Asobi Seksu was an American

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...

band based in New York City. Their music used a textured and effects-heavy vocal and guitar sound. The band primarily consisted of

Yuki Chikudate is a Japanese-American musician. She was the main vocalist and keyboardist of the dream pop band Asobi Seksu. Musical career In 2001, she founded the dream pop band Asobi Seksu with guitarist James Hanna, bassist Glenn Waldman and drummer Keit ...

(

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

) and James Hanna (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, vocals).

History

Forming in 2001, the band was originally known as Sportfuck, and issued an EP under that name that year. The band then changed their name to Asobi Seksu, from the Japanese 遊びセックス (asobi sekkusu), "play sex". The original lineup consisted of Chikudate, Hanna, drummer Keith Hopkin and bassist Glenn Waldman. Hanna and Hopkin, with bassist Haji, had previously been members of the New York City

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

trios Three Cornered Season and Theta Wave State. Asobi Seksu's full-length self-titled debut album was self-released in 2002, and later re-released on the

Friendly Fire Recordings Friendly Fire Recordings is an independent record label based in Brooklyn that was founded by Dan Koplowitz in 2004. Bands under the label include Asobi Seksu, Faunts and David & the Citizens. Friendly Fire is distributed in the United States by ...

label on May 18, 2004. Hopkin and Waldman left after touring for the album. Regrouping with a new rhythm section of Haji (bass) and Bryan Greene (drums), they recorded their second album, ''

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

'', in New York City's Gigantic Studios with producer

Chris Zane Chris Zane is an American music producer, engineer and mixer based in London. He's worked with an array of artists such as Jack Antonoff, Passion Pit, St. Lucia, Holy Ghost!, and Friendly Fires. Discography 2017 * Chloe Howl - "Magnetic" ( s ...

. It was released on May 30, 2006 by

. By the time the band recorded their first live album, '' Spaceland Presents: At the Echo October 6th, 2006'', Greene had been replaced by Mitch Spivak. The album was issued on October 31, 2006 by Spaceland Recordings. and reissued in 2007 by KUFALA Recordings.

One Little Indian Records One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In th ...

signed the band in Europe and re-released the band's first two albums in 2007, with ''Citrus'' reaching No. 21 on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

that year. On November 20, 2007, Asobi Seksu released "Stay Awake" as a stand-alone single on the

Gigantic Music Gigantic Music is an independent record label, founded by Brian Devine in 2000. Gigantic Music is based out of New York City. Gigantic Music signed New York's well-established act The Walkmen for the band's fourth album, ''You & Me''. Other acts i ...

label, backed by a cover of "

Then He Kissed Me "Then He Kissed Me" is a song written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The song, produced by Spector, was initially released as a single on Philles Records (#115) in July 1963 by The Crystals. The lyrics are a narrative of a young ...

" by

the Crystals The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. Considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s, their 1961–1964 chart hits – including " There's No Other (Like My Baby)", ...

. Another cover, of the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

' "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)", was released by One Little Indian as a single on December 10, 2007. Following the departures of Haji and Spivak, Chikudate and Hanna remained as Asobi Seksu's core, with the live band including drummer Ben Shapiro (later of Scary Mansion) and bassist Billy Pavone. The band released another live album, '' Acoustic at Olympic Studios'', on February 8, 2009 as a tour-exclusive CD. Recorded as a duo in November 2008, it featured new acoustic versions of the band's back catalog as well as unique tracks. Retitled as '' Rewolf'', it was released worldwide in November 2009. On February 17, 2009, the band (Chikudate and Hanna, joined by drummer Gunnar Olsen) released their third studio album, ''

Hush Hush may refer to: Film and television * ''Hush'' (1921 film), starring Clara Kimball Young * ''Hush'' (1998 film), starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Hush!'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi * ''Hush'' (2005 film), starring ...

