In 1995, Tokyo-bred Ami Onuki and Osaka native Yumi Yoshimura had each learned about talent searches underway in Tokyo and decided to see how they might fare at them. Ami put together a demo for Sony, who had advertised for singers, and Yumi auditioned for a management company that was checking out a variety of performers, actors as well as musicians. After Ami sent her tape to the label, she was skeptical that anything would happen: "I just wanted to look at the rejection letter to see what they would put in the note to say sorry," she told a USA reporter. It turned out, however, that Ami, after being paired with Yumi, was just what they were looking for. Ami and Yumi meshed uncannily well as vocalists and they had a rapport that went beyond the merely professional; you could easily mistake the duo for siblings a la The Roches or The Cowsills because of the way their voices blend. Performing in unison, they created a single, immediately identifying a sound that is very much their own.
PUFFY's 1996 single debut, Asia No Junshin was a million-selling smash in Japan, which launched PUFFY-mania in their home country. Ami and Yumi's predilection for well-worn t-shirts and artfully ripped jeans became a much-copied style, and they were likely to be mobbed by fans if they set foot on Tokyo streets. Since then, they have sold millions of records in Japan alone, hosted a television variety show, Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy, headlined arena-sized concerts, and inspired action-figure dolls and even a line of shoes. All of their singles has been licensed for high-profile commercials for products such as motor scooters, cosmetics, computers, and soft drinks. It might all seem crass if the music didn't tell a different, even subversive story about alternative culture meeting the main-est of the mainstream. As L.A. Weekly critic Jay Babcock put it, "Puffy are a contemporary female version of the Monkees with the popularity of 'N Sync and the homage/theft approach of '90s pop-recombinant cult heroes the Pooh Sticks."
One generally doesn't find 'N Sync and the Pooh Sticks mentioned in the same sentence, but that's the way it is in the no-rules world of PUFFY. The duo had their first USA appearance in 2000 at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. When they released their first stateside LP, Spike, in 2001 through Sony Music International, American critics madly rummaged through their catalogue of comparisons, likening the duo to everyone from ABBA and Electric Light Orchestra to The Cardigans and STEREOLAB.
Out in May 2002, An Illustrated History contained tracks that Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura released over the previous five years, many with former Jellyfish drummer, Andy Sturmer, and Japanese rock star, Tamio Okuda, by their sides. During the same year, after Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy ended production, they focused on performing in the USA where they recorded the theme tracks for the animated series Teen Titans and SD Gundam Force.
In 2006, having released numerous singles and a few albums, PUFFY returned to the USA for their Splurge tour. The following year, the duo had another tour titled PUFFY TOUR 2007 HONEY SWEEPER through the west coast even covering a date in Canada.
However, as you will soon discover, there is no sell-by date stamped on their material. In the world of PUFFY, anything is possible: no style is taboo, no era goes unexplored, and no combination is too out there. All the sounds they love co-exist harmoniously in one inviting place.
With a sound that appeals to young and old alike, PUFFY are poised to achieve a level of stardom that no Japanese group has yet to reach.
