Yuzu

Yuzu is a light rock/pop duo made up of Kitagawa Yujin and Iwasawa Kōji. They began making music together in 1997, and though one might expect their activities to have slowed by their tenth year, the band has been incredibly active lately. Their music incorporates many influences and styles; acclaimed for their feel-good pop songs, ballads and acoustic sound, they've also recently explored a digital rock feel, samba, and full orchestra sound. No stranger to the Oricon charts, the young duo has collaborated with top producers and musicians, and it seems only the sky is their limit.

Kitagawa and Iwasawa both went to the same junior high school in Yokohama. They released an independent mini album in October 1997. Their career began accelerating from there, and February of the following year saw their original mini album, Yuzuman, go on sale. This was followed the next month by their first single, Natsuiro, and as their popularity increased, the pair began to put out more and more music.

1999 saw the releases of five Yuzu singles! By this point they had made a name for themselves with their trademark acoustic sound and ability to make earnest music that would resonate in their listeners' hearts. While things slowed back down to a reasonable pace after that, in 2003, the duo returned with two albums and five more singles, four of them released in February! They'd firmly established themselves as a very productive up-and-coming group by that point.

2004 through 2006 were comparatively slower years for the pair, the three years offering only three singles and three albums, one of which was a best-of album. So where new material was concerned, their pace has changed significantly.

However, their activities have been picking up speed lately. In March 2007 Yuzu released their hit single Harukaze, whose title track was a collaboration with renowned violinist Hakase Tarou. Harukaze was a big hit for Yuzu and brought them into the top 80 of Oricon's Annual Chart for singles. Two months later, the original soundtrack for Hirayama Hideyuki's film "Shaberedomo Shaberedomo" featuring Yuzu's song, Ashita tenki ni nare, went on sale. The duo again entered the top 80 in the Oricon's annual chart, this time for full-length albums, with Yuzu no ne 1997-2007, which came out in October that year. Yuzu no ne was a best-of album celebrating their tenth year, and they also held a live at Yokohama Arena for the occasion.

2008 has already witnessed a flurry of releases from the pair. In February, a DVD of their live footage from their 10th Anniversary Concert at Yokohama Arena and another hit single, Story, both went on sale. These were followed two months later by a full album produced by Joe Hisaishi entitled WONDERFUL WORLD, whose title track brought the group into new territory as it involved a 70-member orchestra. The adventurous CD showcased numerous surprising styles, such as samba and digital rock. After a span of over two years since their last full album, WONDERFUL WORLD was met with great anticipation and excitement. Yuzu's newest single, Yesterday and Tomorrow was released in late June.

On the live front, in April the band embarked on a countrywide tour, YUZU ARENA TOUR 2008 WONDERFUL which will continue at least until mid-July. Also in July they will perform at ap bank fes '08 and SETSTOCK '08, which will be followed in August by their summer tour called Subarashiki no sekai. 2008 is Yuzu's eleventh year, and far from slowing down, this duo is showing only encouraging signs of progress and a bright future still to come.