'' on the

Polyvinyl Record Co. Polyvinyl Record Co. is an American independent record label headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The label also has satellite offices in New York, Austin, and the Bay Area. Polyvinyl has put out over 400 releases to date. The Polyvinyl roster ...

label. The album was released to generally positive reviews, with many critics citing a shift in the band's shoegaze direction to a mellower dream pop sound. Drummer Larry Gorman, formerly of

Orange 9mm Orange 9mm was an American post-hardcore band from New York City formed in 1994 by Chaka Malik and Chris Traynor after the breakup of Malik's band Burn. History Chaka Malik and Chris Traynor began writing songs together in 1992, releasing a ...

Glassjaw Glassjaw is an American post-hardcore band from Hempstead, New York. The band is fronted by vocalist Daryl Palumbo and guitarist Justin Beck, and was a major part of the Long Island music scene in the early 2000s. The band has been influential i ...

and

Head Automatica Head Automatica was an American Rock music, rock band from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York fronted by Daryl Palumbo (also of Glassjaw). History The beginnings of the band stemmed from singer Daryl Palumbo's interests in the hip hop music ...

, joined Asobi Seksu in 2009. The band's fourth studio album, ''

Fluorescence Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...

'', was released on February 14, 2011. The lineup included Chikudate, Hanna, Gorman and Pavone. On November 23, 2012, for Record Store Black Friday, the band released ''Asobi Seksu x Boris'', a split EP with Boris on which Asobi Seksu covered that band's "Farewell". The band announced an indefinite hiatus on September 30, 2013, via their Facebook page. On July 23, 2014, Asobi Seksu announced that they would reunite for a one-off show opening for

Slowdive Slowdive is a British rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitar, Neil Halstead on vocals and guitar, Christian Savill on guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass and Simon Scott on drum ...

in Boston on October 26, 2014, at Slowdive's request.

Other projects

In May 2009, Chikudate released a collaborative single with

Pocket A pocket is a bag- or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets are also attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items. In older usage, a pocket was a separate small bag o ...

called "Sampo". The track included remixes by Mux Mool, Blue Eyes and

Craig Wedren Craig Benjamin Wedren (born August 15, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and composer, who began his career fronting post-hardcore band Shudder to Think. Following the disbandment of Shudder to Think, Wedren pursued a career as a ...

. In 2014, Hanna and Gorman formed the band Youth Worship, releasing an EP in 2014 and a full-length album in 2015.

Song appearances in media

Asobi Seksu's songs have been featured in various television shows, including ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene Ch ...

'' and the British television series '' Skins''. The song "Layers" from ''Hush'' was also featured in an episode of ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian t ...

''. Their non-album track "Stay Awake" was included on the ''

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

'' compilation album '' Warm & Scratchy'' in May 2007. Their song "Ramen Girl" was the closing credits song for the 2008 film ''

The Ramen Girl ''The Ramen Girl'' is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film starring Brittany Murphy about a girl who goes to Japan and decides to learn how to cook ramen. Murphy also co-produced. Plot Abby (Brittany Murphy) is an American girl who goes to Tokyo t ...

''. The band provided music for

So Yong Kim So Yong Kim (born 1968) is a Korean American independent filmmaker. She has made four feature films: ''In Between Days'', '' Treeless Mountain'', ''For Ellen'', and '' Lovesong''. So Yong Kim is a recipient of the New York Foundation’s Video Ar ...

's 2007 film ''

In Between Days "In Between Days" (sometimes listed as "Inbetween Days" or "In-Between Days") is a song by the English rock band The Cure, released in July 1985 as the first single from the band's sixth album ''The Head on the Door''. The song was an internatio ...

'' and contributed an original score for Kim's 2009 film ''

Treeless Mountain ''Treeless Mountain'' () is a 2008 South Korean drama film written and directed by So Yong Kim. It stars Hee Yeon Kim, Song Hee Kim, Soo Ah Lee, Mi Hyang Kim, and Boon Tak Park. The film premiered on September 5, 2008 at the 2008 Toronto Internatio ...

