Cibo Matto

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Cibo Matto
Background information
Origin Flag of United States New York City, USA
Genre(s) Acid Jazz
Indie Rock
Shibuya-kei
Samba
Trip Hop
Years active 1994 - 2001
Label(s) Warner Bros. Records
Website Official website
Former members
Yuka Honda (1994 - 2001)
Miho Hatori (1994 - 2001)
Sean Lennon (1997 - 2001)
Timo Ellis (1997 - 2001)

Cibo Matto (IPA pronunciation: [ˈtʃiːbo ˌmatːo]) was a New York City-based band formed by Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori in 1994.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Viva! La Woman: 1994 - 1996

After working together in the noise rock band Leitoh Lychee, Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda formed Cibo Matto in 1994 with Honda as the instrumentalist and Hatori as the vocalist (although occasionally Honda sang and Hatori contributed instrumenally). In 1995, Cibo Matto released a self titled EP on El Diablo Records. The EP caught the attention of Warner Bros. Records who signed Cibo Matto later in the year. Under Warner Bros. the duo released their first major album, Viva! La Woman. Cibo Matto is an Italian phrase that translates to "Crazy Food" and many of the tracks from Viva! La Woman, featured lyrics related to food, including "Know Your Chicken," "Apple," and "Birthday Cake." Their single, "Sugar Water" was a modest college radio and dance hit. The song was accompanied by an innovative split screen music video directed by Michel Gondry, where each side showed the same footage - one side going forward, and one backwards, meeting mid-song. [1] This unique presentation would be used in several subsequent videos, including "Closing Time (3 AM)" by the band Semisonic. After the music videos for "Know Your Chicken" and "Sugar Water" enjoyed success on MTV, Cibo Matto appeared on various television shows such as Oddville and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

[edit] Stereo Type A: 1997 - 2001

In 1997 Cibo Matto released a new EP entitled Super Relax, which would complete the line-up by introducing new members Sean Lennon and Timo Ellis. Touring followed with help from Duma Love, who although never listed as an official member of Cibo Matto, often contributed percussion and vocals to the band. In 1998 Lennon released his debut solo album Into the Sun, which featured Hatori ("Into the Sun", "Sean's Theme") and Ellis ("Mystery Juice", "Home", "Spaceship"). Into the Sun was produced and inspired by Honda (whom Lennon was dating at the time). In the music video for Lennon's single "Home" Honda, Hatori, Ellis and Duma Love appeared in the closing scene. As a foursome Cibo Matto went on to release their second (and final) album Stereo Type A in 1999. Although it was a departure from the much loved sound Viva! La Woman, Stereo Type A was well received by fans and the music press. The group continued to play live and tour until disbanding in 2001. In an interview Honda stated, "Cibo Matto broke up, because it was time. We felt the need to move to the next step. It was a healthy decision, though it was sad at the same time. Things just need to grow out of things sometimes."

[edit] Band info

  • Yuka Honda: Sampler and Sequencer, Keyboard, Piano, Organ, Synth, Harpsichord, Backing Vocals
  • Miho Hatori: Lead Vocals, Percussion, Acoustic Guitar
  • Sean Lennon: Bass Guitar, (Electric, 12-String and Acoustic) Guitar, Drums, Percussion, Synth, Backing Vocals
  • Timo Ellis: Drums, Percussion, Bass Guitar, (Electric and Acoustic) Guitar, Backing Vocals

[edit] Grand Royal involvement

Although Cibo Matto was represented by Warner Bros. Records, they were also considered to be a major part of the Grand Royal Records family.

Grand Royal Logo
Grand Royal Logo
  • Under Grand Royal, Honda and Hatori formed side-project band Butter 08 (1996) with Russell Simins, Rick Lee and Mike Mills.
  • Hatori collaborated with the Beastie Boys (who founded Grand Royal) on their album 1997 album, Hello Nasty.
  • Lennon released his debut album, Into the Sun (1998) on Grand Royal (which featured Honda, Hatori and Ellis).
  • Yumiko Ohno of Buffalo Daughter (a former Grand Royal band) contributed moog synthesizer and backing vocals to Stereo Type A (1999).
  • In 2000, Grand Royal released a compilation album entitled At Home with the Groove Box in which Lennon contributed the song "Winged Elephants" while Honda and Hatori contributed the song "We Love Our Lawyers". The compilation also featured artists such as Beck and Sonic Youth.

[edit] Solo activity

  • Yuka Honda - Honda has released two solo albums. Memories Are My Only Witness (2002) and Eucademix (2004). She has also collaborated with artists such as Buffalo Daughter and Yoshimi P-We. She continues to collaborate with Sean Lennon.
  • Miho Hatori - In the years following Cibo Matto's breakup, Hatori joined Smokey Hormel to form Smokey & Miho. In 2001, she became the singing voice of Noodle for the Gorillaz on their debut album and their following EP, G-Sides. In 2005 she released her first solo album, Ecdysis.
  • Sean Lennon - After the release of his solo debut Into the Sun (1998) and Cibo Matto's final album Stereo Type A (1999) Sean remained mostly quiet (aside from a few collaborations and minor media attention). Until 2006, when he released his first solo album in eight years, entitled Friendly Fire.
  • Timo Ellis - In 2001 Ellis released his first solo EP entitled The Enchanted Forest of Timo Ellis. In the last eight years he has collaborated with many artists and bands such as Aya, Bonnie Pink and Jamiroquai.

[edit] Works featuring Cibo Matto music

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

[edit] Singles

[edit] Collections

[edit] Music Videos

  • "Know Your Chicken" Directed by: Evan Bernard (1996)
  • "Sugar Water" Directed by: Michel Gondry (1996)

[edit] External links

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