is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer of soundtracks for

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series,

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

television dramas In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular sup ...

and movies. She has written scores for ''

Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 Japanese neo-noir space Western anime television series that aired on TV Tokyo and Wowow from 1998 to 1999. It was created and animated by Sunrise (company), Sunrise, led by a production team of director Shinichirō Watanabe, ...

'', ''

Terror in Resonance , also known as ''Terror in Tokyo'', is a Japanese anime television series produced by MAPPA. The anime was created and directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, with character designs by Kazuto Nakazawa and music by Yoko Kanno. It was broadcast for ...

'', '' Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'', ''

Wolf's Rain ''Wolf's Rain'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese anime television series created by writer Keiko Nobumoto and produced by Bones. It was directed by Tensai Okamura and featured character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto with a soundtrack ...

'', ''

Turn A Gundam , also stylized as ''∀ Gundam'', is a 1999 Japanese mecha anime series produced by Sunrise (company), Sunrise, and aired between 1999 and 2000 on Fuji Television and other Fuji Network System, FNS stations. It was created for the ''Gunda ...

'' and ''

Darker than Black is a Japanese anime television series created and directed by Tensai Okamura and animated by studio Bones (studio), Bones. 25 episodes were broadcast on Mainichi Broadcasting System, MBS, TBS Television (Japan), TBS and their affiliate ...

''. Kanno is a keyboardist and the frontwoman for

Seatbelts A seat belt, also known as a safety belt or spelled seatbelt, is a Automotive safety, vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. ...

, who perform many of her compositions.

Early life

Yoko Kanno was born on 18 March 1963, in

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

Miyagi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...

, Japan. Her earliest experiences with music came from attending church with her parents. She studied keyboard on both the piano in her home and the organ at her kindergarten. In elementary school, she began participating in composition contests, but in high school, Kanno began to take more of an interest in

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

than in music. Kanno attended

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

, where she majored in literature, but she transcribed music for various student groups at Waseda in her free time. During this time, Kanno—whose parents had only allowed her to listen to

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

—was introduced to rhythm by a friend who played drums in a school band. She spoke of this experience in an interview with Akihiro Tomita: While with this band, she studied the composition and style of

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

. While at Waseda, the Japanese video game company

Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its historical simulation games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based o ...

asked Kanno to compose the soundtrack to ''

Nobunaga's Ambition is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games developed and published by Koei (now Koei Tecmo). The original game was one of the first in its genre, being released in March 1983 in Japan. ''Nobunaga's Ambitio ...

''. The game turned out to be a hit, and Kanno's music career was launched.

Career

Yoko Kanno's soundtrack themes include " Kiseki no Umi" ('' Lodoss War''), "Voices" (''

Macross Plus is a four-episode anime Original video animation, OVA and theatrical movie in the ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Macross'' series. It was the first sequel to the original ''Macross'' television series that took place in the official ...

''), "

Tank! A tank is an armoured combat vehicle. Tank or tanking may also refer to: Geographical names Oceania * Tank Stream, New South Wales, Australia Asia * Tank (city), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan ** Tank District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan ** T ...

" (''

''), " Yakusoku wa Iranai" (''

Escaflowne is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise. It premiered from April to September 1996, on TV Tokyo. Sony's anime satellite channel, Animax also aired the series, both in Japan and on its various worldwide networks, includi ...

''), "

Gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

" (''

''), the whole soundtrack of

, " Inner Universe" ('' Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'') and '' Stand Alone Complex O.S.T''. In regards to making the ''Stand Alone Complex'' soundtrack, she said: Having composed in various genres, including blues, classical, jazz, techno and J-pop, she was once asked if she favored a particular genre: Since she works in the animation industry, she only receives instructions and storyboards from directors which helps her with composing. However, it is uncertain if all of her works are to be included in the finished project. She once said that this is a way she likes to work, for she does not have to deal with rules during composing. In reference to this, she once stated: She was the lead member of the project band

, which regrouped in 2004 to compose the soundtrack for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

''Cowboy Bebop'' video game (released in Japan in 2005). She has composed for

games released during the late 1980s to early 1990s and for '' Napple Tale'', a

Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...

game. Due to her close involvement in the ''Cowboy Bebop'' anime, the game released by

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

also features her work. Apart from anime and games, Kanno also composes for live-action films and television

commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

. Some popular brands she has composed for are

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

, DoCoMo,

Fuji Xerox Fujifilm Business Innovation Corporation (), formerly known as Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., is a Japanese company specializing in the development, production, and sale of Xerography, xerographic and document-related products and services across the A ...

