Asobi Seksu was an American

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

band based in New York City. Their music used a textured and effects-heavy vocal and guitar sound. The band primarily consisted of Yuki Chikudate (

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

, keyboards) and James Hanna (

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, vocals).

History

Forming in 2001, the band was originally known as Sportfuck, and issued an EP under that name that year. The band then changed their name to Asobi Seksu, from the Japanese 遊びセックス (asobi sekkusu), "play sex". The original lineup consisted of Chikudate, Hanna, drummer Keith Hopkin and bassist Glenn Waldman. Hanna and Hopkin, with bassist Haji, had previously been members of the New York City

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

trios Three Cornered Season and Theta Wave State. Asobi Seksu's full-length self-titled debut album was self-released in 2002, and later re-released on the

Friendly Fire Recordings Friendly Fire Recordings is an independent record label based in Brooklyn that was founded by Dan Koplowitz in 2004. Bands under the label include Asobi Seksu, Faunts and David & the Citizens. Friendly Fire is distributed in the United States by R ...

label on May 18, 2004. Hopkin and Waldman left after touring for the album. Regrouping with a new rhythm section of Haji (bass) and Bryan Greene (drums), they recorded their second album, ''

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

'', in New York City's Gigantic Studios with producer Chris Zane. It was released on May 30, 2006 by

. By the time the band recorded their first live album, '' Spaceland Presents: At the Echo October 6th, 2006'', Greene had been replaced by Mitch Spivak. The album was issued on October 31, 2006 by Spaceland Recordings. and reissued in 2007 by KUFALA Recordings.

One Little Indian Records One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In t ...

signed the band in Europe and re-released the band's first two albums in 2007, with ''Citrus'' reaching No. 21 on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

that year. On November 20, 2007, Asobi Seksu released "Stay Awake" as a stand-alone single on the Gigantic Music label, backed by a cover of " Then He Kissed Me" by the Crystals. Another cover, of the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

' "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)", was released by One Little Indian as a single on December 10, 2007. Following the departures of Haji and Spivak, Chikudate and Hanna remained as Asobi Seksu's core, with the live band including drummer Ben Shapiro (later of Scary Mansion) and bassist Billy Pavone. The band released another live album, '' Acoustic at Olympic Studios'', on February 8, 2009 as a tour-exclusive CD. Recorded as a duo in November 2008, it featured new acoustic versions of the band's back catalog as well as unique tracks. Retitled as '' Rewolf'', it was released worldwide in November 2009. On February 17, 2009, the band (Chikudate and Hanna, joined by drummer Gunnar Olsen) released their third studio album, '' Hush'' on the Polyvinyl Record Co. label. The album was released to generally positive reviews, with many critics citing a shift in the band's shoegaze direction to a mellower dream pop sound. Drummer Larry Gorman, formerly of Orange 9mm, Glassjaw and

Head Automatica Head Automatica is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York fronted by Glassjaw frontman Daryl Palumbo. History Formation, ''Decadance'' and ''Popaganda'' (2003–2006) The beginnings of the band stemmed from singer Daryl Palumbo' ...

, joined Asobi Seksu in 2009. The band's fourth studio album, ''

Fluorescence Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with colore ...

'', was released on February 14, 2011. The lineup included Chikudate, Hanna, Gorman and Pavone. On November 23, 2012, for Record Store Black Friday, the band released ''Asobi Seksu x Boris'', a split EP with Boris on which Asobi Seksu covered that band's "Farewell". The band announced an indefinite hiatus on September 30, 2013, via their Facebook page. On July 23, 2014, Asobi Seksu announced that they would reunite for a one-off show opening for

Slowdive Slowdive (stylized in lowercase) are an English people, English rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Neil Halstead (vocals, guitars), Rachel Goswell (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Christian Savill (guitars) ...

in Boston on October 26, 2014, at Slowdive's request.

Other projects

In May 2009, Chikudate released a collaborative single with

Pocket A pocket is a bag- or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets are also attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items. In older usage, a pocket was a separate small bag o ...

called "Sampo". The track included remixes by Mux Mool, Blue Eyes and

Craig Wedren Craig Benjamin Wedren (born August 15, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and composer, who began his career fronting post-hardcore band Shudder to Think. Following the disbandment of Shudder to Think, Wedren pursued a career as a ...

. In 2014, Hanna and Gorman formed the band Youth Worship, releasing an EP in 2014 and a full-length album in 2015.

