Rie fu
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| Rie fu | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | 舩越りえ |
| Also known as | Rie fu |
| Born | January 11, 1985 |
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Genre(s) | Pop, Folk rock, Folk pop, Rock, Soft rock |
| Years active | 2004 - Present |
| Label(s) | Sony Japan |
| Website | Rie fu.com |
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Funakoshi.
Rie fu (リエ フゥ Rie fū), born Rie Funakoshi (舩越 りえ Funakoshi Rie) on January 11, 1985 in Tokyo, is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She regularly commutes between the United Kingdom and Japan to record and promote her work.
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[edit] Biography
From 1992 to 1995, Rie fu lived in Maryland with her family. It was during this time that she started playing the piano and where she gained much of the inspiration for her music, namely from artists such as Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch and 1970s pop musicians such as The Carpenters. She cites Carole King, Joni Mitchell, The Carpenters, and Yumi Matsutoya as influences.[1]
After returning to Japan, from 1995 to 2003, Rie finished her primary and secondary education in Tokyo. In 2002 she learned guitar, and almost immediately began coming up with songs and recording them with a small tape recorder. She sent the demo tape off to a record company (Sony) and they signed her. Her first single, Rie who!?, featuring the song "decay", was released in March 2004. Later that year, her song "Life Is Like a Boat" was chosen as the Bleach ending theme, garnering her widespread recognition and demand. In 2005, a year after her debut, another song, I Wanna Go To A Place... was used as the Gundam Seed Destiny third ending song, and in 2006 her song Until I Say was used as the theme to the Japanese release of the 2005 British movie Heidi. In 2007, she performed the ending theme, Tsukiakari, to the anime series Darker than Black.
She graduated from the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design of the University of the Arts London [2] in fine art (having shifted in interest from fashion design and graphic design) during 2007. She has stated on her website that she would like to become a student again. Rie often designs much of her own album and single booklets, and Rie's own paintings are often featured in them.
Rie fu's songs are often bilingual, since she is fluent in both English and Japanese. Although most of her songs are primarily sung in Japanese, many feature entire verses written in English. Of her songs written entirely in Japanese, several have later been released as English language versions.
On March 3, 2008, Rie fu released an album in the U.K. on a label called Tired & Lonesome. The album, a compilation of earlier songs with one never-before-released Joni Mitchell cover, is entitled "Who is Rie fu?" Though the label is based in England, her album will be released in other European countries marking it her European debut. [3]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Title | release date |
|---|---|
| Rie fu | 19 January 2005 |
| Rose Album | 24 March 2006 |
| Tobira Album | 21 November 2007 |
| Urban Romantic | 8 April 2009 |
[edit] Singles
| Title | release date |
|---|---|
| Rie who!? | 24 March 2004 |
| Life Is Like a Boat | 23 September 2004 |
| I Wanna Go To A Place... | 27 April 2005 |
| Negaigoto (ねがいごと) | 31 August 2005 |
| Tiny Tiny Melody | 8 March 2006 |
| Until I Say | 19 July 2006 |
| Tsukiakari (ツキアカリ) | 23 May 23 2007 |
| 5000 Miles | 5 September 2007 |
| Anata ga Koko ni Iru Riyuu (あなたがここにいる理由) | 24 October 2007 |
| Home | 23 January 2008 |
| Romantic | 12 November 2008 |
| Present | 25 February 2009 |
[edit] European releases
| Title | release date |
|---|---|
| Who Is Rie fu? | 3 March 2008 |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Rie fu's blog (Japanese)
- Rie fu's official painting website
- Rie fu (people) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- Sony Music Online Japan: Rie Fu
