Amaiwana teams up with Maki Nomiya for dream Shibuya-kei collaboration

Retro pop princess Amaiwana has teamed up with the “Queen of Shibuya-kei” herself, Maki Nomiya, for the track ‘COVER GIRLS’. The music video dropped today, October 9th.

Amaiwana has been exploring the Shibuya-kei genre with her brand of retro cutesy pop, and on her latest EP ‘NEW SHIBUYA’ she’s delved into it headfirst. The final track of the EP (part of a double EP release alongside ‘NEW WAVE’), features none other than Maki Nomiya. Coming to fame in the 90s as the lead singer of Shibuya-kei pioneers Pizzicato Five, Nomiya is a legend of the genre. The collaboration is a dream come true for Amaiwana, as well as Shibuya-kei fans worldwide.

‘COVER GIRLS’ is a retro inspired delight, featuring the vocalists’ sweet voices gently singing across a nostalgic, and slightly unhinged sounding melody. Various instruments and noises from wood percussion, to gunshot-like drumrolls—and… is that a glockenspiel?—come together to create something that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Katamari game (which Maki Nomiya also lent her talents to back in 2005). Both singers penned the lyrics, while Amaiwana and easy-listening artist Atsumu Wonderful handled the music and arrangement. City-pop darling Ginger Root, as with many of Amaiwana’s releases, served as sound engineer.

Miki Yoshioka directed the music video, previously working with Amaiwana on the video for ‘Shanghai Girl’. Evoking the 60s revival style that became popular in Japan in the 90s, the video sees Amaiwana and Maki Nomiya singing and dancing together in gorgeous 60s style outfits. Additionally, both singers styled themselves for the video.

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The EPs released on October 2nd, each featuring 4 tracks, and a distinct sound to both. ‘NEW WAVE’ as the title suggests features a new wave inspired sound, while ‘NEW SHIBUYA’ is focused on Shibuya-kei. New wave rose to prominence in the 80s, while Shibuya-kei became popular in the 90s. In a comment to BARKS Amaiwana noted that the tracks on ‘NEW WAVE’ are actually companions of the tracks from ‘NEW SHIBUYA’ .

“One day while working on the songs, I thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to create two tracks with different faces around the same theme? So, I made two songs with my favorite genres, Shibuya-kei and New Wave, as the concept, with each song complementing the other. The decision was also made to release a double A-side vinyl of the two EPs, and I’m feeling great about it. I think it’ll be a fun record that can be enjoyed twice on a single disc♡”

From October 15th to November 3rd, Amaiwana will join Ginger Root on the final US leg of his 2024 fall tour, with tickets selling fast. Starting in Boston on October 15th, Amaiwana will appear on 14 dates of the tour, wrapping up in LA on November 3rd. Notably, Amaiwana has starred as the fictional idol Kimiko Takeguchi in Ginger Root’s music videos.

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Amaiwana US tour (Ginger Root support)

• 15th October (Tue) – Boston, Royale
• 17th October (Thur) – Brooklyn, Brooklyn Steel
• 18th October (Fri) – Philadelphia, Union Transfer
• 20th October (Sun) – Washington DC, Black Cat
• 21st October (Mon) – Asheville, The Orange Peel
• 22nd October (Tue) – Atlanta, Variety Playhouse
• 23rd October (Wed) – Nashville, Cannery Hall
• 26th October (Sat) – Houston, White Oak Music Hall
• 27th October (Sun) – Dallas, The Factory in Deep Ellum
• 29th October (Tue) – Austin, Emo’s Austin
• 30th October (Wed) – San Antonio, Aztec Theatre
• 1st November (Fri) – El Paso, Lowbrow Palace
• 2nd November (Sat) – Phoenix, The Van Buren
• 3rd November (Sun) – Los Angeles, Hollywood Palladium

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