PERFUME
In a way, it could be said that the ladies of Perfume are more contemporaries of Candies than Pink Lady, the obvious reasons being they're a trio, wear flashy costumes and belt out wonderful harmonies. However, I decided to create a feature to perfume because of how they've become a true and powerful force in the J-Pop arena, just like Mie and Kei. Hailing from Hiroshima, Ayaka Nishiwaki ("A-chan"), Ayano Omoto ("Nocchi") and Yuka Kashino ("Kashiyuka") came together in 2000 inside young talent academy Actors School Hiroshima, and debuted with their first Hiroshima-local single "Omajinai Perori" released on March 21, 2002. A year later they moved to Tokyo, started to work with Capsule's producer Yasutaka Nakata and released their first nationwide indie single, "Sweet Donuts" on August 6, 2003. In 2005 they got a major contract deal with Tokuma Japan Communications, and released their major debut single "Linear Motor Girl" on September 21 of that year. When the ladies released "Polyrhythym" in 2008, Perfume garnered serious attention, reaching into the top 10 on the Japanese music charts and they took off from there, becoming extremely popular.
The combination of elegant costumes (as you can see below), stylish dance routines and, most of all, their most unique sound, incorporating elements of synthpop, bubblegum pop, dance-pop, techno, and house music. Their delightfully etheral voices helped Perfume become one of the most successful J-Pop acts around today, cementing their place in the "technopop" realm which is their bread and butter. Despite being a longtime fan of J-Pop, I'll admit to having been rather late to having discovered the magic and beauty of Perfume, but, thanks to YouTube (where the group has it's own dedicated channel), I've had a chance to watch their videos and live performaces and found A-chan, Nocchi and Kashiyuka to be absolutely amazing. And I'm far from alone as, thanks to the internet, Perfume has fans from all over the world with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages and groups as lots of people have been captivated by their sound and special charm like I have. I for one and proud and happy to be a fan of THE most elegant group around today, making a serious name for themselves, just like Pink Lady had done a long time ago.
ADDENDUM: Due to the fast blossoming popularity of Perfume outside Japan, the trio did a successful tour in the States through most of April, including a performance at the famed Coachella music festival where they were warmly received by fans. Not too bad!
LEFT TO RIGHT: Ayaka "A-chan" Nishiwaki, Ayano "Nocchi" Omoto, Yuka "Kashiyuka" Kashino
