Cibo Matto (, Italian for "crazy food") was an American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band formed by

Yuka Honda Yuka Honda is a Japanese-American musician who resides in New York City. She is a multi-instrumentalist (mainly piano, synthesizer, sampler and other keyboards), composer, record producer, and co-founder of the band Cibo Matto. Throughout her ...

and

Miho Hatori is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and musician. She is best known as a solo artist, co-founder of New York City band Cibo Matto, and as the first person to provide the voice of Noodle in the virtual band Gorillaz, as well as for her work with t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in 1994. Initially, the band's lyrics were primarily concerned with food, before expanding into broader subject matter following the addition of

Sean Lennon is an American–British musician, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The ...

Timo Ellis Timothy Kneeland "Timo" Ellis is a multi-instrumentalist and record producer from New York City, and is frontman vocalist for the band Netherlands. In 1997 Ellis and Sean Lennon joined Cibo Matto. As a quartet (Yuka Honda Yuka Honda is ...

, and Duma Love to the band for their second studio album. While Honda and Hatori are Japanese

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

s, the group initially did not gain as large a following in Japan as it did in the United States. Their first album '' Viva! La Woman'' sold 40,000 copies in Japan, but was more successful in the U.S., with over 74,000 copies sold. Over time, the group's following in Japan grew, which resulted in their signing to Japanese record label Commmons in 2014. After an almost decade-long hiatus, Honda and Hatori reunited as Cibo Matto in 2011, playing a series of concerts and recording new material. They released their third and final studio album '' Hotel Valentine'' on February 14, 2014. It peaked at number 168 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Cibo Matto announced their split in December 2017.

History

''Viva! La Woman'': 1994–1996

After working together in the

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extrem ...

band Leitoh Lychee, Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda formed Cibo Matto in 1994 with Honda as the instrumentalist and Hatori as the vocalist (although occasionally Honda sang and Hatori contributed instrumentally). In 1995, Cibo Matto released a self titled EP on El Diablo Records. The EP caught the attention of Warner Bros. Records, which signed Cibo Matto later in the year. Through Warner Bros., the duo released its first major album, '' Viva! La Woman''. Cibo Matto is an Italian phrase that translates to "Crazy Food" and many of the tracks from ''Viva! La Woman'', which was produced by Mitchell Froom, featured lyrics related to food, including "Know Your Chicken", "Apple", and "Birthday Cake". The album's first single, "Sugar Water", was a modest

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

and dance hit. The song was accompanied by an innovative split screen

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

that was directed by

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...

, where each side showed the same footage—one side going forward, and one backward, meeting mid-song. After the music videos for "Know Your Chicken" and "Sugar Water" enjoyed success on MTV, Cibo Matto made appearances on various television shows such as ''Oddville'', '' Viva Variety'', and '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. "Birthday Cake" was heavily featured in the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

'' Jet Set Radio Future''. In 1996, Cibo Matto contributed "Águas De Março (Waters of March)" to the AIDS benefit album '' Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin'', which was produced by the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

''Stereo Type A'': 1997–2001

In 1997, Cibo Matto released a new EP entitled '' Super Relax'', which would complete the line-up by introducing new members

and

with Duma Love joining soon thereafter. In 1998 Lennon released his debut solo album '' Into the Sun'', which featured Hatori ("Into the Sun", "Sean's Theme") and Ellis ("Mystery Juice", "Home", "Spaceship"). ''Into the Sun'' was produced and inspired by Honda (whom Lennon was dating at the time). Honda, Hatori, Ellis and Love appeared in the closing scene of the video for Lennon's single "Home". Cibo Matto went on to release its second album ''

Stereo Type A ''Stereo Type A'' (stylized as ''Stereo ★ Type A'') is the second studio album by Cibo Matto released in 1999. As the group disbanded in 2001, it was their last studio album prior to their 2011 reunion. The album peaked at number 171 on the ''B ...

'' in 1999. Although it was a departure from the familiar sound of ''Viva! La Woman'', ''Stereo Type A'' was well received by music critics. That year the band performed in Toronto with Luscious Jackson at The Opera House in Toronto.

