Biography 椎名林檎

椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo, also sometimes spelled "Sheena Ringo" or "Shéna Ringö"), born November 25, 1978 in Saitama and raised in Fukuoka, is a Japanese singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. Her family name is Shiina (椎名) and she chose to perform as Ringo instead of her birth name Yumiko (裕美子) because - as a shy child - her cheeks would blush red like an apple (the fruit being 'ringo' in Japanese).

After quitting school to enter a musical contest, Shiina was quickly signed to EMI, then promptly left Japan to avoid the trappings of contract work. After returning, she quickly released a series of singles and albums, all self-penned (a relative rarity for Japanese pop artists), and all meeting with great success on the Japanese charts. A hiatus to start a family followed, itself followed (after a divorce) by both a new album and a new side project, the band 東京事変. (Tokyo Jihen - or Tokyo Incidents)

After more success with the band, Shiina returned to a solo career in 2006 as the Music Director for the film 「さくらん」(Sakuran), quickly taking the number one slot on the Oricon charts with the album Heisei Fuuzoku released in tandem with a major soundtrack project. Following was a B-sides album which peaked quickly at the number one Oricon slot. In the years proceeding this, she spent most of her time dedicated to Tokyo Jihen occasionally revisiting her solo work.

Despite being involved in the main Japanese pop scene, Shiina has created a niche for herself based on a much wider musical range than most artists. Where most pop singers develop a basic sound based on contemporary pop aesthetics and throwaway lyrical matter, Shiina builds on a base of jazz, rock, Motown, and even French chanson equally well (the chanson works especially well with her trademark nasal delivery), infusing her projects with a very different aesthetic, and gaining a fan base separate from the core constituents of the Japanese pop apparatus.

Discography

Singles

幸福論 (Koufukuron)（1998）

歌舞伎町の女王 （1998）

ここでキスして。 (Koko de kisu shite)（1999）

本能 （1999）

幸福論（1999）

ギブス (Gibs)（2000）

罪と罰 （2000）

真夜中は純潔 （2001）

絶頂集 （2000）

茎（STEM）～大名遊ビ編～ （2003）

りんごのうた (Ringo no Uta)（2003）

この世の限り (Kono Yo no Kagiri) (2007） (With Saitou Neko and her brother Shiina Junpei)

ありあまる富 (Ariamaru Tomi)（2009）

カーネーション (Carnation)（2011）

Albums

無罪モラトリアム (Muzai Moratorium) (1999)

勝訴ストリップ (Shouso Strip)（2000)

加爾基 精液 栗ノ花（Karuki Za-men Kuri no Hana）(2003)

平成風俗 (Heisei Fuuzoku) (2007)

私と放電 (Watashi to Houden) (2008)

三文ゴシップ (Sanmon Gossip) (2009)

Covers Album

唄ひ手冥利～其ノ壱～ (Utaitemyori Sonoichi)（2002）

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