Enon Kawatani

Enon Kawatani
Birth name 川谷絵音
Born (1988-12-03) December 3, 1988
Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
Origin Japan
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • guitarist
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active 2010–present
Associated acts

Kenta Kawatani (川谷 健太 Kawatani Kenta, born December 3, 1988[1]), known by the stage name Enon Kawatani (川谷 絵音 Kawatani Enon), is a Japanese musician. He is the vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for the bands Gesu no Kiwami Otome and Indigo la End, and also works as a songwriter for other musicians.

Biography

Kawatani grew to like music when he was eight years old, when he heard T.M.Revolution's song "High Pressure" (1997).[2] He began composing music while he was a university student at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. There, he met Masao Wada at the light music club (currently known as Gesu no Kiwami Otome's bassist Kyūjitsu Kachō).[3] In April 2009, Kawatani formed the band Indigo la End, mostly performing live performances in the Shinjuku, Shimokitazawa and Shibuya areas of Tokyo.[4] Indigo la End released their debut extended play Sayōnara, Subarashii Sekai in April 2012, though the independent label Space Shower Music.

In May 2012, Kawatani asked members of other bands who played at the Shimokitazawa Era live house to form a musical project together, as a fun activity outside of their regular projects, and called this band Gesu no Kiwami Otome.[5][6] Kawatani continued to release music with Indigo la End, with their second extended play Nagisa nite in September 2012 and their first album Yoru ni Mahō o Kakerarete in February 2013. A month after their debut album, Gesu no Kiwami Otome also debuted through Space Shower Music, releasing the extended play Dress no Nugikata.[7]

In December 2013, both of Kawatani's bands were signed to Warner sub-label Unborde.[8][9] Both musical units released their major label debut releases on April 2, 2014: Minna Normal for Gesu no Kiwami Otome and Ano Machi Record for Indigo la End. In August 2014, Gesu no Kiwami's song "Ryōkiteki na Kiss o Watashi ni Shite" was used as the drama Around 30-chan: Mushūsei's opening theme song and released as a single.[10] It reached number four on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart,[11] and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.[12] The band's debut album Miryoku ga Sugoi yo (2014) reached number four on Oricon's album charts, and their second, Ryōseibai (2016), reached number one, after several commercially successful singles released in 2015: "Watashi Igai Watashi ja Nai no", "Romance ga Ariamaru" and "Otonatic".[13]

In 2014, Kawatani composed songs for musicians outside of his two bands for the first time, when he gave the boyband SMAP two songs for their album Mr. S. Kawatani worked with the band again in 2015, on their single "Ai ga Tomaru made wa", and has also worked with Tomohisa Yamashita, and the girl group Team Syachihoko on their single "Shampoo Hat" (2014).

Personal life

Kawatani's real name is Kenta,[14] though he has used the name Enon Kawatani since at least 2011.[4] In Gesu no Kiwami Otome's early releases, Kawatani used the pseudonym MC.K.[15]

In January 2016, Shūkan Bunshun magazine reported that Kawatani had gotten married in secret to a non-celebrity woman in mid-2015, and that Kawatani was suspected to be having an affair with television personality Becky.[16][17] The article detailed leaked conversations between the pair from the messaging application Line.[18] This led Becky to hold a press conference a day before the issue's release where she apologized for her conduct, and Kawatani to release an apology statement, in which he professed that he and Becky were merely close friends.[16] In December 2015, Shin-Ei Animation had contacted Kawatani to ask him to write the theme song for the film Crayon Shin-chan: Fast Asleep! Dreaming World Big Assault! (2016), and for his band Gesu no Kiwami Otome to perform it.[18] However, after the adultery allegations were published, Shin-Ei rescinded their offer.[18]

