is a Japanese
breakbeat musical duo, consisting of KEIZOmachine! (Keizo Fukuda) and Juicy (Jun Miyata). The group formed in 1998, in the Tokyo neighbourhood of
Kichijōji.
History
Prior to forming as Hifana, the duo were collaborating with
Yamatsuka Eye
(born , 13 February 1964) is a Japanese vocalist and visual artist, best known as a member of Boredoms and Naked City. He has changed his stage name three times, from Yamatsuka Eye, to Yamantaka Eye, to Yamataka Eye, and sometimes calls hims ...
(front man for
Boredoms) in a "belly-dancing percussion group" called
Tribal Circus, and they released a self-titled album in 2000.
[Metropolis Tokyo - JAPAN BEAT - Hifana](_blank)
/ref>
Hifana's first album, ''Fresh Push Breakin (2003) included a music video for the track "Fatbros", for which they won the 2004 Space Shower Music Video Award for "Best CG / Animation". Their second album, ''Channel H'' (2005), came with 15 music tracks and 13 music videos, for which the track "Wamono" won the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival
The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition.
Based on judging by a ...
Excellence Award. In 2008 they released a third album, ''Connect'', which included 8 music tracks and 15 videos segments. Their fourth album, ''24H'', was released in early 2010, and contained 12 music tracks and 12 music videos.
As Hifana, their albums are released on the ad agency Wieden+Kennedy
Wieden+Kennedy (W+K; earlier styled ''Wieden & Kennedy'') is an American independent global advertising agency best known for its work for Nike, Inc., Nike. Founded by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy (advertising), David Kennedy, and headquartered ...
’s independent music label, W+K Tokyo Lab. The visuals for their music videos are created by a collaboration of Juicy, +cruz (Eric Cruz, creative director for W+K Tokyo Lab), VJ Gec (a group of audio-visual creators and graphic designers), and Maharo (illustrator).[Profile: Hifana - DJsounds](_blank)
/ref>
They frequently collaborate with other musicians and artists, and have curated a series of ''Zamurai Mix Up'' parties. In 2004, the ''Zamurai 5'' event was filmed by Space Shower TV and edited into the DVD ''Zamurai TV'' (2005), featuring music from Hifana, DJ Kentaro
Kentaro Okamoto (born c.1982), better known as DJ Kentaro, is a musician and DJ from Japan.''Tuff Kuts'' review, ''The Wire'', 2008, vol. 293-298, p. 70 He won third place in the Technics category of the DMC World DJ Final in 2001 and won it in ...
, Afra, Tucker, and Gagle. The packaging for the box was designed by Kymgym, a member of VJ Gec.
Hifana have performed at various music festivals, including the Fuji Rock Festival
is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japa ...
and Sonarsound in 2004, Sónar
Sónar is a festival dedicated to music, creativity and technology, founded in Barcelona in 1994 by Ricard Robles, Enric Palau, and Sergi Caballero. The festival has been divided into two parts since its inception: Sónar by Day and Sónar b ...
and the New York–Tokyo Music Festival in 2006, and on the main stage of the Transmusicales
Les Rencontres Trans Musicales (generally referred to as ''Les Transmusicales de Rennes'') is a music festival that lasts for 3 or 4 days. It is held annually in December. The festival takes place in Rennes, Brittany, France.
Since the festival's ...
festival in 2008.
The group also run their own label called Nampooh, through which they have released two compilation albums of other musicians, ''Hifana presents Nampooh Cable'' (2006) and ''Hifana presents Nampooh Cable 2'' (2009).
Music
Hifana are notable for using a variety of devices and instruments, both in the studio, and during their live performances which they play without pre-recordings, including: turntables, Akai MPC sampler, Roland HandSonic (percussion multi-pad), DJM-909 battle mixer, DJM-800 mixer, and DVJ (DVD/CD) decks which they helped to develop with Pioneer, and a percussion set with timbales
Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...
, cymbals, woodblocks and cowbells. They also pass the time playing with pairs of asalato
The kashaka is a simple percussion instrument consisting of two small gourds filled with beans (essentially, two small maracas connected by a string.) One gourd is held in the hand and the other is quickly swung from side to side around the hand, ...
, a West African percussion instrument.
Discography
Albums:
*''Fresh Push Breakin'
Fresh or FRESH may refer to:
People
*DJ Fresh (born 1977), UK-based drum and bass artist
*DJ Fresh (producer), US-based R&B producer born Marqus Brown
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Fresh'' (1994 film), a crime film
* ''Fresh'' (200 ...
'', 2003, W+K Tokyo Lab (CD + DVD-V)
*'' Channel H'', 2005, W+K Tokyo Lab/3D (CD + DVD)
*''Connect
Connect may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Connect'' (album), an album by Australian rock band Sick Puppies
*''Connect'', album by Mark Farina
*''Tha Connect'', a 2009 album by Willy Northpole
*''Connect'', a 2009 album by Dave Schulz (musician)
* ...
'', 2007, W+K Tokyo Lab/EMI (CD + DVD-V)
*'' 24H'', 2010, W+K Tokyo Lab/EMI (CD + DVD)Hifana.com/24h
Other releases:
*''Sound Touchable'', 2002, Kohma (LP, a battle record
A battle record, also often called a battle tool or battle breaks, is a vinyl record made up of brief samples from songs, film dialogue, sound effects, and drum loops for use by a DJ. The samples and drum loops are used for scratching and perf ...
)
*''Zamurai TV'', 2005, 3D System
*''Hifana presents Nampooh Cable'', 2006, Sony/Columbia (CD compilation of various artists)
*''Harvest Dance'', 2007, Beat Records (CD maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song.
The first maxi singles
Mungo Jerry's first single, " In the Summertime" was t ...
)
*''Hifana presents Nampooh Cable 2'', 2009, EMI Music Japan (CD compilation of various artists)
*''Sound Touchable 2'', 2010, Ground Riddim Japan (LP, a battle record)
*''Zamurai TV 2'', 2010, EMI Music Japan
References
External links
Hifana.com
official site
*
W+K Tokyo Lab
label
*
{{Authority control
Breakbeat musicians
Japanese DJs
Japanese electronic musicians
Electronic dance music DJs