Hiatus: 2002–2010

Cibo Matto continued to play live and tour until disbanding in 2002. Honda said: "We felt the need to move to the next step. It was a healthy decision, though it was sad at the same time. Things just need to grow out of things sometimes." All of the members of Cibo Matto went on to release solo material. A compilation entitled '' Pom Pom: The Essential Cibo Matto'' was released in 2007.

Reunion and ''Hotel Valentine'': 2011–2017

Cibo Matto announced its reunion on March 18, 2011, to perform as part of a benefit concert for victims of the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six m ...

. The concert, which took place on March 27 at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in New York City, also included

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jazz ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of th ...

, and

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techn ...

. Following the success of this show, a second was added, this time featuring the

Plastic Ono Band The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name. Lennon and Ono began a personal and artistic relati ...

and

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

along with Cibo Matto. The group appeared at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its disti ...

on June 26, 2011, for another benefit, alongside

Yellow Magic Orchestra Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is cons ...

. On May 16, 2011, Cibo Matto announced its US reunion tour titled "Yeah, Basically Cibo Matto" with a tour Web sit
Wayback Machine
and promotional video. During the concerts, the band reportedly spoke about a new studio album that was to be released in 2012. On July 17, 2012, the band announced it would be opening for

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

at one of its shows. The band included Yuko Araki on drums during this time. On June 15, 2013, the band played the Meltdown Festival in London and announced that its new album would be released in 2014. While the performance also featured

on "Know Your Chicken", the group also played new songs titled "MFN", "Check In", and "Tenth Floor Ghost Girl". On December 11, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' reported that '' Hotel Valentine'' would be released on February 14, 2014 (

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

), and that Cibo Matto had shared its music video for "MFN". ''Hotel Valentine'' peaked at number 168 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In 2014, the band signed with Japanese label Commmons. This new relationship resulted in several live dates in Japan including

Summer Sonic Festival The , also known as Supersonic, is an annual two- or three-day rock festival held at the same time in Osaka and Chiba, Japan. The majority of the bands playing in Osaka the first day go to Chiba the following day and vice versa. The line-up con ...

2014 and shows at Blue Note Jazz Club Nagoya and Blue Note Jazz Club Tokyo. In September 2014, Cibo Matto released a teaser video announcing their Fall Flavor Tour and a new music video.

Rioux Rioux () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regio ...

opened for multiple US shows. Nels Cline (of Wilco) also performed with the group on tour. The music video for "Déjà Vu" was released on September 18, 2014 in collaboration with New York City-based director

Jean Claude Billmaier Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

and creative house Marabigo. ''Pitchfork'' identified the video as "a colorful, datamosh-y new video", and '' Spin'' as a "stylish bubblegum pop-meets-digital-disaster (intentional)." Cibo Matto completed two small tours in 2015; an "Avocado Tour" of Japan and a "Banana Split Tour" across the eastern US and Canada. On December 11, 2017, Cibo Matto announced their breakup, explaining that this was a "necessary and positive change for hem"

Band members

: sampler, sequencer, keyboard, piano, organ, synthesizer, harpsichord, backing vocals (1994–2002, 2011–2017) *

: lead vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar (1994–2002, 2011–2017) *

: bass guitar, electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, drums, percussion, synthesizer, backing vocals (1997–2002) *

: drums, percussion, bass guitar, electric and acoustic guitar, backing vocals (1997–2002) * Duma Love: percussion, vocals, turntable, beat box (1997–2002) * Yuko Araki: drums, backing vocals (2011–2017)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:750 height:220 PlotArea = left:150 bottom:120 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/2016 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:voc value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:perc value:claret legend:Percussion id:bvoc value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:bbox value:gray(0.5) legend:Beatboxing id:gray value:gray(0.75) legend:EPs id:black value:black legend:Studio_albums Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:01/01/1994 LineData = at:12/14/1995 color:gray layer:back at:01/16/1996 color:black layer:back at:01/28/1997 color:gray layer:back at:06/08/1999 color:black layer:back at:02/14/2014 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Miho text:"Miho Hatori" bar:Honda text:"Yuka Honda" bar:Lenn text:"Sean Lennon" Bar:Timo text:"Timo Ellis" Bar:Ark text:"Yuko Araki" bar:Duma text:"Duma Love" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Honda from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/2001 color:purple bar:Honda from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/2001 color:pink width:3 bar:Miho from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/2001 color:red bar:Miho from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/2001 color:claret width:7 bar:Miho from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/2001 color:green width:3 bar:Lenn from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:blue bar:Lenn from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:green width:9 bar:Lenn from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:purple width:7 bar:Lenn from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:orange width:5 bar:Lenn from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:pink width:3 bar:Duma from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:pink bar:Duma from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:bbox width:7 bar:Duma from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:claret width:3 bar:Timo from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:orange bar:Timo from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:blue width:7 bar:Timo from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:green width:5 bar:Timo from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001 color:pink width:3 bar:Honda from:03/18/2011 till:end color:purple bar:Honda from:03/18/2011 till:end color:pink width:3 bar:Miho from:03/18/2011 till:end color:red bar:Miho from:03/18/2011 till:end color:claret width:7 bar:Miho from:03/18/2011 till:end color:green width:3 bar:Ark from: 05/16/2011 till:end color:orange bar:Ark from: 05/16/2011 till:end color:pink width:3

