Cornelius (musician)
Keigo Oyamada (小山田 圭吾, Oyamada Keigo, born January 27, 1969), also known by his moniker Cornelius (CORNELIUS（コーネリアス）, Kōneriasu), is a Japanese musician and producer who co-founded Flipper's Guitar, an influential Shibuya-kei band, and subsequently embarked on a solo career. In 1997, he released the album Fantasma, which landed him praise from American music critics, who called him a "modern-day Brian Wilson" or the "Japanese Beck".[2]
Cornelius | |
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.jpg.webp) Oyamada in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Keigo Oyamada |
| Born | January 27, 1969 Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1987–present |
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| Associated acts | |
| Website | cornelius-sound.com |
Career
Oyamada was born in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. His first claim to fame was as a member of the pop duo Flipper's Guitar, one of the key groups of the Tokyo Shibuya-kei scene. Following the disbandment of Flipper's Guitar in 1991, Oyamada donned the "Cornelius" moniker and embarked on a successful solo career. He chose his pseudonym in tribute to the character of the same name from the movie Planet of the Apes. He commissioned a song, about himself, on Momus' 1999 album Stars Forever.
In 2005, The Spinto Band referenced him in their song "Japan Is An Island" on their album Nice and Nicely Done.
As of September 2006, he was no longer signed to Matador Records.[3]
In 2006 and 2007 respectively, the song "The Micro Disneycal World Tour" from the Fantasma album, was used for Nick Parks' "Creature Comforts" and Sky television's "See, Surf, Speak" advertisements in the UK. It had also been used several years earlier in an ironic NFL television commercial in the USA, which juxtaposed the song's relaxing qualities with video clips showing rapid, aggressive football playmaking.
In 2010, he contributed the song "Katayanagi Twins Battle Song" to the film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
In 2013, he participated with Taku Satoh and Yugo Nakamura directing the music for the exhibition Design Ah! at 21 21 Design Sight in Tokyo.[4]
Music style
American music journalists often describe Cornelius's musical style as being similar to Beck's, whom he acknowledges as an influence along with The Beach Boys, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream and the Brazilian band Kassin + 2, among others. The music of Cornelius could be described as experimental and exploratory, and often incorporates dissonant elements alongside more familiar harmonically "pleasing" sounds. This tension, plus his practice of bringing in sounds and samples from mass culture, pure electronic tones, and sounds from nature (such as on his Point album), lead him to being sometimes characterised as an "acquired taste."
Personal life
Oyamada married fellow musician and collaborator Takako Minekawa in 2000 and they have one child, Milo, named after the son of Cornelius in Planet of the Apes. They divorced in 2012.
He is a second cousin of Joi Ito and Miki Berenyi,[5] the latter who appears on the song “The Spell of a Vanishing Loveliness” from Mellow Waves.[6]
Discography
| Cornelius discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 6 |
| Video albums | 7 |
| EPs | 3 |
| Singles | 14 |
| Soundtrack albums | 3 |
| Remix albums | 8 |
The discography of Cornelius consists of six studio albums, three soundtracks, eight remix albums, three extended plays, fourteen singles and seven video albums.
