After announcing the end of her solo career, Sheena Ringo opted to continue making music with a new band called Tokyo Jihen. The band was made up of support musicians from her Sugoroku Ecstasy tour, including guitarist Hirama Mikio, pianist HZM, drummer Hata Toshiki and bassist Kameda Seiji.
Within six months, the band had released two maxi-singles, Gunjou biyori and Sounan, and an album, Kyouiku—all of which reached number two on the Oricon charts. They were also invited to perform at prestigious events such as the Fuji Rock Festival.
With such an enthusiastic start to their career, 2005 was not as exciting as it could have been for the band. After their first major one-man tour, Dynamite!, Tokyo Jihen did not complete the single they had planned in time for its scheduled release. In addition to this setback, Hirama and HZM left the band, and it wasn’t until September that their replacements were announced. Ukigumo took over the guitarist position and Izawa Ichiyō joined on keyboards.
Following the news of their revival, the band released the maxi-single Shuraba, which was featured in the TV drama “Oh-oku ~Hana no Ran~”. While not climbing as high as their previous releases, it still reached number five on the Oricon charts. Their second album, ADULT, went on to be their first to reach the number one spot. Following it, the band embarked on their most successful tour up to that point, playing 21 concerts in 17 prefectures from February to May. That year, Sheena also produced the score for the film “Sakuran”, with assistance from the other members.
In 2008, the video for Killer Tune won the Best Technical Works Video award at the Space Shower Music Video Awards 2008. Unfortunately for Tokyo Jihen fans, that year also saw Sheena revive her solo career, which limited the band’s productivity.
Although Sheena performed at the Rising Sun Rock Festival as both a solo artist and a member of Tokyo Jihen, in 2009 it became clear that her solo work was to be her main priority. She released a new solo album in June, while the other members returned to their own projects. Kameda worked as a producer and Ukigumo and Izawa performed in Rie Tomosaka’s backing band. Izawa also went on to join Hosomi Takeshi’s new project, The HIATUS, that year.
2009 ended on a high note for the band, however, as they released a single called Noudouteki sanpunkan in December and resumed activity. This single went on to be their first to reach the number one spot on the Oricon charts. They also appeared on Countdown Japan 09/10.
The band carried this momentum into 2010, releasing an album called Sports in February, which entered the Oricon charts at number one. That year also saw the band contribute the song Tengoku e yokoso to the TV Asahi drama “Atami no Sousakan” and embark on a national tour entitled Tokyo Jihen live tour 2010 Ultra C.
As of 2011, the band have released the maxi-single Sora ga natte iru / Onna no ko wa dare demo and the album Daihakken. The latter entered the Oricon charts at number one, giving Tokyo Jihen two consecutive number one albums—an incredible achievement for a band with such an eccentric sound. They have also announced via their official website that they will perform at the TV Asahi-sponsored Dream Festival 2011 on September 24th and release a music video compilation DVD this year.
The future looks bright for Tokyo Jihen, as they continue to produce exciting new music and reach higher and higher levels of commercial success with each year that passes.