Grand Royal involvement

Although Cibo Matto was represented by Warner Bros. Records, they were also considered to be a major part of the Grand Royal Records family. * Under Grand Royal, Honda and Hatori formed side-project band

Butter 08 Butter 08 was a short-lived musical side-project whose members consisted of Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori of Cibo Matto, Russell Simins of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Rick Lee of Skeleton Key and director Mike Mills. The band released just one al ...

(1996) with Russell Simins, Rick Lee and

Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., ...

. * Hatori collaborated with the Beastie Boys (who founded Grand Royal) on their 1997 album, ''

Hello Nasty ''Hello Nasty'' is the fifth studio album by American rap rock group Beastie Boys, released by Capitol Records and Grand Royal Records on July 14, 1998. It sold 681,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 alb ...

''. *

released his debut album, '' Into the Sun'' (1998) on Grand Royal (which featured Honda, Hatori and Ellis). * Yumiko Ōno of Buffalo Daughter (a former Grand Royal band) contributed

moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014 ...

and backing vocals to ''Stereo-Type A'' (1999). * In 2000, Grand Royal released a compilation album titled ''At Home with the Groove Box'' in which Lennon contributed the song "Winged Elephants", while Honda and Hatori contributed the song "We Love Our Lawyers". The compilation also featured artists such as

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical colla ...

and

. * In 2002, despite Grand Royal's recent "official" disbandment, the Grand Royal team was bought onto to provide additional soundtrack work on '' Jet Set Radio Future''. A number of Grand Royal-associated acts were included on the soundtrack because of so, including Cibo Matto's "Birthday Cake".

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Viva! La Woman'' (1996) *''

'' (1999) *'' Hotel Valentine'' (2014)

EPs

*'' Cibo Matto'' (1995) *'' Super Relax'' (1997)

Singles

*"Birthday Cake" 7" (1995) *"Know Your Chicken" 7" (1996) *"

Working for Vacation "Working for Vacation" is the first single from Cibo Matto's second album, '' Stereo Type A'', released in 1999. B-side "Vamos a la Playa" was later included on the 2007 compilation '' Pom Pom: The Essential Cibo Matto''. Track listing Japanese ...

" (1999) *"Moonchild" (1999) *"Spoon" (1999)

Collections

*'' Pom Pom: The Essential Cibo Matto'' (2007)

Music videos

*"Know Your Chicken" directed by Evan Bernard (1996) *"Sugar Water" directed by

(1996) *"MFN" directed by Georgia (2013) *"Déjà Vu" directed by Jean Claude Billmaier (2014)

In popular culture

The band's name appears in the lyrics of the Le Tigre song "

Hot Topic Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming, ...

". They also appear in the second season of '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' episode " When She Was Bad", to play a concert in the fictional Sunnydale nightclub, the Bronze. Their song ''Birthday Cake'' appears in the 2002 video game '' Jet Set Radio Future''.

References

External links

Cibo Matto official website
(archive) {{Authority control Art pop musicians Electronic music groups from New York (state) Hip hop groups from New York City Indie pop groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 1994 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Musical groups disestablished in 2017 Shibuya-kei musicians Trip hop groups Warner Records artists 1994 establishments in New York City