Studio albums
| Year | Information | Chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP [7] |
UK [8] |
US Elec. [9] |
US Indie [9] | ||
| 1994 | The First Question Award
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4 | — | — | — |
| 1995 | 69/96
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3 | — | — | — |
| 1997 | Fantasma
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6 | — | — | — |
| 2001 | Point
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4 | 124 | 17 | 47 |
| 2006 | Sensuous
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8 | — | 18 | — |
| 2017 | Mellow Waves
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10 | — | 10 | — |
Soundtracks
- Ghost in the Shell: Arise (Warner Music Japan, 23 January 2013) – JP #33[7]
- The Cat That Lived A Million Times (Warner Music Japan, 31 October 2013) (EP)
- Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie O.S.T. (Flying Dog, 15 June 2015) – JP #62[7]
Remix albums
| Year | Information | JP chart [7] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 96/69
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6 |
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| 1998 | FM - Fantasma Remixes
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39 |
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CM - Cornelius Remixes
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40 |
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| 2003 | CM2 - Interpretation By Cornelius
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29 |
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| 2004 | PM By Humans
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87 |
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| 2009 | CM3 - Interpretation Remixed By Cornelius
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32 |
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| 2012 | CM4
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53 |
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| 2015 | Constellations Of Music
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30 |
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Extended plays
- Holidays in the Sun EP (10 September 1993) JP #12[7]
- Cornelius Works 1999 (1999), rare CD-R promo from 3-D Corporation Ltd. (Japan)
- Gum EP (2008)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP [10] |
UK [8] | |||
| 1993 | "The Sun Is My Enemy" | 15 | – | The First Question Award |
| "Perfect Rainbow" | 29 | – | ||
| 1994 | "(You Can't Always Get) What You Want" | 27 | – | |
| "Moon Light Story" | 40 | – | ||
| 1995 | "Moon Walk" (cassette only) | 30 | – | 69/96 |
| 1997 | "Star Fruits Surf Rider" | 17 | 142 | Fantasma |
| "Freefall" (UK only) | N/R | – | ||
| "Chapter 8 - Seashore and Horizon -" (UK only) | N/R | – | ||
| 2001 | "Point of View Point" | 16 | 142 | Point |
| "Drop" | 12 | 82 | ||
| 2006 | "Music" | 17 | – | Sensuous |
| "Breezin'" | 20 | – | ||
| 2017 | "あなたがいるなら" ("If You're Here") | 31 | – | Mellow Waves |
| "いつか / どこか" ("Sometime/Someplace") | 35 | – | ||
| "夢の中で" ("In a Dream") | 24 | – | ||
Video
- Promotions! (1994), music videos
- Love Heavy Metal Style Music Vision (1994) – live performances
- EUS (2000) – live performances
- Five Point One (2003) – a DVD package of music videos and PM
- from Nakameguro to Everywhere tour '02-'04 (2008) – live performances
- Sensurround (2008) – a DVD version of Sensuous with accompanying videos and 5.1 surround sound
- Sensuous Synchronized Show (2009) – live performances
Compilation appearances
- Tribute Spirits (May 1, 1999)
- DJ-Kicks: Erlend Øye (April 19, 2004)
- Matador at Fifteen (October 12, 2004)
- The WIRED CD: Rip. Sample. Mash. Share. (April 22, 2009)
Other works
- Coloris (2006) – a Nintendo bit Generations game for Game Boy Advance[11]
- Cornelius appeared on the TV show Yo Gabba Gabba! performing a version of his song "Count Five or Six" as a way to teach kids how to count (at least up to six). This can be seen on the episode titled "Share".
- "Count Five or Six" appears on the soundtrack to the TV series Spaced.
- Composed music played by the Katayanagi Twins characters in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
- Produced Salyu's S(o)un(d)beams (2011)
- Composed the soundtrack to the anime series Ghost in the Shell: Arise (2013)
References
- Fisher, Devon (March 10, 2015). "Momus honors music's eccentrics on 'Turpsycore'". The Japan Times.
- Lindsay, Cam (August 4, 2016). "Return to the Planet of Cornelius". Vice.
- "Matador not releasing new Cornelius album". plasticbamboo. 12 September 2006. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009.
- "Design Ah!". Domusweb.it.
- Carpenter, Lorraine (1 October 2007). "Miki Berenyi". Undertheradarmag.com. Under the Radar. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- Cills, Hazel (21 July 2017). "A Chat With Japanese Musician Cornelius About Growing Older and New Album Mellow Waves". Themuse.jezebel.com. Jezebel. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- "Japan: Album positions". oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- "UK Chartlog". zobbel.de. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- "Cornelius - Awards : Allmusic". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- "Japan: singles positions". oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- Alexander, Patrick (March 14, 2008). "Feature: Kenichi Nishi and Archime-DS Interview (Part One)". Eegra.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
External links
- cornelius-sound.com - official website (in Japanese and English)
- corneliusjapan.com - semi-official website (English)
- Nippop Profile | Cornelius
- Matador Records' Cornelius page
- Cornelius rocks — Jaime Holguin from the Associated Press explores the allure of Japan's Keigo Oyamada. A May 2007 Associated Press/asap written and video piece about Cornelius.
- Cornelius at Shepherd Bush Empire - Dominic Haley from Spoonfed Media writes about the intrigue of the unexpected in Cornelius' music.
- Interview with Oyamada Keigo - Manny Santiago goes to the 3D Studio in Nakameguro, Tokyo for Heso magazine.
- Cornelius discography at Discogs
- Cornelius discography at MusicBrainz
| Members 1969–1974 |
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| Members 2009–present | |
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| Singles | |
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