Chitose Hajime
| Chitose Hajime 元 ちとせ |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
January 5, 1979 Setouchi, Kagoshima, Japan |
| Genres | Folk, World music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Central Gakki Records (1994-1997), Atsuga (2001), Epic (2001-present) |
| Website | www |
Chitose Hajime (元 ちとせ Hajime Chitose?, born January 5, 1979) is a Japanese singer. She sings in a style particular to that region, with distinctive falsetto effects.
Chitose Hajime began learning shamisen under her mother's encouragement from a young age. At age 10 she began to pick up "shima-uta", a style of singing passed down through generations.
She won many folk and other song competitions during her teens, traveling to events across Japan. She released two traditional folk albums on cassette on an indie label, the first at age 15, and at age 18 was approached by numerous record labels following a grand prize win at a local folk song contest. Stating in a later interview that she was "suspicious of them," she decided not to join the labels or pursue music and instead chose to study to become a beautician following in the footsteps of her older sister. She moved to Osaka in 1998. However, Hajime suffered from asthma and had severe allergic reactions to many of the chemicals used by beauticians. She withdrew from school, but before returning home to Amami Ōshima, contacted artist management company Office Augusta, the only company who had gone all the way to visit her on her home island during the flurry to sign Hajime at age 18.
In March 2001, she released a self-titled mini-album through Augusta Records. The album of cover versions included four English-language songs originally by Carole King, The Sugarcubes, Jimi Hendrix and Velvet Underground, but was so well received that Hajime was pushed to release another mini-album less than five months later. In August 2001, Chitose released her second mini-album with Augusta Records entitled Kotonoha (コトノハ?), this time featuring five original tracks.
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