Kahimi Karie

比企真理

Short biography of Kahimi Karie: Mari Hiki (比企真理), born March 15, 1968, Tokyo), better known by her stage name Kahimi Karie, is a Japanese Shibuya-kei musician.

Kahimi Karie began her career as a music photographer in Japan. Her then-boyfriend, [a=Keigo Oyamada] (aka [a=Cornelius]) asked her to sing for his friend's record label. Kahimi quickly gained success, especially on the hyper-trendy Shibuya-ku scene (the fashionable Tokyo hub and area also associated with the musical talents of [a=Pizzicato Five], [a=Fantastic Plastic Machine], [a=Maki Nomiya] and Cornelius, among others).

Many of Kahimi's EPs achieved gold status in Japan. She also hosted one of Tokyo's most popular radio programs. Kahimi caught the attention of [a=Momus], and the two began collaborating. Several domestic hits followed. "Good Morning World", a song commissioned by a cosmetics company, reached top five on the Japanese charts and cemeted Kahimi's position as a J-pop superstar.

Kahimi sings in English and French in addition to her native Japanese. In addition to the above collaborations, she's worked with the likes of [a=Jim O'Rourke], [a=Arto Lindsay], [a=Philippe Katerine], [a=Add N To (X)] and [a=Yasuharu Konishi] ([a=Pizzicato Five])

1. http://www.kahimi-karie.com/
2. http://members.optusnet.com.au/~waynedavidson/karie.htm