Flipper's Guitar

Flipper's Guitar were a Tokyo-based rock band led by (and later a duo of) Keigo Oyamada and Kenji Ozawa. The band were influenced by the chirpy sound of British 80s pop groups like Haircut One Hundred, Exhibit B, The Style Council and Aztec Camera, as well as the fashionably eclectic sounds of early 90s Britain, from indie dance to acid jazz. The sonic experimentation of Brian Wilson was also evident in some tracks.

The group were an important part of the Tokyo Shibuya-kei scene in the late 1980s to early 1990s, and Oyamada went on to produce work for Pizzicato Five and his close friend Kahimi Karie.

The band shows their influence on their sleeves, and their song titles often cited their British artists' influence — Goodbye Our Pastels Badges, Haircut One Hundred, The Colourfield

Following the demise of the band in 1991 the two members pursued solo careers, Ozawa releasing the album The Dogs Bark But The Caravan Moves On under his own name, and Oyamada recording under the name of Cornelius. It was as Cornelius that Oyamada gained a minor cult following outside Japan, as well as remix work for the likes of Blur, Beck, and the Manic Street Preachers.

Discography

The discography of Flipper's Guitar consists of three studio albums, a live album, two compilation albums and a video.

Studio albums

• Three Cheers for Our Side! (1989)
• Camera Talk (1990)
• Doctor Head's World Tower (1991)

Live albums

• On Pleasure Bent (1992)

Compilation albums

• Colour Me Pop (1991)
• Singles (1992)

Video

• Lost Pictures, Original Clips & CMS + Testament (1993) (VHS/DVD (released 2004))

Tribute albums

• Tribute to Flipper's Guitar: Friends Again (2004, Pastel Music)

External links

• Monitor Pop on Flippers Guitar