The Watanabes

The Watanabes
The Watanabes performing live in Tokyo, 2011.
Background information
Origin	Japan
Genres	Indie pop
Years active	2005 - present
Labels	Babyboom Records Japan
Associated acts	Kate Sikora
Website	thewatanabes.com
Members	Duncan Walsh Selwyn Walsh Ayumi Sato Yoko Osawa Matt Hogan
Past members	Flavio Jerome Ashley Davies Stefan Samuelsson Tadashi Yoshikawa

The Watanabes are a Tokyo based indie pop rock band with members from the UK and Japan.

Their jangly alt pop sound has drawn comparisons to melody driven indie acts such as Belle and Sebastian,Teenage Fan Club,Crowded House and 1980's Liverpool band The Pale Fountains, while their lyrics often touch upon their experiences in Japan.Time Out have described them as "Tokyo's answer to The Smiths" although their soft acoustic melodies make an easier comparison to other British bands such as The Beatles or The Kooks.

The band are fronted by British brothers Duncan and Selwyn Walsh on vocals and guitar. New Zealander Ashley Davies and Belgian Flavio Jerome were also founding members and co-songwriters but have since left the band.

The band have featured in several of Japan's English speaking publications including The Japan Times,Metropolis,Japanzine and Time Out. In November 2009 they began working with Glaswegian music producer David Naughton and released their second album, You're Dancing I'm Absorbed, in February 2011. It includes guest appearances from American singer songwriter Kate Sikora and British multi-instrumentalist Nick Duffy of The Lilac Time. In December 2011 two tracks from the album, True Romantics and Concerned With You, were used in a TV advertising campaign for Triumph Motorcycles.