Eri Kamiya is one of few well-known singers in the Tokyo jazz scene. Her unique voice and mesmerising persona are main attributes that separate her from others. To this day she is actively performing at reputable jazz establishments around Tokyo.

Born in 1971 Eri Kamiya was exposed to music at an early age. Her father, a steel guitar maker and mother, a steel guitar player, gave a huge impression to her life and this was the beginning of her musical endeavor. At the age of 18, she began performing with bands at jazz clubs and this gave her an opportunity to expand her abilities. Having been influenced by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Ella Fitzgerald and Patty Austin to name a few, jazz and soul became her main interest in her musical genre.

In 1993 she worked with Japan’s famous bassist Yoshio ‘Chin' Suzuki’s band “East Bounce” in their album entitled “Kisses on the wind”. Later as her vocal talents became more and more apparent she began working with other influential bands in Japan such as Skoop On Somebody, FU-TEN and SOUL BOSSA TRIO.

Her single entitled “Repeat” was her first solo debut released in 1997 by IMPERIAL RECORDS.

Driven by her deep interest in the jazz, soul and R&B genres, she then decided to compose her own songs. As a result, the singles “Don’t Wanna Fall in Love” and “I’ve Known You”, both written by her (using the artist name “KAMIYA”), were released in 2000 by BMG FUNHOUSE. Consequently, her first debut album “ETERNAL RING” was released later in the year, which featured mostly her own compositions, arrangements and vocal performance.

Tropical and Hawaiian music has always been a part of her upbringing. Thus, included in the album “ETERNAL RING” were songs featuring her mother Mariko Seki playing the steel guitar and ukulele, and Hawaiian musician Cyril Pahinui on slack key guitar. Later Eri and her mother formed a Hawaiian music unit called “E7th” and the album “HULANOVA” was released in 2001 by RIPCURL Records.

On May 25th 2005, EKremix was formed with Eri Kamiya on vocals, Masaru Okuyama on piano and keyboards, Hiroyasu Itou on bass and Setsu Fujii on drums. And with this band the album “Karmic Observation” was released under TERRARIUM LABEL. Although jazz is the main genre, this album also includes Latin, R&B, Pop and Hawaiian featuring jazz vocalist akiko, B-BANDJ from “FU-TEN” and Mariko Seki. After the releasing of the album, the band continued with their regular gigs at local jazz clubs in Tokyo, increasing Eri Kamiya’s popularity in the Tokyo jazz scene.

In the same year, Eri Kamiya also recorded a song for NHK Television education program. The song entitled “Aiida Aida” was a collaboration with Shinzou Higurashi featuring ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro. The following year she recorded a cover of Jackson 5’s “BEN” for the bossa nova compilation album COVER LOVER vol. 4 by Cover Lover Project, released by GATE RECORDS.

After about a year performing with EKremix, Eri Kamiya returned as a solo. Regardless, her performance over the years has made her one of the prominent figures in the Tokyo jazz scene. Hence, this gave her an excellent opportunity to make another album and in May 2007, her new album ‘duos’ was released by DIAVOCE RECORDS.

‘duos’ which she herself co-produced is a collaboration between her and various musicians she has performed with, consisting of cover songs and also tracks composed by herself. It is only natural that the album is entitled ‘duos’ as each song is performed by her and a musician, reflecting her regular style of live performance, a perfect way to express her gratitude to the fans for the never-ending support.

iFLYER