Sugar Soul (シュガー・ソウル, Shugā So'uru) was a Japanese three-member R&B group which formed in 1996. They soon made their debut in January 1997 on the Flava Records label. The members featured DJ Hasebe (programming), Aiko Machida (vocals) and Kawabe (composer).[1] The band achieved success with the single "Garden" in 1999, which featured Kenji Furuya of Dragon Ash. The band was seen as one of the prominent new R&B-style musicians in Japan in the late 1990s.[2]
Sugar Soul | |
---|---|
Origin | Japan |
Years active | 1996–2001 |
Labels | Flava Records (1997) Warner Music Japan (1998—2001) |
Past members | Aiko, DJ Hasebe, Kawabe |
Website | www |
In 2001, the band went on a permanent hiatus after the release of the single "Soulmate." Vocalist Aiko went on to become the vocalist of drum and bass band Kam in 2010.[3]
Kumi Koda covered the Sugar Soul song "Ima Sugu Hoshii" in 2006, and in 2009 May J. covered "Garden."
Discography
editOriginal albums
editYear | Album Information | Oricon Albums Charts [4] |
Reported sales [5] |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | On
|
10 | 139,000 |
2000 | Uzu (うず, "Swirl")
|
3 | 340,000 |
Other albums
editYear | Album Information | Oricon Albums Charts [4] |
Reported sales [5] |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Sugar Soul Live: Balance
|
12 | 44,000 |
2002 | Soul Jam
|
97 | 3,000 |
Soul Mix
|
— | — | |
2003 | Sugar Soul
|
20 | 24,000 |
Singles
editRelease | Title | Notes | Oricon singles charts [4] |
Oricon sales [5] |
Album |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | "Those Days" | Re-released in 1999, sales pertain to re-release | 34 | 30,000 | — |
1998 | "Kanashimi no Hana ni" (悲しみの花に, "To a Flower of Sadness") | Debut single under Warner | 75 | 11,000 | On |
"Sauce" | Produced by Shinichi Osawa | 51 | 33,000 | ||
1999 | "Namibia" (ナミビア) | Produced by Hirofumi Asamoto | 50 | 13,000 | |
"Garden" feat. Kenji | 2 | 923,000 | Uzu | ||
"Siva 1999" feat. Zeebra | 10 | 152,000 | |||
2000 | "Respectyourself" | 15 | 76,000 | ||
"Ii yo" (いいよ, "It's Good") | 79 | 2,600 | |||
2001 | "Soulmate" | Final release as a band | 46 | 7,000 | — |
References
edit- ^ "Sugar Soul". Discogs. 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- ^ Condry, Ian. Hip Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006
- ^ "Sugar Soulが10年ぶりに復活". RBB TODAY. 2010-06-22. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
- ^ a b c "アーティスト: Sugar Soul". Oricon. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
- ^ a b c "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Oricon. Retrieved June 6, 2011. (subscription only)
External links
edit- Web archive of official site (in Japanese)
- Warner Music Japan label site (in Japanese)