PHEW

Legendary Japanese avant-garde vocalist, Phew, first gained notoriety as a member of the art punk band, Aunt Sally, in the 1970s, who were pushing the realms of no-wave motorik at a time where there were few contenders. In the 1980s and 1990s, she collaborated with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Can, Anton Fier and the former members of DAF and Einstürzende Neubauten to create a body of work that has gone a long way to define this period of Japanese avant pop. Continuing her collaborative activity with the groups Novo Tono, Phew Unit, Big Picture (featuring the likes of Otomo Yoshihide, Seiichi Yamamoto and Masahiro Uemura) and Most, she has continued to push the boundaries of experimental punk rock well into this millennium. Her solo performances have likewise stayed ahead of the times, inspiring a new generation of listeners to discover her extraordinarily influential music for the first time.