, though he has used the name Enon Kawatani since at least 2011. In Gesu no Kiwami Otome's early releases, Kawatani used the pseudonym MC.K. In January 2016, ''Shūkan Bunshun'' magazine reported that Kawatani had gotten married in secret to a non-celebrity woman in mid-2015, and that Kawatani was suspected to be having an affair with television personality Becky. The article detailed leaked conversations between the pair from the messaging application

Line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

. This led Becky to hold a press conference a day before the issue's release where she apologized for her conduct, and Kawatani to release an apology statement, in which he professed that he and Becky were merely close friends. In December 2015,

Shin-Ei Animation is a Japanese animation studio owned by TV Asahi and founded in Tokyo in 1965 as A-Production by Daikichirō Kusube, who was previously an animator for Toei Animation. Shin-Ei is known for being the animation studio behind two of the anime tele ...

had contacted Kawatani to ask him to write the theme song for the film '' Crayon Shin-chan: Fast Asleep! Dreaming World Big Assault!'' (2016), and for his band Gesu no Kiwami Otome to perform it. However, after the adultery allegations were published, Shin-Ei rescinded their offer.

Discography

Production discography

References

External links

*
Official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawatani, Enon 1988 births Living people Japanese alternative rock musicians Japanese guitarists Japanese male singer-songwriters Japanese singer-songwriters Musicians from Nagasaki Prefecture Warner Music Japan artists 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century guitarists 21st-century Japanese male singers