Sheena Ringo

Shiina Ringo (2016)

Sheena Ringo ( Japanese 椎 名 林檎 , Shiina Ringo ; born November 25, 1978 in Fukuoka Prefecture as Yumiko Shiina ( 椎 名 裕美子 , Shiina Yumiko )) is a Japanese singer-songwriter , producer, guitarist, bassist, drummer and pianist.

She was also the singer of the band Tokyo Jihen from 2004 until the breakup in 2012 .

childhood

Yumiko Shiina was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, the daughter of Kōtarō Shiina, an employee of an oil company and Akiko Shiina, a housewife. Since she was born, Yumiko has suffered from an illness that narrows the esophagus towards the stomach, which has led to many surgeries. The operations left numerous scars on her shoulder blades.

Her understanding of art began with her father's interest in jazz and classical music. Her mother majored in dance and ballet in college. In Yumiko's parents' house there was all kinds of music, as well as a piano and a guitar. Her father also read a lot of music magazines. She started playing the piano at the age of five and learned classical ballet.

In her early childhood, Yumiko was a very sociable girl, but she became more and more shy and quiet. The meaning of her stage name Ringo is translated as apple, as a reference to her red head when she introduced herself to her school class.

At the age of 15 she worked in several bands and as a solo artist. In 1995 she got recognition at the Teens Music Festival as a member of the girl group Marvelous Mables. She later received an Award of Excellence as a solo artist in the finals of the annual Music Quest .

Solo career

Their first official single was released in May 1998 under the name Kofukuron (Theory of Happiness). The debut album Muzai Moratorium was released in February 1999 and received praise from both critics and audiences. The second, slightly rockier album Shōso Strip (March 2000) was also an award-winning success and sold over 2,000,000 copies. Numerous tours followed until she took a pregnancy-related break in 2001. A year later she released the double album Utaite Myōri , which only contains cover songs (including I love you by Edvard Grieg , which she sings in German), as well as a duet with the well-known pop singer Hikaru Utada . In February 2003 her last album Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana was released , in which Sheena Ringo finally crossed the boundaries of conventional pop in 45 minutes.

Sheena Ringo's musical style is considered to be eclectic and unique. Borrowings from jazz, swing, punk, classical and rock are worked up and mixed with colored harmonies and experimental sound effects to create a very unique sound, using hard electric guitars as well as a classic big band, a symphony orchestra (without a beat) or even the voice of an airport announcement. In contrast to the fashion of many Japanese musicians, Sheena Ringo usually refrains from interspersing individual English lines, instead one finds songs that are entirely in English (e.g. Stem ) or German and French (the latter only on her cover album ). Her trademark is a versatile voice with an excessively rolled "r" by Japanese standards.

In order to be able to assign her music to a genre, she simply created her own and referred to it as Shinjuku-kei , so the " Shinjuku style", a parody of Shibuya-kei . In general, however, she is still regarded as a rock artist.

Sheena married guitarist Junji Yayoshi at the age of 24 and had a child with him, but divorced only 14 months later. At the end of the first part of her solo career, she renounced her trademark rights and released Ringo no Uta , a musical cross-section of her career.

On May 31, 2004, Ringo announced that she would no longer work as a solo singer and founded the band Tokyo Jihen (also known as Tokyo Incidents ), with whom she toured on their farewell tour (immortalized on the Electric Mole DVD). While the first album by the band Kyoiku still contained rock with light jazz influences, the second album Otona with a new line-up took the path of jazz rock . At the end of September 2007 the album Variety was released , which - according to Sheena Ringo - unlike the two predecessors, sees itself more as a pop album than a rock or jazz record.

At the beginning of 2007 Sheena Ringos announced a solo comeback - initially with a digitally only released single Karisome Otome (DEATH JAZZ VER.) (In cooperation with Soil & "Pimp" Sessions ), but shortly afterwards also with a maxi single ( Kono Yo no Kagiri ) and an album ( Heisei Fūzoku ) - both were created in collaboration with violinist Saito Neko, Shiina Junpei, Sheena Ringo's brother, acted as duet partner for Kono Yo no Kagiri .

Furthermore applies Heisei fuzoku as an unofficial soundtrack to the feature film Sakuran for which they composed the music.

A live DVD was released at the same time as the album - later a DVD version of the album, which offers a higher sound quality and "visual accompaniment" to the individual songs.

Discography

Studio albums

publication	title	Chart positions	Sales	annotation
February 24, 1999	Muzai moratorium 無罪 モ ラ ト リ ア ム	2	1,433,000
March 31, 2000	Shōso Strip 勝訴 ス ト リ ッ プ	1	2,332,000
February 23, 2003	Karuki seeds Kuri no Hana 加爾基 精液 栗 ノ 花	1	0.409,000
June 24, 2009	Sanmon Gossip 三 文 ゴ シ ッ プ	1	0.202,000
5th November 2014	Hi Izuru Tokoro 日 出処	3	0.100.936
May 27, 2019	Sandokushi 三 毒 史

Cover albums

publication	title	Chart positions	Sales	annotation
May 27, 2002	Utaite Myōri ~ Sono-Ichi ~ 唄 ひ 手 冥 利 ～ 其 ノ 壱 ～	1	397,000	2CD cover album

Compilation albums

publication	title	Chart positions	Sales	annotation
February 21, 2007	Heisei Fūzoku 平 成 風俗 (Sheena Ringo X Neko Saito)	1	175,000	The collaboration with violinist Neko Saito, compilation for the film " Sakuran ".
July 2, 2008	Watashi to Hōden 私 と 放電	4th	153,000	B-side collection
November 25, 2008	MoRA	32	009,000	CD box of albums

