Orange Pekoe (band)

For the tea, see orange pekoe.

Orange Pekoe
Orange Pekoe live at Japan Day 2009 in Central Park
Background information
Origin	Hyōgo prefecture, Japan
Genres	Jazz fusion
Years active	1998–present
Labels	BMG Japan
Website	http://www.orange-pekoe.com
Members
Kazuma Fujimoto Tomoko Nagashima

Orange Pekoe (オレンジ・ペコー, Orenji Pekō^?, or orange pekoe) is a Japanese music duo which formed in 1998, and had its first major debut in 2002, with the single "Happy Valley". The band is named for orange pekoe, a type of tea.

Background

Orange Pekoe is composed of Kazuma Fujimoto, who plays guitar and does the composition, arrangement, and programming of the music, and Tomoko Nagashima, who writes the lyrics and performs vocals.

The pair, both originally from Hyōgo prefecture, began working together as graduate students at Kwansei Gakuin University in Osaka. They began performing in cafes and small venues in Osaka and Kobe in 2000, and released their first mini-album, self-titled, in April 2001, under an independent label. After having their music played on a local radio station, and gaining popularity locally, the pair were picked up by major music label BMG Japan, releasing their first single, "Happy Valley", in April 2002. The single entered heavy rotation on radio stations across Japan, and the duo's first album, Organic Plastic Music, was released the following month.

Style

Though Fujimoto's compositions draw strongly upon jazz, they reflect the influence of other musical styles and elements as well. Fujimoto has said that he draws influence from the Beatles, Stevie Wonder and Milton Nascimento, and makes use of the acoustic sound as well as drawing from bossa nova and samba styles.

Nagashima's vocal register is alto. The duo's lyrics often make use of English as well.

Discography

Singles

1. "Taiyō no Kakera" (太陽のかけら^?, Released August 23, 2001)
2. "Yawarakana Yoru" (やわらかな夜^?, February 27, 2002)
3. "Happy Valley" (April 24, 2002)
4. "Honeysuckle" (July 24, 2002)
5. "Beautiful Thing" (November 6, 2002)
6. "Gokurakuchō ~Bird of Paradise~" (極楽鳥 ～Bird of Paradise～^?, May 21, 2003)
7. "Songbird" (ソングバード^?, May 26, 2004)
8. "Koganeiro no Hane" (黄金色の羽根^?, June 29, 2005)
9. "Sora no Niwa" (空の庭^?, October 12, 2005)
10. "Kirakira" (キラキラ^?, September 5, 2007)
11. "Marigold/Crystarhythm" (マリーゴールド/クリスタリズム^?, May 27, 2009)

Albums

Full albums

1. Organic Plastic Music (May 22, 2002)
2. Modern Lights (July 2, 2003)
3. Poetic Ore ; Invisible Beautiful Realism (July 7, 2004)
4. Live2004 (February 23, 2005)
5. Grace (December 14, 2005)
6. Best Remixes(& Clips) (November 22, 2006)
7. Wild Flowers (November 21, 2007)
8. Crystalismo (July 8, 2009)

Mini-albums

1. orangepekoe (April 20, 2001)
2. orangepekoe in autumn (November 4, 2004)

DVDs

1. Live from Poetic Ore Tour (July 29, 2005)

References

External links

• Official Site
• Fan Site:Ore Style
• Onsuijin|PLUG IN (an interview with the duo; Japanese)
• museum music style|PLUG IN (interview; Japanese)