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan, which in turn is owned by the retail holdings company Seven & I Holdings. The chain was founde ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

Shiseido is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world an ...

, Avon and MasterCard to name a few. Her contributions to films started in the 1990s but only since 2002 has there been a trend towards the medium, with some of the latter being shown in international film festivals. She attended

Otakon Otakon ( ) is an annual three-day anime convention held during July/August. From 1999 to 2016, it took place at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland's Inner Harbor district; in 2017, it moved to the Walter E. Washing ...

and

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

in 1999, as well as Anime Expo New York in 2002. In 2010, she made a surprise appearance at Anime Expo. Yoko Kanno performed her solo ''PianoMe'' concert at Otakon 2013. She composed a three-movement suite, entitled "Ray of Water," for the ascension of

Emperor Naruhito Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne following the abdication of his father, Akihito, on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era. He is the 126th monarch, according to the traditional order ...

. It was performed for him and

Empress Masako is Empress of Japan as the wife of Emperor Naruhito. Born in Tokyo, Masako was educated at Belmont High School in Massachusetts before attending Harvard College, earning a B.A., ''magna cum laude'', in economics. She also studied law at t ...

at the enthronement celebration on 9 November 2019. Yoshikazu Okada wrote the lyrics for the vocal portion, which was performed at the celebration by the idol group,

Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, 199 ...

Gabriela Robin

On many of Kanno's tracks, "Gabriela Robin" was credited as a lyricist and vocalist, but whenever these songs were performed in concert, either

Maaya Sakamoto is a Japanese actress and singer. She made her debut as a Voice acting in Japan, voice actress in 1992 as the voice of Chifuru in the anime ''Little Twins'', and became known as the voice of Hitomi Kanzaki in ''The Vision of Escaflowne''. Other ...

Origa Olga Vitalevna Yakovleva (, October 12, 1970 – January 17, 2015), better known as Origa, was a Russian singer who rose to prominence for her musical collaborations in Japan, especially her work for the Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. franchise. ...

would perform them. In a 2009 written interview, Robin said that she would perform live for the first time at Kanno's 2009 Tanabata Sonic concert. However, at the end of the concert - which featured Kanno directing the

Warsaw Philharmonic The Warsaw Philharmonic (full Polish name: ''Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Warszawie'', "National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw"), as it is legally set up, is a Polish orchestra based in Warsaw. Founded in 1901, its home is the Warsaw ...

- Kanno turned to the audience and sang "Moon", a song previously attributed to Robin from the ''

'' soundtrack, revealing that "Gabriela Robin" was simply a pseudonym Kanno used to write songs mixing English and Japanese freely. In a later interview, Kanno said she picked the name because the first orchestral recording she had heard was the

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is a major Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert ...

, and at the time

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

served as Israel's Prime Minister.

Personal life

In addition to Japanese, she speaks a little English and some French, but her English is poor and she needs translation help to converse in French. Commenting on spirituality and religion, Kanno has said: Kanno enjoys music, photography, and writing. She has penned several journals for

Newtype is a monthly magazine originating from Japan covering anime and, to a lesser extent, manga, voice actors, science fiction, , and video games. It was launched by publishing company Kadokawa Shoten on March 8, 1985, and has since been released in ...

magazine, accompanying her articles with her own photographs for illustrations. Additionally, a collection of photographs taken by Kanno of her protégé and former production partner,

, was showcased in the special event program for Sakamoto's thirtieth birthday concert at

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. The Budokan was a popular venue for Japanese professional wres ...

in 2010. In 2011, Yoko Kanno expressed her support for the victims of the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

, composing a song titled . Later, she composed

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

's official support song on the occasion of the first anniversary of the earthquake entitled , including lyrics by Sendai film director

Shunji Iwai is a Japanese filmmaker, video artist, writer and documentary maker. Life and career Iwai was born in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. He attended Yokohama National University, graduating in 1987. In 1988, he started out in the Japanese entertainment ...

. The song features notable natives from the affected areas of Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate.

Discography

Studio albums

Other involvements

Works

Anime

Video games

Television dramas

Movies

Publicly commissioned works

Commercial music

Companies that have commissioned Kanno for commercial music include: *

AEON The word aeon , also spelled eon (in American and Australian English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timele ...