Singles

publication	title	Chart positions	Sales	annotation
May 27, 1998 (8cm)	Kōfukuron 幸福 論	-	-
October 27, 1999 (12cm Maxi)		10	261,000
September 9, 1998	Kabukicho No Jyo-ō 歌舞 伎 町 の 女王	50	051,000
January 20, 1999	Koko De Kiss Shite. こ こ で キ ス し て。	10	309,000
October 27, 1999	Honnō 本能	2	997,000
January 26, 2000	Gibusu ギ ブ ス ( plaster )	3	714,000
January 26, 2000	Tsumi to Batsu 罪 と 罰	4th	546,000
September 13, 2000	Zecchōshū 絶頂 集	1	430,000	3 mini CD set
March 28, 2001	Mayonaka wa Junketsu 真 夜 中 は 純潔	2	358,000
January 22, 2003	Kuki-STEM ~ Daimyou asobi hen ~ 茎（STEM）～ 大名 遊 ビ 編 ～	1	187,000
November 25, 2003	Ringo no Uta り ん ご の う た	2	114,000	Including bonus DVD
January 17, 2007	Kono Yo no Kagiri こ の 世 の 限 り (Sheena Ringo X Neko Saito + Junpei Shiina)	8th	054,000
May 27, 2009	Ariamaru Tomi あ り あ ま る 富	3	075,000
November 2, 2011	Carnation カ ー ネ ー シ ョ ン	5	022.759

Vinyls

Albums

publication	title	Chart positions	Sales	annotation
May 27, 2003	Karuki seeds Kuri no Hana 加爾基 精液 栗 ノ 花
April 25, 2007	Heisei Fūzoku 平 成 風俗 (Sheena Ringo X Neko Saito)
November 25, 2008	Muzai moratorium 無罪 モ ラ ト リ ア ム
November 25, 2008	Shōso Strip 勝訴 ス ト リ ッ プ
August 26, 2009	Saturday night Gossip サ タ デ ー ナ イ ト ゴ シ ッ プ			The alternative version of the Sanmon Gossip

Singles

publication	title	Chart positions	Sales	annotation
March 16, 2001	Mayonaka wa Junketsu 真 夜 中 は 純潔

DVD albums

publication	title	Chart positions	Sales	annotation
April 25, 2007	Heisei Fūzoku Daiginjō 平 成 風俗 大 吟 醸 (Sheena Ringo X Neko Saito)	18th		Songs with animated music video Heisei Fūzoku
July 2, 2008	Watashi no Hatsuden 私 の 発 電	1	68,000	Songs with screensaver Watashi to Hōden
November 25, 2008	MoRA	25th	05,000	DVD box of albums with screen saver

Online music service

publication	title	Chart positions	Sales	annotation
November 11, 2006	Karisome Otome (DEATH JAZZ ver.) (Sheena Ringo X Soil & "Pimp" Sessions )

Videos

Music video collection

publication	title	Chart positions	Sales	annotation
November 10, 1999	Seiteki Healing Sono 1		220,000	VHS
August 30, 2000		3		DVD
	Seiteki Healing Sono 2	2		VHS
		3		DVD
August 20, 2003	Seiteki Healing Sono 3	6th	046,000	DVD
July 2, 2008	Watashi no Hatsuden	1	068,000	DVD
August 26, 2009	Seiteki Healing Sono 4	5	021,000	DVD

Live concert

publication	title	Chart positions	Sales	annotation
December 7, 2000	Gekokujyo Xstasy	2		VHS & DVD
December 7, 2000	Hatsuiku Status - Gokiritsu Japon	3		VHS & DVD
May 27, 2003	Baishō Ecstasy	2	59,000	DVD
December 17, 2003	Electric mole	8th	52,000	DVD, also available as a limited book edition
February 21, 2007	Dai Ikkai Ringohan Taikai no Moyō	5	33,000	DVD
September 17, 2008	Zazen ecstasy	2	42,000	DVD
March 11, 2009	Ringo EXPO 08	2	67,000	DVD

motion pictures

publication	title	Chart positions	Sales	annotation
January 22, 2003	Hyaku Iro Megane 百色 眼鏡	2	124,000	DVD

Contributions to compilations / samplers

1. "NOW JAPAN" - Koufukuron (1998)
2. "Dear Yuming ~ Yumi Arai / Yumi Matsutoya Cover Collection ~" - Kageri Yuku Heya (1999)
3. "Ichigo-Ichie Sweets for my SPITZ" - Supika (2002)
4. "COLLABO" - WHERE IS THE LOVE (feat. Shiina Junpei) (2004)
5. "Our Last Days - Casshern OST-" - Stem (2004)
6. "Shiina Junpei - Rhodes to Freedom" - Tamanegi no Happy Song (feat. Shiina Junpei) (2004)
7. "FM802 HEAVY ROTATIONS J-HITS COMPLETE '96 -'99" - Koko de Kiss Shite (2004)
8. "VENUS JAPAN" - Kuki (Stem) (2005)
9. "Happy Birthday, John" - yer blues (2005)

Web links

• Homepage of Sheena Ringo (Japanese, English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 椎 名 林檎 / Sheena Ringo. In: SR　猫 柳 本 線 . Retrieved August 25, 2013 (Japanese).