Cornelius

Pop musician and producer Keigo Oyamada – born on January 27, 1969, in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan – is better known by his stage name, Cornelius. He first came to prominence in 1987 as a member of Shibuya-kei pop duo Flipper’s Guitar. When the group split, he began performing under the name Cornelius. His musical style moved away from the Shibuya-kei sound and embraced an eclectic modern style similar to Beck. He released his first solo album, The First Question Award, in 1994, which featured the hit singles “The Sun Is My Enemy,” “(You Can’t Always Get) What You Want,” and “Perfect Rainbow.” The album reached Number 4 on the Japanese Albums chart and was followed the next year by the Number 3-charting 69/96 album. With international interest at an all-time high, Cornelius signed with Matador Records in the US and released the album Fantasma in 1997. After several years of critical success, Cornelius made his international breakthrough in 2001 with the album Point, which climbed to Number 17 on Billboard’s Top Dance and Electronic Albums chart and Number 124 in the UK. After the release of his Sensuous album in 2006, Cornelius focused on writing and producing other artists as well as working on soundtracks including Ghost in the Shell: Arise (2013), The Cat That Lived a Million Times (2013), and Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (2015). He returned to making pop music with the release of the album Mellow Waves in 2017. The album hit Number 10 on both the Japanese Albums chart and the Billboard Top Dance and Electronics Albums chart. After several low-key singles and compilations, Cornelius returned in March 2023 with the single “Change and Disappear.”