FISHMANS

rumi matsumoto
2 min readMay 5, 2021

I often listened to songs by a Japanese indie band called FISHMANS when I was young. Surprisingly enough, FISHMANS are growing in popularity all over the world 20 years later.
Their live album is ranked number 17 by a vote on a music site. It made me happy since I am still their fan.

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https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/all-time/exc

Live Album ‘98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare’

I’ll show you all albums in chronological order.

1987–1995 Indie’s Seasons

Early years when they were independent record label artists.

Album ‘Chappie, Don’t Cry’ (5.21.1991)

Album ‘King Master George (10.21.1992)

Album ‘Neo Yankees’ Holiday’ (7.21.1993)

Album ‘Orange’ (10.21.1994)

Live Album ‘Oh! Mountain’(3.17.1995)

Best Album 1991–1994

1995–1998 Polydor Seasons

After that, they made three legendary albums called ‘Kuchu Camp’, ‘Long Season’ and ‘Uchū Nippon Setagaya’.

1. First Album in Setagaya

‘ Kuchu Camp / Aerial Camp’ (2.1.1996)

Wakai Nagaramo Rekishi Ari (3.2.1996)

Single ‘Season’(9.25.1996)

2. Second Album in Setagaya

‘Long Season’ (10.25.1996)
It has only one song for 35 minutes.

Live Album ‘LONG SEASON ‘96~7 96.12.26 Akasaka Blitz’ (Tour 12.3–26.1996)

3. Third Album in Setagaya

‘Uchū Nippon Setagaya’ (7.24.1997)

The most interesting feature of FISHMANS’s music is the poetic quality of the lyrics. The singing of the vocalist is trippy. The drummer and bassist are vital to the band. I recommend that you listen to their music before daylight.

Live Album ‘8gatsu-no Genjyo’ (Tour 8.22–10.10.1998)

Live Album ‘98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare’ (Tour 12.17–18.1999)

Single ‘Yurameki in The Air’ (12.2.1998)

FISHMANS made some legends.
They formed a music company to record their music before they sold their hit album. They also played a song called ‘Long Season’ for over half a minutes when they played as an opening act for De La Soul.
They stand the test of time even through the vocalist died 20 years ago.

The film about FISHMANS will b released on July.

My Favorite Songs

LONG SEASON
Night Cruisng
POKKA POKKA
Go Go Round This World!
BABY BLUE
幸せ者
新しい人

若い頃、私は狂ったようにフィッシュマンズを聴いていた。
驚くべきことに、20年の時を経て、FISHMANSは世界中で人気が高まっているという。彼らの最後のライブアルバム『98.12.28 男達の別れ』が、ある音楽サイトの投票で、なんと世界中のアルバムの中の17位に選ばれたのだ。ファンとしてもうれしいできごとです。

フィッシュマンズの興味深い点は、ボーカル佐藤さんによる詩的な歌詞。彼の歌い方は時にトリップしてしまう。ドラマーとベーシストのリズム隊も最高。夜明け前に聴くとこれがまた合う。

フィッシュマンズはいくつかの伝説を作りました。彼らはヒットアルバムを作る前にレコード会社にレコーディングスタジオを作らせました。またデ・ラ・ソウルの前座として、彼らは「ロングシーズン」という30分以上の曲を演奏しました。ボーカルの佐藤さんが亡くなって20年経ちますが、時を超えてフィッシュマンズは音楽ファンに愛されています。

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