Cornelius (musician)
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist
Template:Nihongo, also known by his moniker Template:Nihongo, is a Japanese musician and producer who co-founded Flipper's Guitar, an influential Shibuya-kei band, and subsequently embarked on a solo career.
Life and 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 solo career. He commissioned a song, about himself, on Momus' 1999 album Stars Forever.
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".<ref name="Lindsay2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In April 1999, he performed at The Bowlie Weekender, a music festival curated by Belle and Sebastian.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Starting in August, he joined The International Music Against Brain Degeneration Revue, a tour organized by The Flaming Lips—also Bowlie participants—which featured artists including Sebadoh, Robyn Hitchcock, IQU, and Sonic Boom<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>. That same year, he also performed at the Glastonbury<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>, Reading and Leeds<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>, and Coachella<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> festivals.
As of September 2006, he was no longer signed to Matador Records.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2007, Rolling Stone Japan ranked Fantasma in 10th place amongst the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time".<ref name=rsjapan>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In December 2008, Sensurround + B Sides was nominated for Best Surround Sound Album at the 2009 GRAMMY Awards.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2009, he began performing as a member of Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band. On the album Between My Head and the Sky, released in September of that year, he performed on guitar, bass, Tenori-on, programming, and percussion.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2010, he contributed the song "Katayanagi Twins vs. Sex Bob-Omb" to the film soundtrack of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
In 2011, he began the salyu × salyu project with Japanese singer Salyu, producing the album s(o)un(d)beams, released in April.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In January 2016, METAFIVE—a band formed by Yukihiro Takahashi, Yoshinori Sunahara, Towa Tei, Tomohiko Gondo, Leo Imai, and Oyamada—released its first album, META.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2017, he produced the vinyl record Audio Check Track for checking audio equipment settings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> That October, he also performed as a special guest at Beck’s live show at the Nippon Budokan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2018, he performed three songs from his album Mellow Waves on NPR's “Tiny Desk Concert”.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>In the same year, he composed "Audio Architecture" for an exhibition of the same name held in Tokyo. The title of the exhibition was inspired by a phrase used by Sean Ono Lennon to describe Cornelius’s music.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2019, he released the digital single "Too Much Love for Sauna," written as the opening theme for Sado, a sauna-themed Japanese TV drama series.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Later, a newly arranged version was released in 2024 and used as the opening theme for the sequel, under the title "Too Much Love for Sauna (Falling Deep)."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2020, he released a limited white vinyl LP—a collection of tracks originally written as background music for PARCO, a cultural complex in Shibuya.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2021, he released “Forbidden Apple,” an instrumental track featuring the sound of biting an apple, written to showcase Sony’s 360 Reality Audio surround technology (and can also be heard in standard stereo). <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> That same year, he contributed “Kora (Cornelius Remix)” to GoGo Penguin’s May release GGP/RMX.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2022, he performed Yellow Magic Orchestra’s “Cue” with Haruomi Hosono at a concert celebrating Yukihiro Takahashi’s 50th anniversary in music,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and contributed a remodel of “Thatness and Thereness”, originally from Ryuichi Sakamoto’s 1980 album B-2 Unit, to A Tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto – To the Moon and Back, released in November.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2023, he exhibited his installation works at “Ambient Kyoto 2023,” which showcased ambient-themed audiovisual art.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In December, he co-curated a music playlist with Terry Riley for the BBC Radio program “Ambient Focus”.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2024, he held Cornelius 30th Anniversary shows in Japan and "Dream In Dream" World Tour 2024.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At the Barbican Centre in London, Ichiko Aoba performed as a special guest.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> he also created the show music for KENZO Fall-Winter 2024 Runway Show by Nigo, presented at Paris Fashion Week in January.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Later that year, Velludo—a neo-psychedelic band formed in the late 1980s around him and Shuntaro Okino—released its first album, Between The Lines.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In January 2025, Ichiko Aoba brought him out as a special guest at her 15th anniversary concert in Kyoto.<ref>Template:Cite instagram</ref> In March, he performed at co-headlining concerts with The Flaming Lips in Tokyo<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>, and in October with Ryoji Ikeda in Osaka.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Japanese CD edition of Sparks’ May release MAD! included “Do Things My Own Way (Cornelius Remix)”.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On October 7, Gwenno digitally released “Utopia (Cornelius Remix)”.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Musical style
Cornelius was a pioneer of the Shibuya-kei style of music in Japan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The music of Cornelius could be described as experimental and exploratory, and often incorporates dissonant elements alongside more familiar harmonically "pleasing" sounds. He also incorporates sounds and samples from mass culture, pure electronic tones, and sounds from nature (such as on his Point album).