Song appearances in media

Asobi Seksu's songs have been featured in various television shows, including ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...

'' and the British television series '' Skins''. The song "Layers" from ''Hush'' was also featured in an episode of ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...

''. Their non-album track "Stay Awake" was included on the ''

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

'' compilation album '' Warm & Scratchy'' in May 2007. Their song "Ramen Girl" was the closing credits song for the 2008 film '' The Ramen Girl''. The band provided music for

So Yong Kim So Yong Kim (born 1968) is an American independent filmmaker. She has made four feature films: '' In Between Days'', '' Treeless Mountain'', '' For Ellen'', and '' Lovesong''. So Yong Kim is a recipient of the New York Foundation’s Video Art ...

's 2007 film '' In Between Days'' and contributed an original score for Kim's 2009 film '' Treeless Mountain''. The song "Thursday" was featured in '' The Exploding Girl'', produced and edited by Kim and directed by her husband Bradley Rust Gray. Kim also directed the music video for the song. "Thursday" was also used in LateRooms' 2012 advertisement and in the trailer for the 2014 film ''

Affluenza Affluenza describes the psychological and social effects of affluence. It is a portmanteau of ''wealth, affluence'' and ''influenza'', and is used most commonly by critics of consumerism. Some psychologists consider it to be a pseudo-scientific ...

''.

Former members

* Yuki Chikudate -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, keyboards (2001-2013) *James Hanna -

(2001-2013) *Glenn Waldman - bass (2001-2005) *Keith Hopkin - drums (2001-2005) *Haji - bass (2005-2007) *Bryan Greene - drums (2005-2006) *Mitch Spivak - drums (2006) *Billy Pavone - bass (2007-2013) *Ben Shapiro - drums (2007) *Gunnar Olsen - drums (2009) * Larry Gorman -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, sampling (2009-2013)

Discography

Studio albums

*''

Asobi Seksu Asobi Seksu was an American shoegaze/dream pop band based in New York City. Their music used a textured and effects-heavy vocal and guitar sound. The band primarily consisted of Yuki Chikudate (singing, vocals, Keyboard instrument, keyboards) an ...

'' (2002, self-released; 2004,

) *''

'' (2006, Friendly Fire Recordings/

) (No. 21

in 2007) *'' Hush'' (2009, Polyvinyl Record Co./One Little Indian Records) *''

'' (2011, Polyvinyl Record Co.)

Singles and EPs

*"Goodbye" (2006, One Little Indian Records) *"Walk on the Moon" (2007, One Little Indian Records) *"Strawberries" (2007, One Little Indian Records) *"Thursday" (2007, One Little Indian Records) *"Stay Awake" (2007, Gigantic Music) *"Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" (

cover) (2007, One Little Indian Records) *"Me & Mary" (2008, Polyvinyl Record Co./One Little Indian Records) *"Goodbye" (remix) (2008, One Little Indian Records) *"Familiar Light" (2009, One Little Indian Records) *"Transparence" (2009, Polyvinyl Record Co.) *"Layers" (2009, One Little Indian Records *''Perfectly Crystal'' EP (2011, self-released) *''Asobi Seksu x Boris'' split EP with Boris (2012, Polyvinyl Record Co.)

Live albums

*'' Spaceland Presents: At the Echo October 6th, 2006'' (2006, Spaceland Recordings) *''iTunes Live from SoHo'' (2007,

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

) *'' Acoustic at Olympic Studios'' (2009, One Little Indian Records) *'' Rewolf'' (2009, Polyvinyl Record Co.)

Selected compilation appearances

*"All Through the Day" (

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

cover) on ''The Patty Duke Fanzine #6: Love to Patty'' (2006, Top Quality Rock & Roll) *" Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" (

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

cover) on ''Subterranean Homesick Blues: A Tribute to Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home'' (2010, Reimagine Music) *"Vicious Bears" on ''Japan 3.11.11: A Benefit Album'' (2011, Polyvinyl Record Co.) *"Little House of Savages" ( The Walkmen cover) on ''Cover Compilation'' (2011, RCRD LBL)

as Sportfuck

*''Sportfuck'' EP (2001, self-released)

References

{{Authority control 2001 establishments in New York City Alternative rock groups from New York (state) American dream pop musical groups Indie pop groups from New York (state) Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2013 American noise pop musical groups Polyvinyl Record Co. artists American shoegaze musical groups