Ichiro Yamaguchi
| Ichiro Yamaguchi | |
|---|---|
Ichiro Yamaguchi performing with Sakanaction in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido in 2013
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| Background information | |
| Native name | 山口 一郎 |
| Born |
September 8, 1980 Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan |
| Origin | Japan |
| Genres | Rock, pop, electronic |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, guitarist |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Associated acts | Dutchman, Sakanaction, SMAP |
Ichiro Yamaguchi (山口 一郎? Yamaguchi Ichirō, born September 8, 1980), is a Japanese musician. He is the vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for the Hokkaido rock band Sakanaction.
Ichiro Yamaguchi was born in Otaru, Hokkaido in 1980. He grew up listening to a wide variety of music, as his father ran a business that acted as a cafe during the daytime and as a bar at night. His father had lived in Europe for many years, so often played music such as the German electronic band Kraftwerk. The business would occasionally hold performances for musicians, such as Japanese folk singer Masato Tomobe. This variety made it feel natural for Yamaguchi to create multi-genre music. Yamaguchi began to play music naturally, learning how to play the guitar after picking up an acoustic guitar that was in his parents home. The first songs he learnt on the guitar were Kaguya-hime/Iruka's 1970 folk song "Nagoriyuki" and Takuro Yoshida's "Kekkon Shiyō yo" (1972). He was inspired to write lyrics by the large amount of second hand books his father bought, such as those of Kenji Miyazawa, Osamu Dazai, Chūya Nakahara and Yoshiro Ishihara, as well as haiku poets Santōka Taneda and Shūji Terayama.
In 1998, Yamaguchi formed a band with his high school friends from Sapporo Daiichi High School, called Dutchman, which performed British rock-inspired music. Yamaguchi acted as the band's vocalist and primary songwriter. Yamaguchi and the band were scouted and trained by Victor Entertainment, however the group never formally debuted with Victor. In 2002, the band released Demonstration, an album compiled of seven demos the band recorded between 2000-2002. After six years together, Dutchman broke up due to creative differences, when Yamaguchi tried adding electronic elements into their music, especially on the song "Mikazuki Sunset". It was originally performed with a rock sound, but Yamaguchi felt that a purely rock arrangement did not create the imagery he wanted to express, and incorporated dance music.
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