* AGF Maxim *

Ajinomoto is a Japanese multinational food and biotechnology corporation which produces seasonings, cooking oils, frozen food Freezing food Food preservation, preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farm ...

* Asahi Glass Co. * Avon * Cafe Noevir *

Citizen Watch Co. , also known as the Citizen Group, is an electronics company primarily known for its watches and is the core company of a Japanese global corporate group based in Nishitokyo, Tokyo, Japan. In addition to Citizen brand watches, it is the parent ...

* Cosmo Oil *

Daikin is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Osaka. Daikin is the world's largest air conditioner manufacturer. History Daikin Industries Ltd was founded in 1924 as by Akira Yamada. In 1953, Daiflon or polychloro ...

* Daio Paper *

Daiwa House is Japan's largest homebuilder, specializing in prefabricated houses. The company is also engaged in the construction of factories, shopping centers, health care facilities, the management and operation of resort hotels, golf courses and fitn ...

FamilyMart is a Japanese convenience store franchise chain, and a subsidiary of Itochu, a Japanese trading company. It is Japan's second largest convenience store chain, behind Seven-Eleven Japan. There are now 24,574 stores worldwide in Malaysia, Taiwa ...

Fancl E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase FANCL is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FANCL'' gene. Function The clinical phenotype of mutational defects in all Fanconi anemia (FA) complementation groups is similar. This phenotype is characteri ...

* Fujitsu *

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

Glico , commonly known as Glico, is a Japanese multinational food processing company headquartered in Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka. It does business across 30 countries, in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Overview Ezaki Glico's primary busin ...

* Gravity * Half Century More * Haus Ten Bausch * Hisamitsu *

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

* House *

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

* Japan Medical Association *

Japan Railways The Japan Railways Group, commonly known as the or simply JR, is a network of railway companies in Japan formed after the division and privatization of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. The group comprise ...

Japan Telecom SoftBank Telecom Corporation (), previously as Japan Telecom Co. Ltd. (,Nippon Terekomu Kabushiki-gaisha) was a Japanese telephone company of the SoftBank group. It provides services to businesses and consumers in Japan. It provides long-distan ...

* J-Phone * Kanebo *

KDDI () is a Japanese telecommunications operator. It was established in 2000 through the merger of , , and . In 2001, it merged with a subsidiary named Au, which was formed through the merger of seven automotive and mobile phone companies from t ...

* Kirin Beverage * Kincho *

Kubota is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Osaka. It was established in 1890. The corporation produces many products including tractors and other agricultural machinery, Heavy equipment, construction equipment, engines, vending machines, P ...

* MasterCard International *

Meiji Meiji, the romanization of the Japanese characters 明治, may refer to: Japanese history * Emperor Meiji, Emperor of Japan between 1867 and 1912 ** Meiji era, the name given to that period in Japanese history *** Meiji Restoration, the revolution ...

Mister Donut Mister Donut is an international chain of doughnut stores, operating mostly in Asia. It was founded in the United States in 1956 by Harry Winokur. Primary offerings include doughnuts, coffee, muffins and pastries. After being acquired by Allied ...

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the prede ...

* Mitsui Home * Morinaga * Nagatanien * National Ionity Nanocare *

Nikon (, ; ) is a Japanese optics and photographic equipment manufacturer. Nikon's products include cameras, camera lenses, binoculars, microscopes, ophthalmic lenses, measurement instruments, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, and equipment related to S ...

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

* NTT DoCoMo * Ono Pharmaceutical *

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. (), abbreviated OPC, is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Tokyo, Osaka and Naruto, Tokushima, Naruto, Japan. The company was established August 10, 1964. History OPC's parent company Otsuka Holdings Co. Ltd. joined the Tokyo Stock Excha ...

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

* Platinum Guild International * Pola *

Seiko Epson Seiko Epson Corporation, commonly known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano, Japan, t ...

Sekisui House is one of Japan's largest homebuilders. It was founded on August 1, 1960 and is headquartered in Osaka. In 2009, Sekisui House expanded into Australia. The company has origins in and is affiliated with Sekisui Chemical, which once was a major ...

* Seven Eleven * Sharp * Shimura *

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and ...

* Taiyo Life Insurance * Takano Yori Beauty Clinic *

Tepco is a Japanese electric utility holding company servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture. This area includes Tokyo. Its headquarters are located in Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and ...

