, also known by his stage name Mondo Grosso, is a Japanese

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, DJ,

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. Over the course of his career, he has worked in genres ranging from

acid jazz Acid jazz (also known as club jazz, psychedelic jazz, or groove jazz) is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul music, soul, and hip hop music, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1 ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, with strong influences of underground club music, though his recent work has been in the genre of

electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music and a subgenre of house music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 125–135 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including ...

HMV HMV is an international music and entertainment retailer, founded in 1921. The brand is owned by Hilco Capital and operated by Sunrise Records, except in Japan, where it is owned and operated by Lawson. The inaugural shop was opened on Lo ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

rated Mondo Grosso at number 95 on their "Top 100 Japanese Pop Artists," and Shinichi Osawa was ranked as Japan's number 3 overall DJ by TopDeejays.com as of 2016.

Background

Shinichi Osawa was originally the producer and bassist for the popular Japanese musical group Mondo Grosso, which formed in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

in 1991 on the

For Life Records is a Japanese record label founded in 1975.Official site
of FLME Inc.'

Sub-divisions

*Güt Records *Anri * < ...

label. However, in 1995, after the group disbanded, Osawa concentrated more on his own material, collaborating with many artists such as

Monday Michiru is a Japanese American singer and songwriter whose music encompasses and fuses a wide variety of genres including jazz, dance, pop, and soul. She is arguably best known for being a pioneer of the acid jazz movement in Japan in the early 1990s y ...

Amel Larrieux Amel Eliza Larrieux (née Stowell; born March 8, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and keyboardist. Larrieux rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a founding member of the duo Groove Theory along with Bryce Wilson. After leaving the ...

, UA, Chara,

Dragon Ash is a Japanese rap rock group founded in 1996 by Kenji "KJ" Furuya and Makoto Sakurai. They were one of the first groups to popularize hip hop in Japan. Dragon Ash is a member of Mob Squad, which is an affiliation with the bands Source and Endi ...

and even

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer-songwriter and producer. Nicknamed the "Empress of Pop" on account of her influence throughout Asia, she is widely recognized for her versatile music production, songwriting, and live performances. Hamasaki is the List of ...

. During his collaborative work in 1997, he became a solo producer, releasing the R&B-infused

and house album ''Closer''. He made a move from For Life Records to Sony Music Associated Records in 1999, where he began his own label. Throughout the years, Osawa acted as a producer for artists such as Bird and

Eri Nobuchika is a Japanese singer-songwriter, under the Fearless Records label on Sony Music Associated Records. She currently resides in Tokyo. Biography Early years Nobuchika's professional career began at an open Sony Music audition. She sent in her ...

. His 2000 album MG4 displayed the diversity of his production, fusing jazz and house. It featured the hit song 'Life,' featuring Bird. In 2003 he released Next Wave, a more traditional house album. Osawa provided the hypnotic array of techno music on the popular

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

game ''

Lumines (pronounced as "Loo-min-ess") is a puzzle video game series developed by Q Entertainment. The core objective of the games is to survive by rotating and aligning 2×2 blocks varying between two colors to form 2×2 squares of a single color whi ...

'' in 2004. He did not reappear as a composer for its sequel. In 2007, Osawa signed to record label

Avex Trax is a record label owned by Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex Inc. The label was launched in September 1990, and was the first label by the Group. History Two years after Max Matsuura began a career distributing studio albums from othe ...

. Feeling that, in comparison to his previous albums, the sound reflected more closely his DJ sets and performances (performed under his real name), Osawa released his

album '' The One'' under the moniker of 'Shinichi Osawa' rather than 'Mondo Grosso.' "Our Song" was the initial single released in Japan, followed by the Chemical Brothers cover Star Guitar. Under his real name, Osawa has received more international attention, creating acclaimed remixes of

Felix da Housecat Felix da Housecat (born Felix Stallings Jr., August 25, 1971) is an American DJ and record producer, mostly known for house music and electro. Felix is regarded as a member of the second wave of Chicago house. Musical career Early life Stalli ...

's "Radio" and Digitalism's "Pogo." He also performed at

Electric Daisy Carnival Electric Daisy Carnival, commonly known as EDC, is an electronic dance music festival organized by promoter and distributor Insomniac. The annual flagship event, EDC Las Vegas, is held in May at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and is the largest e ...

