Jun Togawa

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Jun Togawa (戸川純 Togawa Jun, born 31 March 1961) is a Japanese singer and musician.

She began her career in the early 1980s as an unusual idol singer (or possibly a parody of an idol singer) with the single "Virgin Blues". It was soon apparent that her eccentric personality, surreal or disturbing lyrics and extensive vocal range set her apart from the usual bland, cute pop singers that were popular in Japan. Her mash-up of "lolita" voice, straight singing, screaming, and operatics, married to traditional Japanese melodies, militaristic marching themes, and techno-pop continue to endear her to Japanese "maniac" fans, such as devotees of horror or erotic manga, particularly young women.

In a 2001 interview, influential alternative musician and producer Jim O'Rourke (known for his work with Sonic Youth, amongst others) picked a Togawa Jun album Goodbye 20th Century as one of his "best albums of the year."

Although her deeply un-commercial attitude kept her away from major "pop" success, she survived as an influential and respected underground music figure both solo and as the lead singer of Guernica and Yapoos, and she recently released a new CD with her current project Jun Togawa Band featuring elements of noise rock, disco, techno-pop, opera and various other genres, to favourable reviews from many underground music fans in Japan.