''. The song "Thursday" was featured in '' The Exploding Girl'', produced and edited by Kim and directed by her husband Bradley Rust Gray. Kim also directed the music video for the song. "Thursday" was also used in

LateRooms LateRooms.com is a hotel reservations website providing discounted accommodation throughout the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. Company history LateRooms.com was launched in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 1999 by brothers Steven, Paul, ...

' 2012 advertisement and in the trailer for the 2014 film ''

Affluenza Affluenza is a pseudoscientific psychological malaise supposedly affecting wealthy people. It is a portmanteau of ''affluence'' and ''influenza'', and is used most commonly by critics of consumerism. It is not a medically recognized disease. T ...

''.

Former members

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

(2001-2013) *James Hanna -

(2001-2013) *Glenn Waldman - bass (2001-2005) *Keith Hopkin - drums (2001-2005) *Haji - bass (2005-2007) *Bryan Greene - drums (2005-2006) *Mitch Spivak - drums (2006) *Billy Pavone - bass (2007-2013) *Ben Shapiro - drums (2007) *Gunnar Olsen - drums (2009) * Larry Gorman -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, sampling (2009-2013)

Discography

Studio albums

*''

Asobi Seksu Asobi Seksu was an American shoegaze/dream pop band based in New York City. Their music used a textured and effects-heavy vocal and guitar sound. The band primarily consisted of Yuki Chikudate (vocals, keyboards) and James Hanna (guitar, vocals ...

'' (2002, self-released; 2004,

) *''

'' (2006, Friendly Fire Recordings/

) (No. 21

in 2007) *''

'' (2009,

/One Little Indian Records) *''

'' (2011, Polyvinyl Record Co.)

Singles and EPs

*"Goodbye" (2006, One Little Indian Records) *"Walk on the Moon" (2007, One Little Indian Records) *"Strawberries" (2007, One Little Indian Records) *"Thursday" (2007, One Little Indian Records) *"Stay Awake" (2007,

) *"Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" (

cover) (2007, One Little Indian Records) *"Me & Mary" (2008, Polyvinyl Record Co./One Little Indian Records) *"Goodbye" (remix) (2008, One Little Indian Records) *"Familiar Light" (2009, One Little Indian Records) *"Transparence" (2009, Polyvinyl Record Co.) *"Layers" (2009, One Little Indian Records *''Perfectly Crystal'' EP (2011, self-released) *''Asobi Seksu x Boris'' split EP with Boris (2012, Polyvinyl Record Co.)

Live albums

*'' Spaceland Presents: At the Echo October 6th, 2006'' (2006, Spaceland Recordings) *''iTunes Live from SoHo'' (2007,

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 ...

) *'' Acoustic at Olympic Studios'' (2009, One Little Indian Records) *'' Rewolf'' (2009, Polyvinyl Record Co.)

Selected compilation appearances

*"All Through the Day" (

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

cover) on ''The Patty Duke Fanzine #6: Love to Patty'' (2006, Top Quality Rock & Roll) *" Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" (

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

cover) on ''Subterranean Homesick Blues: A Tribute to Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home'' (2010, Reimagine Music) *"Vicious Bears" on ''Japan 3.11.11: A Benefit Album'' (2011, Polyvinyl Record Co.) *"Little House of Savages" (

The Walkmen The Walkmen is an American indie rock band. Active from 2000 to 2013, they are known as part of the 2000s-era post-punk revival in New York City, particularly for their critically acclaimed single "The Rat (song), The Rat." The band is made up o ...

cover) on ''Cover Compilation'' (2011,

RCRD LBL RCRD LBL was a website for free, curated, and legal MP3 downloads from emergent artists. RCRD LBL was launched in 2007 by Josh Deutsch, Peter Rojas Peter Rojas (born March 18, 1975) is the co-founder of technology blogs Gizmodo and Engadget, a ...

)

as Sportfuck

*''Sportfuck'' EP (2001, self-released)

References

{{Authority control 2001 establishments in New York City Alternative rock groups from New York (state) Dream pop musical groups Indie pop groups from New York (state) Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2013 Noise pop musical groups Polyvinyl Record Co. artists Shoegazing musical groups