, which was his first performance in America. He is also featured in Clazziquai's Robotica album in a remix for Prayers by Christina Chu. In 2008, he remixed #1-hit song Startin' by Japanese pop sensation

. The mix appeared on the album '' Ayu-mi-x 6 -GOLD-''. In October 2008, following a release of "Star Guitar" as a single by

Data Records Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

Southern Fried Records Southern Fried Records is a London-based independent electronic dance music record label founded and owned by Norman Cook, better known by his stage name, Fatboy Slim. The label was created by Cook in 1994 to publish and market his and other ...

made a digital release of "The One" in the UK. A physical release is scheduled for January 2009. In November 2008, "Our Song" appeared on the 16th version of

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

's DJ simulation series

Beatmania IIDX (IIDX) is a series of rhythm video games, that was first released by Konami in Japan on 26 February 1999. ''Beatmania IIDX'' has since spawned 32 arcade releases and 14 console releases on the Sony PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to the '' b ...

, alongside several other songs by Avex's ''House Nation'' group. Osawa is currently involved in

Ravex Ravex (stylized as ravex; a portmanteau of rave and Avex) is a Japanese electronic music group, consisting of Shinichi Osawa, Tomoyuki Tanaka and record producer DJ Taku Takahashi. Established to mark the 20th anniversary of the Avex label, th ...

, a collaboration with fellow

Avex Avex Inc. ( kabushiki gaisha , commonly known as Avex and stylized as avex) is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi ...

DJs

Tomoyuki Tanaka was a Japanese film producer, best known as the creator of Godzilla. He produced most of the installments in the ''Godzilla'' series, beginning in 1954 with ''Godzilla'' and ending in 1995 with '' Godzilla vs. Destoroyah''. He was one of the mo ...

and

Taku Takahashi is a Japanese DJ and record producer who debuted in 1997 as a producer of the hip hop group M-Flo. The group rose to prominence in the early 2000s, with hit singles such as "How You Like Me Now?" and "Come Again." Takahashi was also a member of ...

established to mark 20 years of

. Their debut album ''Trax'' was released on April 8, 2009, and follows the release of the singles "I Rave U" and "Believe in LOVE" featuring

BoA Boa, BoA, or BOA may refer to: Snakes * Any member of the Boidae, a family of medium to large, non-venomous, constricting snakes ** Any member of the Boinae, a subfamily of boid snakes *** Any member of ''Boa'' (genus), a group of boid snakes * ...

. Osawa released '' SO2'', the second album under his given name, on June 16, 2010 digitally and June 30 on CD/DVD. In 2009, Osawa collaborated with Takeshi Kobayashi to form the duo Bradberry Orchestra. With the lead single "LOVE CHECK," Bradberry Orchestra released their first album " Vol.0" on March 16, 2011 in Japan through Avex. Songs from the album have been used to promote Sony's

Xperia is a series of and the sole brand name of smartphones marketed by Sony. It also includes various related mobile hardware such as tablet computer, tablets as well as software. Xperia was originally developed by Sony Ericsson before becoming So ...

phone as well as

SEGA is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

's Yakuza Of the End. Currently, Osawa hosts a bi-monthly online radio show called Date Line with fellow DJ Masatoshi Uemura on block.fm. In 2017, he released the Mondo Grosso song "Labyrinth". The music video, starring actress

Hikari Mitsushima is a Japanese actress, singer and model. In 2017 she was the vocalist and dancer in Mondo Grosso's videos for "Labyrinth", which has garnered over 35 million views on YouTube as of February 2023, and "In this World". Career She is a graduate ...

, has over 37million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

as of January 2024. Along with Australian artist RHYME, Osawa is half of the duo RHYME SO. They released their single "Fashion Blogger" in March 2020. In 2021, Osawa and RHYME opened The Nuts Exchange, a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

cafe in

Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...

that serves Australian-Japanese fusion food.

Representation

Currently, Osawa is signed onto

Rhythm Zone (RZN) is a record label in the Avex Group that releases urban contemporary Japanese music. History The label was founded in 1999 by Max Matsuura with a focus on urban music, signing M-Flo as its first artist, then followed by Exile. In 2000 ...

label."Shinichi Osawa Biography"

IMO Records IMO Records is an online retailer of vinyl and electronic dubstep, drum and bass, and hardcore dance music. The firm also sells clothing, DJ equipment and ancillary products. IMO Records was established in 1998 as a mail order business and record ...

. Retrieved on 14 March 2011. Previously he was signed to

Sony Music Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...

's FEARLESS RECORDS division and released albums under the title of ''Mondo Grosso'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

for "big world"), showing influences of Brazilian music and language in songs such as "Maigo no Astronauta" or "Carnival of Colors."

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

As "Mondo Grosso"

Live albums

Remix albums

Singles

Collaboration albums

Compilation albums

Mixtapes

Remix singles

Production discography

References

External links

Official website

FEARLESS RECORDS official site

Shinichi Osawa
discography at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

.
Mondo Grosso
discography at

.
HMV Japan Top 100 Japanese Pop Artists

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osawa, Shinichi Living people Japanese electronic musicians Japanese house musicians Japanese techno musicians Japanese electronic dance music DJs Big beat musicians Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Musicians from Tokyo 1967 births Ravex members