* Tirol-Choco * Tokyo Gas *

Tokyo Metro The Tokyo Metro () is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the #Organization, Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.52 million passengers (as of 2023), the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the Tokyo subway, two s ...

* Tombow Pencil *

* Try Group *

UFJ Bank UFJ, which stands for the United Financial of Japan, is used in the former companies of UFJ Bank, UFJ Group, and UFJ Holdings. These related institutions disappeared after the merger of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UFJ Bank in 2005. UFJ Bank ...

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...

* Yukiguni Maitake

Hired vocalists

Artists who have performed at least one of Kanno's vocal tracks: * Aceilux * Afra *

Aimer is a J-pop, Japanese pop singer and lyricist signed to Sacra Music and managed by Agehasprings. Her stage name comes from the French verb 'to love'. Aimer uses the name aimerrhythm for lyrics credits. Debuting in 2011, she has released seven ...

* Aki Okui * AKINO *

Akino Arai is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and lyricist for various anime theme songs and shows, including '' Record of Lodoss War'', ''Please Save My Earth'', ''Macross Plus'', ''Outlaw Star'', '' Kaze no Stigma'', ''Maoyu'', and ''Aria The Origination'' ...

Anna Tsuchiya is a Japanese singer, actress and semi-retired model. Since 2005, she is primarily known as a singer.Oricon p ...

Aoi Teshima is a Japanese singer and voice actress from Kasuga, Fukuoka. She is known for singing and acting in several Goro Miyazaki movies including ''Tales from Earthsea'' and ''From Up on Poppy Hill''. Early life Aoi Teshima was born on June 21, 19 ...

Arnór Dan Arnor may refer to: People * Arnor Angeli, Belgian footballer * Arnór Guðjohnsen, Icelandic footballer * Arnór Borg Guðjohnsen, Icelandic footballer, his son * Arnór Hannibalsson, Icelandic philosopher, historian and translator * Arnór Ingvi ...

* Artur Stefanowicz * Ben del Maestro * Carla Vallet * Chinatsu Yamamoto * Chiyono Yoshino *

Chris Mosdell Christopher John Mosdell (born 9 November 1949) is a British lyricist, poet, author, composer, vocalist and illustrator based in Tokyo, Japan, and New York City, United States. He has collaborated with an extensive array of musicians and artis ...

* Cosmic Voices from Bulgaria *

Crystal Kay is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actress and radio host. After releasing her first single, "Eternal Memories" (1999), Crystal Kay gained fame for her third studio album, ''Almost Seventeen'' (2002), which debuted at number 2 on the Japanese O ...

Donna Burke } Donna Burke (born 1964) is an Australian actress, singer, and businesswoman. She primarily voices characters in anime and video games including Angela Orosco in '' Silent Hill 2'' (2001), Claudia Wolf in '' Silent Hill 3'' (2003), and has pe ...

* Egil Olsen * Emily Bindiger * Emily Curtis *

Etsuko Yakushimaru is a Japanese singer, producer, composer, lyricist, arranger and artist. She is broadly active, from pop music to experimental music and art. Her output has also included drawing, installation art, media art, poetry and other literature, and reci ...

* Feather and Down * Franco Sansalone * Hajime Chitose * Hanna Berglind * Hassan Bohmide *

Heartsdales Heartsdales was a Japanese-American hip pop duo composed of sisters and , known by their stage names Rum and Jewels, respectively. Yumi was born on December 17, 1981, and Emi on December 4, 1976, in Tokyo, Japan. Their family moved to the Yon ...

Hitomi Mieno is a Japanese singer and screenwriter. She has released 17 singles and 11 albums since her debut in 1994. Several of her songs have been used as openings and endings of anime and radio dramas. She has also written the screenplays of various anim ...

Ilaria Graziano Ilaria Graziano (also known as ILA or Nanà; born in Naples, Italy) is an Italian singer. She gained popularity with the release of ''Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'' and the subsequent original soundtracks, composed by Yoko Kanno. Gr ...

* Jadwiga Rappe' * James Wendt * Joyce * Kaoru Nishino *

Kei Kobayashi Kei Kobayashi (小林圭 ''Kobayashi Kei'' born 29 August 1977) is a Japanese chef and owner of the restaurant Kei in Paris 1e. His restaurant earned three Michelin stars in 2020. He is the first Japanese chef to earn three Michelin stars in Fra ...

