Phew is a Japanese singer and analogue electronics improviser working in the areas of experimental and avant-garde music.

Music career

Her career began as a member of post-punk group

Aunt Sally Aunt Sally is a traditional English game usually played in pub gardens and fairgrounds, in which players throw sticks or battens at a ball, known as a 'dolly', balanced on top of a stick, traditionally a model of an old woman's head was sometime ...

, who released a self-titled album on Osaka’s Vanity Records in 1979. After the break-up of Aunt Sally, she released the "Finale"/"Urahara" single produced by composer

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto inf ...

, followed by the ''Phew'' album recorded at Conny Plank's studio in Cologne, with

Holger Czukay Holger Schüring (24 March 1938 – 5 September 2017), known professionally as Holger Czukay (), was a German musician best known as a co-founder of the krautrock group Can. Described as "successfully bridg ngthe gap between pop and the avant-g ...

and

Jaki Liebezeit Jaki Liebezeit (born Hans Liebezeit; 26 May 1938 – 22 January 2017) was a German drummer, best known as a founding member of experimental rock band Can. He was called "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral". ...

. This was followed by a series of albums that included ''Our Likeness'', recorded with Plank and Liebezeit, featuring Einstürzende Neubauten's

Alexander Hacke Alexander Hacke (also known as Alexander von Borsig, Alex Hacke, Hacke, born 11 October 1965) is a guitarist, bass guitarist, singer, musician, record producer, writer and filmmaker from Germany. He is primarily known as a longtime member of the ...

and D.A.F/ Liaisons Dangereuses's

Chrislo Haas Christian Ludwig "Chrislo" Haas (16 November 1956 – 23 October 2004) was a West German Neue Deutsche Welle musician best known as a member of Liaisons Dangereuses and a founding member of Minus Delta t, D.A.F and Der Plan, and also as a memb ...

. After 1995's ''Himitsu No Knife'', she remained active in various groups, including the jam rock ensemble Novo Tono featuring

Otomo Yoshihide is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He mainly plays guitar, turntables, and electronics. He first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the experimental rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked i ...

, a collaboration with electronic musician Hiroyuki Nagashima called ''Big Picture'', and the punk group ''Most'' with Boredoms guitarist Seiichi Yamamoto. In 2010, she returned to her solo career with the covers album ''Five Fingered Discount'' on her own Bereket label, featuring Jim O'Rourke. From 2012 she began to work in electronic music and home recordings which gave rise to a prolific series of records, starting with 2015's ''A New World'' and continuing with 2017's ''Light Sleep'' and 2018's ''Voice Hardcore''. In 2018 she also released ''Island'', a collaboration with Raincoats'

Ana da Silva Ana da Silva is a musician, best known as a founding member of post-punk rock band the Raincoats. Career Born in Madeira island of Portugal, she grew up without television and little access to popular culture. She had exposure to music throu ...

. By the time of 2021's ''New Decade'', she was receiving widespread acclaim for her long career in experimental music.

Discography

Solo

* New Decade (LP/CD) Mute (2021) * Voice Hardcore (LP) Mesh-Key (19 Jan 2018 in US) * Voice Hardcore (CD) Bereket (1 Nov 2017 in Japan) * Light Sleep (LP) Mesh-Key 2017 * A New World (CD) Felicity 2015 * Five Finger Discount (CD) Bereket 2010 * Himitsu no Knife (CD) Alida 1995 * Our Likeness (LP/CD)

Mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...

1992 * Songs (Maxi-Single) 1991 * View (LP/CD) 1987 * Phew(LP/CD) Pass Records 1981 * Finale c/w Urahara (Single) Pass Records 1980

Aunt Sally

* Self-titled (LP) Vanity Records 1979 - Reissued on Mesh-Key (2022)

Most

* Most. P-Vine, PCD-25010, 2003 * Most. P-Vine, PCD-5647, 2001 * Most. 2000.11.26. CD-R. 2001

With bands and projects

* Patience Soup with Jim O'Rourke and

Oren Ambarchi Oren Ambarchi (born 1969) is an Australian musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mainly electric guitar and percussion. Biography Oren Ambarchi was born in Sydney to an Iraqi Jewish family. Ambarchi has been performing live since ...

(LP) Black Truffle 2019 * Island with

(LP) (28 September shouting out loud! 2018) * Island with

(CD) only (5 September NEWWHERE MUSIC 2018) * Project Undark Radium Girls 2011 with Erika Kobayashi (CD) Bereket 2012 * Morio Agata. Norimono Zukan. Bridge BRIDGE-078, 2007 * Morio Agata. Norimono Zukan. Vanity 0005, 1980 * Big Picture. Big Picture. Little More, LMCA-1002, 2001 * Big Picture. Big Picture. CD-R * Blind Light. The Absence of Time. Alida, ALIDA-001, 1994 *

Anton Fier Anton Fier (June 20, 1956 – September 14, 2022) was an American drummer, producer, composer, and bandleader. Family Fier, known as Tony, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruthe Marie Fier and Anton J. Fier Jr., a former Marine and electrician. ...

. Dreamspeed/Blind Light 1992–1994. 2-CD set Tzadik, TZ 7609 2003 * Anton Fier. Dreamspeed. Avant, AVAN-009, 1993 * Novo Tono. Live. CD-R. 2001 * Novo Tono. Panorama Paradise. Alida/Creativeman, CMDD-00038, 1996 * Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Ensemble. Dreams. Tzadik, TZ 7238, 2002 * Otomo Yoshihide. Otomo Yoshihide Plays the Music of Takeo Yamashita. P-Vine, PCD-5804, 1999 * The Unknown Cases, and Phew. Koyasan. Fünfundvierzig, MCD 45122, 2001 * Phew and Seiichi Yamamoto. Shiawase no Sumika. Tokuma Japan Communications, TKCH-71454, 1998

Compilations

* Pass No Past. 2-CD set Pass/P-Vine, SSAP-004/5, 2005 * Improvised Music from Japan. 10-CD set. Improvised Music from Japan, IMJ-10CD, 2001 * Mottomo Otomo: Unlimited XIII. Trost, TR076, 2000 * Megabank Presents Tribute to New Wave. Megabank, MB-2.507CD, 1995 * Rebel Incorporated. 2-LP set, Wax, 17WXL-3001/3002; CD, Wax, 32WXD-101