Fujifabric

Japanese alternative rock band Fujifabric was formed in Yamanashi, Japan in 2000. Founded by Masahiko Shimura and Takayuki Watanabe while still in high school, the band originally started out as a covers band. Once they graduated from high school, they took the band more seriously and relocated to Tokyo. Bringing in three additional musicians, the band’s first official Fujifabric live performances was in October, 2001. Signing a record deal with Song-Crux followed and the band released their first EP, À la carte, in 2002. A line-up change left Shimura and Watanabe as the sole original band members again. After their second EP - À la mode - was released in 2003, the band found themselves in the midst of a major label bidding war. Fujifabric signed with Toshiba-EMI and began recording their debut album. Watanabe left the band and Shimura took creative control. Fujifabric issued their self-titled debut album in 2004, which climbed to Number 17 on Japan’s Oricon Chart. Their second album, Fab Fox (2005) did even better, hitting Number 8 on the chart. After a series of singles and collaborations, the band took a short break but returned with their third album, Teenager, in 2008. On December 24, 2009, Masahiko Shimura died of unknown causes, leaving no original members in the band. In 2010, Fujifabric released the album Music, which featured the vocals of Shimura. The remaining band members, who had joined the band in 2003-2004, continued as Fujifabric. Lead guitarist Sōichirō Yamauchi took over lead vocal duties. The band has continued to tour ever since, releasing a series of albums including Voyager (2013), Life (2014), Stand! (2016) and F (2019). Fujifabric released the single “That Light” in June, 2020.