* Kyoko Endo * Kyoko Katsunuma *

Kyōko Koizumi (born February 4, 1966) is a Japanese singer and actress. She is signed to Victor Entertainment. Career In 1981, Kyoko Koizumi participated in and won the Star Tanjo! programme and released her first single in March 1982. She obtained several ...

Makino Yui is a Japanese actress, Voice acting in Japan, voice actress, singer, and pianist. She is best known for her work in the anime ''Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' where she voices Sakura (Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle), Sakura and some of the theme ...

Mari Iijima is a Japanese actress and singer. She writes and produces most of her own music, and plays the piano and other instruments. After being signed to JVC Victor in 1982, Mari first became known for her voice-acting role as Lynn Minmay in the anime ...

* Maryanne Murray *

May'n , better known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer from Nagoya. Aspiring to become a singer since childhood, she began her music activities in 2003 upon passing an audition held by talent agency Horipro International. She made her major de ...

Mai Yamane is a Japanese singer, known for her work on the ''Cowboy Bebop'' soundtrack with Yoko Kanno and for her 1980 hit ''Tasogare''. Early life and solo career Her career started in 1979 when she participated and won the prize in Yamaha Music Foundati ...

Masaaki Endoh is a Japanese singer-songwriter who is prominent in the area of soundtracks for anime and tokusatsu productions. He is one of the founders of the Music in Japanese animation, Anison band JAM Project and has been a regular member ever since its ...

* Masayoshi Furukawa *

Megumi Nakajima is a Japanese voice actress and singer, who is affiliated with Stay Luck. In 2003, she joined the talent agency Stardust Promotion after passing their audition. Later, in 2007, she debuted as a voice actress and singer after passing an auditi ...

* Mem Nahadr * Miki Imai *

Motohiro Hata is a Japanese singer-songwriter. He debuted under the major label BMG Japan in 2006 with the single . Early life and career Hata is the youngest of three brothers. He moved to Yokohama when he was 2. He began playing the guitar at age 3, a ...

Pierre Bensusan Pierre Bensusan (born 30 October 1957) is a French-Algerian acoustic guitarist. As Sephardic Jews, his family came from Spain, Spanish Morocco, and French Algeria. His music has been characterized as Celtic, folk, world music, New-age, and cham ...

POP ETC Pop Etc (pronounced "pop et cetera"), formerly known as The Morning Benders, is an indie rock band. They originally formed in Berkeley, California but moved to Brooklyn, New York later in their career. In 2008, they released their debut album ' ...

* Raiché Coutev Sisters * Raj Ramayya * Reynada Hill * Ryo Nagano *

Scott Matthew Scott William Matthew is a singer-songwriter born in Queensland, Australia. He was a member of alternative pop band Elva Snow (2001–2006), which he co-founded with Spencer Cobrin. On 7 March 2008 he issued his solo debut eponymous album. His ...

* Seika Iwashita * Shanti Snyder * Soichiro Otsuka *

Steve Conte Steve Conte is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist, music producer, and lead singer of the band Steve Conte NYC. He has worked with Japanese composer Yoko Kanno on a variety of anime soundtracks including ''Wolf's Rain'', ''Cowboy Bebop ...

* Sydney Thiam * Tim Jensen *

Tokiko Kato is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist, actress and activist. She was born in Harbin, Manchukuo, to Japanese parents and graduated from the University of Tokyo. She worked as a visiting professor at Josai International University. While b ...

* Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch * WISE *

Wuyontana Wuyuntana (, ), known in Japan as , is a Mongolian singer from the Horqin district of Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, China. She has been living in Japan since 1987 and has contributed vocals to a variety of anime including ''Macross Plus'', '' Shamanic ...

* YOSHIKA * YUKI * Yuho Iwasato *

Yuuki Ozaki , is a Japanese musician, best known as the leading vocalist and songwriter for the bands Galileo Galilei and BBHF. He also performs under his solo project warbear. In 2014, he began releasing solo material. He announced his new band "Bird Bear H ...

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Yoko Kanno discography
at VGMdb * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanno, Yoko 1963 births 20th-century Japanese composers 20th-century Japanese women composers 20th-century Japanese women pianists 21st-century Japanese composers 21st-century Japanese women composers 21st-century Japanese women pianists Anime composers Bebop composers Blues musicians Japanese music arrangers Japanese television composers Japanese video game composers Japanese women film score composers Japanese women record producers Living people Musicians from Sendai Victor Entertainment artists Waseda University alumni Women television composers Japanese bossa nova musicians