NaNa (Japanese ナナ) is a Japanese musical duo from Tokyo, Japan, consisting of Chikako Watanabe and Shigeo Tamaru .
Their music draws on several influences including
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
,
experimental rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...
,
trip hop
Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...
and
downtempo
Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...
.
History
Watanabe (vocal) and Tamaru (guitar/producer) came together to form NaNa in 1996. NaNa's chief goal was to create high quality demo tapes that would showcase their music to the world market. In the summer of 1997, NaNa got an offer from
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 ...
to be on his Radio show, and they appeared on the program.
This led NaNa into their debut from Sakamoto's label. NaNa's first EP topped the Indies chart including Tower Records in Tokyo. Afterward they released two albums and four EP from
Gut/Forlife label and
Warner Music Japan
Warner Music Group's labels include the following.
Flagship labels
*Atlantic Records
*Elektra Records
*Parlophone Records
*Warner Records
Atlantic Records Group
* 1st & 15th Entertainment
* Nipsey Hussle, All Money In
* Mike Caren, Artist Par ...
. In 2007, they started digital distribution on
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
and
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
. Then they have since increased the number of the listeners little by little in different countries. Starting in 2007, NaNa's tracks have gradually received air-play primarily in the UK and the US. As of 2010, their music came to be listened to all over the world via local and
Satellite Radio
Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a ''broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than ter ...
, and
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' (2002, Warner Music Japan)
* "Imaginary Man (Bonus Track Version)" (2013, Warner Music Japan)
'' (1998, Gutbounce)
* "S" (2000, Dream Machine/Warner Music Japan)
* "Remember Me" (2016, Warner Music Japan)
In 2011, NaNa was ranked on the Billboard Uncharted, peaking to 12th place.
In December 2011, they ranked No. 41 place on the Billboard's "The Best of 2011" (
, USA).