Personal life
Oyamada married musician and collaborator Takako Minekawa in 2000 and they have one child, Milo, named after the son of Cornelius in Planet of the Apes.Template:Cn They divorced in 2012.<ref name="takakoallmusic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since 2020, he has been in a long term relationship with Minami Yamaguchi, the owner of a fashion shop in Setagaya, Tokyo.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He is a second cousin of Joi Ito and Miki Berenyi,<ref name=carpenter>Template:Cite magazine</ref> the latter who appears on the song "The Spell of a Vanishing Loveliness" from Mellow Waves.<ref name=cills>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Bullying controversy
In interviews in 1994 and 1995, Oyamada said that he had bullied students with in school.<ref name="Mainichi-210716">Template:Cite news</ref> In one interview, Oyamada dismissed the incidents with a laugh.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In a 1995 interview for Template:Interlanguage link,<ref name="Kyodo-210717">Template:Cite news</ref> Oyamada said he was involved with a group of bullies who had locked a disabled student in a vaulting box,<ref name="AsahiShimbun-210717">Template:Cite news</ref> wrapped another student in gymnastics mattresses and kicked them,<ref name="Telegraph-210717">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> made fun of a disabled student running a long-distance race.<ref name="AsahiShimbun-210717" />
He also said that such acts were committed only up until his early teens, and recounted several episodes reflecting his friendship with the disabled student, which lasted from elementary through high school.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The disabled student himself also responded in the same article—during the interviewer’s visit to see him—when asked whether he had been close to Oyamada, saying that he had.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On July 14, 2021, the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG) announced that Oyamada would be a composer of the 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. Then, the sharing of a blog post—distorting his portrayal by selectively quoting his past interviews—by an anti-Olympics account on Twitter triggered a social media backlash.<ref name="Mainichi-210716" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Two days later, Oyamada tweeted an apology,<ref name="AsahiShimbun-210717" /> but also said articles had contained exaggerations or mistakes that he had not corrected.<ref name="AsahiShimbun-210716">Template:Cite news</ref> Toshirō Mutō, the chief executive of the Organising Committee, said he wanted Oyamada to remain.<ref name="Telegraph-210717" /> On July 19, four days before the ceremony, Oyamada decided to leave the creative team for the Tokyo Olympics on his own terms.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In September 2021, Oyamada appeared in a two-hour interview with Shūkan Bunshun addressing whyTemplate:Explain he took so many years to address his past actions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He made an additional statement which stated how a blog post that circulated online edited information from past interviews to describe Oyamada as the perpetrator, even though the original Quick Japan interview stated that he did not commit the acts in question.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Later, two major publishers in Japan released books examining the controversy surrounding Oyamada.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The author of one of the books discusses a series of events—in which a distorted image of him, shaped in the 2000s on 2channel, an anonymous Japanese message board, and later on a blog, led to an online backlash that was subsequently reported by mainstream media without sufficient verification—as an example of an infodemic.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Another author, after having interviewed several of Oyamada’s former classmates, states that he was unable to confirm facts as reported by a major daily newspaper. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Discography
Template:Infobox artist discographyTemplate:See also The discography of Cornelius consists of seven studio albums, three soundtracks, twelve remix and compilation albums, three extended plays, twenty-eight singles and seven video albums.
