Jesse, the vocalist from Rize, named the band, the members of which did their own songwriting, arranging, and production. Def Tech had the 3rd best-selling album in Japan in 2005 and performed at Live8 in Tokyo in July of that year. Def Tech started in 2003 and debuted in 2005. They rocketed in popularity, especially due to their song “My Way,” and their first, self-titled album charted at #1 and went on to sell 2.2 million copies. That same year (2005), they became the first indie label artist to perform at NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen.
Band's break-up
As posted on their webpage in September 2007: Def Tech dispersed, citing different opinions on music direction as the cause for the split. Again, according to their web site, the band reunited in June 2010.
Members
Shen (b. Shenan Brown. on May 9, 1981 in the People's Republic of China) - grew up in Hawaii. He visited Japan many times growing up because of his father's job (J.D. Brown is a well-known applied linguist). Shen is bilingual in both English and Japanese.
Micro (b. Yuki Nishimiya (西宮佑騎,Nishimiya Yūki) August 28, 1980) - originally from Ōta, Tokyo. A Hosei University graduate, née created a label, Primary Color Recordz, under Universal Music in February 2007.
Def Tech in popular culture
The band's 2006 album, Catch the Wave, includes the title track that was used in trailers for the 2006 film Catch a Wave (キャッチ・ア・ウェーブ),. Micro played the part of a surfer, using his real name Yuki Nishimiya in the film.
The PlayStation drumming simulation game Taiko no Tatsujin (太鼓の達人) Vol. 6 includes the Def Tech track "My Way", from the band's self-titled 2005 album.
