Flipper's Guitar

Biography

Flipper's Guitar were a Tokyo-based Japanese pop duo formed by Keigo Oyamada (小山田圭吾, better known as Cornelius) and Kenji Ozawa (小沢健二, nephew of famed conductor Seiji Ozawa) in 1987. The band was influenced by the chirpy sound of British 80s pop groups like Haircut 100, 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, Oyamada was l...

Flipper's Guitar were a Tokyo-based Japanese pop duo formed by Keigo Oyamada (小山田圭吾, better known as Cornelius) and Kenji Ozawa (小沢健二, nephew of famed conductor Seiji Ozawa) in 1987. The band was influenced by the chirpy sound of British 80s pop groups like Haircut 100, 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, Oyamada was later to state that his greatest influences were "the three Bs - Beck, The Beatles and the Beach Boys".

The group were an important part of the Tokyo Shibuya-kei scene in the 1990s, and Oyamada went on to produce work for Pizzicato Five and his one-time partner Kahimi Karie. The band were never shy to wear their influence on their sleeves, and their song titles often either namechecked their Anglo idols — Goodbye Our Pastels Badges, Haircut 100, Colour Field — or aped them — The Quizmaster from Doctor Head's World Tower treads the line between inspiration and plagiarism of Primal Scream's "Loaded".

Following the demise of the band in 1991, the two members pursued solo careers. Ozawa released the album "The Dogs Bark But The Caravan Moves On" under his own name, and Oyamada recorded under the name of Cornelius. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.