Discography

Production discography

List of songs that feature songwriting by Enon Kawatani outside of his work with Gesu no Kiwami Otome or Indigo la End.
Title Year Album Notes
"Amanojaku" (アマノジャク, "Amanojaku")
(SMAP)
2014 Mr. S Lyrics and composition.
"Suki yo" (好きよ, "I Like You")
(SMAP)
Lyrics and composition. Charted at number 67 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.[19]
"Modorenai Kara" (戻れないから, "Because We Can't Go Back")
(Tomohisa Yamashita)
You Lyrics and composition.
"Shampoo Hat" (シャンプーハット Shampū Hatto)
(Team Syachihoko)
Non-album single Lyrics and composition. Released as a single, reached number 4 on the Oricon single charts and number 22 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.[20][21]
"Ai ga Tomaru made wa" (愛が止まるまでは, "Until Love Stops")
(SMAP)
2015 Non-album single Lyrics and composition. Reached number 64 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.[22] As a double A-side single release with "Otherside", the song charted at number one on Oricon's single charts.[23]
"Inochi no Hi" (命の火, "Fire of Life")
(The Bed Room Tape featuring Enon Kawatani)
Yarn Lyrics and co-composition, in addition to guest vocals.[24] Released as a vinyl single alongside the song "Onpu no Minato" on January 29, 2016.[25]

References

  1. Enon Kawatani (December 3, 2013). "25になったら" (in Japanese). Livedoor. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  2. Inio Asano (2015). "川谷絵音(indigo la End/ゲスの極み乙女。) 2バンド同時活動する鬼才の2万字インタビュー!!" (in Japanese). Rockin' On Japan. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  3. Inio Asano. "川谷絵音(indigo la End/ゲスの極み乙女。) 2バンド同時活動する鬼才の2万字インタビュー!!". Rockin' On Japan (January 2014): 234–235.
  4. 1 2 "JACKMAN RECORDS COMPILATION ALBUM vol.4 『RO69JACK 10/11』" (in Japanese). Rockin' On Japan. 2011. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  5. Shoichi Miyake (December 5, 2013). "[Interview] ゲスの極み乙女。" (in Japanese). What's In?. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  6. Shoichi Miyake (December 5, 2013). "[Interview] ゲスの極み乙女。" (in Japanese). What's In?. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  7. ゲスの極み乙女。 (in Japanese). Space Shower. 2014. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  8. ゲスの極み乙女。、2014年にワーナーよりメジャーデビュー決定 (in Japanese). Barks. December 4, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  9. "ゲスの極み乙女。とindigo la End、4月に同時デビュー決定" (in Japanese). Natalie. January 19, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  10. 猟奇的なキスを私にして/アソビ (in Japanese). Warner. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  11. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). August 13, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  12. "レコード協会調べ 5月度有料音楽配信認定" [Record Association Investigation: May Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  13. "ゲスの極み乙女。のリリース一覧" [List of Gesu no Kiwami Otome's releases]. Oricon. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  14. Indigo la End (2010). "Indigo la End" (in Japanese). MySpace. Archived from the original on June 26, 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  15. "Pick Up! Rookies ゲスの極み乙女。" (in Japanese). 2013. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  16. 1 2 "ゲスの極み乙女。川谷も不倫騒動謝罪 昨夏結婚を初公表" (in Japanese). Oricon. January 7, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  17. "「ゲス乙女」川谷謝罪「既婚の身でありながら」昨夏結婚を報告" (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. January 7, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 "ゲス極、子供に人気の映画主題歌消滅…不倫騒動代償" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  19. "Billboard Japan Hot 10". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Hankyu Hanshin Holdings. September 10, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  20. "シャンプーハット(初回限定名古屋盤)". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  21. "Billboard Japan Hot 10". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Hankyu Hanshin Holdings. December 17, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  22. "Billboard Japan Hot 10". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Hankyu Hanshin Holdings. September 16, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  23. "Otherside/愛が止まるまでは". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  24. THE BED ROOM TAPE/YARN - TOWER RECORDS ONLINE (in Japanese). Tower Records Japan. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  25. THE BED ROOM TAPE/命の火 feat.川谷絵音/音符の港 feat.Gotch - TOWER RECORDS ONLINE (in Japanese). Tower Records Japan. Retrieved February 20, 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.