NaNa (Japanese ナナ) is a Japanese musical duo from Tokyo, Japan, consisting of Chikako Watanabe and Shigeo Tamaru . Their music draws on several influences including

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 ...

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

and

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

History

Watanabe (vocal) and Tamaru (guitar/producer) came together to form NaNa in 1996. NaNa's chief goal was to create high quality demo tapes that would showcase their music to the world market. In the summer of 1997, NaNa got an offer from

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Music of Japan, Japanese musician, composer, keyboardist, record producer, singer and actor. He pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the Synthesizer, synth-based band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his ...

to be on his Radio show, and they appeared on the program. This led NaNa into their debut from Sakamoto's label. NaNa's first EP topped the Indies chart including Tower Records in Tokyo. Afterward they released two albums and four EP from Gut/Forlife label and

Warner Music Japan Warner Music Group (WMG) owns, has a joint share, or is associated with the record labels listed here. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Music Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * A ...

. In 2007, they started digital distribution on

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 ...

and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

. Then they have since increased the number of the listeners little by little in different countries. Starting in 2007, NaNa's tracks have gradually received air-play primarily in the UK and the US. As of 2010, their music came to be listened to all over the world via local and

Satellite Radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than te ...

, and

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

regardless of the type of Radio station.

Discography

Albums

* ''Void'' (1999, Gut) * '' Imaginary Man'' (2002, Warner Music Japan) * "Imaginary Man (Bonus Track Version)" (2013, Warner Music Japan)

EPs

* ''

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

'' (1998, Gutbounce) * "S" (2000, Dream Machine/Warner Music Japan) * "Remember Me" (2016, Warner Music Japan)

Singles

* " Super Star" (1998, Gut) * " Snake Girl" (1999, Gut) * "

Ride Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a comedy film by Millicen ...

" (2012, One Dot Records) * " Unbelievable World" (2013, Warner Music Japan)

Chart performance

In 2011, NaNa was ranked on Billboard's Uncharted, peaking to 12th place. In December 2011, they ranked No. 41 place on the Billboard's "The Best of 2011" ( Year-End Chart, USA).

References

External links

*
NaNa
on

*
Musicbrainz
NaNa (Japanese duo) {{DEFAULTSORT:NaNa Japanese alternative rock groups Japanese experimental rock groups Japanese musical duos Musical groups from Tokyo Musical groups established in 1996 Trip hop groups Rock music duos Electronic music duos Male–female musical duos Female-fronted musical groups