Studio albums
| Year | Information | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN <ref name="Japanese album positions">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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UK <ref name="ChartlogUK">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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US Elec. <ref name=AMG>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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US Indie <ref name=AMG /> |
| 1994 | The First Question Award
|
4 | — | — | — | |
| 1995 | 69/96
|
3 | — | — | — | |
| 1997 | Fantasma
|
6 | — | — | — | |
| 2001 | Point
|
4 | 124 | 17 | 47 | |
| 2006 | Sensuous
|
8 | — | 18 | — | |
| 2017 | Mellow Waves
|
10 | — | 10 | — | |
| 2023 | Dream in Dream
|
7 | — | — | — | |
Soundtracks
- Design Ah! (Warner Music Japan; January 23, 2013) – JP No. 33<ref name="Japanese album positions"/>
- Ghost in the Shell: Arise (Flying Dog; november 27, 2013)
- The Cat That Lived a Million Times (Warner Music Japan; October 31, 2013) (EP)
- Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie O.S.T. (Flying Dog; June 15, 2015)
- Design Ah! 2 (Warner Music Japan; March 21, 2018)
- Design Ah! 3 (Warner Music Japan; July 18, 2018)
Remix and Compilation albums
| Year | Information | JP chart <ref name="Japanese album positions"/> |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 96/69
|
6 |
|
| 1998 | FM – Fantasma Remixes
|
39 |
|
CM – Cornelius Remixes
|
40 |
| |
| 2003 | CM2 – Interpretation by Cornelius
|
29 |
|
| 2004 | PM by Humans
|
87 |
|
| 2009 | CM3 – Interpretation Remixed by Cornelius
|
32 |
|
| 2012 | CM4
|
53 |
|
| 2015 | Constellations of Music
|
30 |
|
| 2018 | Ripple Waves
|
31 |
|
| 2023 | Selected Ambient Works 00-23 (cassette only)
|
- |
|
| 2024 | Ethereal Essence
|
24 |
|
| 2025 | FANTASMA Bonus Tracks (digital release)
|
- |
|
Extended plays
- Holidays in the Sun (September 10, 1993) JP No. 12<ref name="Japanese album positions"/>
- Cornelius Works 1999 (1999), rare CD-R promo from 3-D Corporation Ltd. (Japan)
- Gum EP (2008)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN <ref name="Japanese singles positions">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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UK <ref name="ChartlogUK"/> | ||
| 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 |
| "Free Fall" (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 | – | ||
| 2015 | "Anata o Tamotsu Mono" / "Mada Ugoku" Template:Small | 18 | – | Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie O.S.T. |
| 2017 | "Anata ga Iru Nara(if you're here)" | 31 | – | Mellow Waves |
| "Itsuka / Dokoka(Sometime/Someplace)" | 35 | – | ||
| "Yume no Naka de (In A Dream)" | 24 | – | ||
| 2018 | "Spotify Singles" | – | – | Ripple Waves |
| 2021 | "Forbidden Apple" | – | – | Ethereal Essence |
| 2022 | "Change and Vanish (feat. mei ehara)" | – | – | – |
| 2023 | "Change and Vanish" | – | – | Dream in Dream |
| "Sparks" | – | – | ||
| "All Things Must Pass" | – | – | ||
| 2024 | "Sketch For Spring" | – | – | Ethereal Essence |
| "Too Much Love For Sauna (Falling Deep)" | – | – | ||
| "MIND TRAIN" | – | – | – | |
| "Sparks (Joseph Shabason Remix)" | – | – | ||
| "BAD ADVICE" | – | – | ||
| 2025 | "Glow Within" | – | – | |
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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Sensuous Synchronized Show (2009) – live performances
- Ghost In The Shell Arise Alternative Architecture Music Clips: Music By Cornelius (2015) <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Compilation appearances
- Sushi 3003 (October 3, 1996)
- Sushi 4004 (August 5, 1998)
- Tribute Spirits (May 1, 1999)
- The Powerpuff Girls: Heroes & Villains (Music Inspired by the Powerpuff Girls) (July 18, 2000)
- DJ-Kicks: Erlend Øye (April 19, 2004)
- Matador at Fifteen (October 12, 2004)
- Rhythm De Asobou (July 12, 2005)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- The Wired CD: Rip. Sample. Mash. Share. (April 22, 2009)
- Brand Neu! (May 11, 2009)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- WE LOVE Hair Stylistics!(Mar 3, 2023)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Other works
- Produced Pizzicato Five's Bossa Nova 2001 (1993)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Coloris (2006) – a Nintendo bit Generations game for Game Boy Advance<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- "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.
- HOSONO HARUOMI compiled by OYAMADA KEIGO (2019), a two-disc compilation album<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Contributed "Windmills of My Mind" to a limited 7-inch vinyl commemorating the 10th anniversary of Nero magazine (2022)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Cornelius Live at ICC Kyoto 2023 (Cassette Tape) , includes a live recording of the “AMBIENT KYOTO 2023 presents Cornelius Dream In Dream Special Live Set” (2024)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Crafted sounds for The Ambient Machine – Cornelius Edition, a collaboration with Yuri Suzuki (2024)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Composed the show music for kolor Autumn Winter 2025-26 Runway Show (2025)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
References
External links
- corneliusjapan.com – official website as referred to on his official social media
- cornelius-sound.com – official website Template:In lang
- old Monitorpop Cornelius site, archived
- Template:Discogs artist
- Nippop Profile | Cornelius
- 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 Template:Webarchive – Manny Santiago goes to the 3D Studio in Nakameguro, Tokyo for Heso magazine.
Template:Cornelius
Template:Plastic Ono Band
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