Yasuyuki Okamura

Biography

Yasuyuki Okamura was born in Kobe, Japan in 1965, the oldest of two children. His father worked for Air France, and as a result, his family moved frequently throughout Japan, resulting in rotating through seven elementary and junior high schools. He attended Niigata Higashi High School and formed his first band there, but dropped out in 11th grade to pursue a musical career while working part-time at the nightclub Hacoban. After sending out numerous demo tapes and doing composing work for other artists, he was signed by Epic Sony in 1986.

He was highly successful in the late 1980s and early 1990s, first promoted as a teen idol. Okamura also claimed during this time that he was most inspired by the singers Seiko Matsuda and Prince. He starred in the film Peach: I'll Do Anything For You (Peach-どんなことをしてほしいのぼくに, Peach: Donna koto wo shite hoshii no boku ni) with Kahori Fujii and Kazuhiko Kanayama. In 1996, he retreated from the media and performing, and started to focus more on producing other artists, including Meg and Chara.

Okamura was arrested in 2003 for possession of stimulant drugs, but released after pleading that they were necessary as a medicine. His record contract with Epic Sony was terminated by the company, and he was later signed by Universal. In April 2005, he was arrested for attempting to use cocaine in a Shibuya record store bathroom, and sentenced to two years in prison. When returning in 2007, Okamura started a comeback visually similar to his 1980s look, but was arrested on 5 February 2008 for possession of crystal meth. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and returned to live in Tokyo in 2010. He began releasing demos on his official Myspace.

In 2011, Okamura begun an official tour again and released the two-part self cover album, Etiquette Pink and Purple. He returned to producing other artists and touring, and begun to speak openly about becoming fully sober. In 2013, he released his first single in six years, "Viva Namida", which was revealed to become the opening theme to Shinichiro Watanabe's Space Dandy. In the music video for this single, an anime version of Okamura dances and sings along with the Space Dandy cast. A 2014 Japan tour is currently underway.

Singles

Studio albums

"Best of" albums

Self-cover/remix albums

Visual style

Yasuyuki Okamura's most recognizable symbol in Japan is the Peach Mark, a distinct heart-peace sign-happy face hybrid, usually coloured pink. It appears prominently on the cover of his third album, Yasuyuki. It has since then been used in a wide variety of media, including merchandise, concerts, and music videos, with occasions where Okamura will use the Peach Mark in lieu of his name on promotional materials. Variant Peach Marks from the early 2000s have tongues sticking out.

Okamura is also known for his split use between colourful surrealism and minimalism, with the covers of Home Tutor (a bright collage featuring horses, water, an enormous child, an African-American angel, and himself) and Me-imi (a single green Peach Mark with a long tongue) as the best examples respectively.

Feature film

Yasuyuki Okamura was the star of the 1989 film Peach: I'll Do Anything For You (Peach-どんなことをしてほしいのぼくに, Peach: Donna koto wo shite hoshii no boku ni). It originally premiered in select theatres in 1989, before being released on video in 1990. Seven tracks from Okamura's first three albums, along with several exclusive instrumental arrangements, make up the soundtrack. It was directed by Isaku Sakanishi with a screenplay written by Kyoji Matsumoto. The film received mixed to positive reviews, with criticism directed towards the casual, "ad-libbed" nature of the film, while many Okamura fans enjoyed it for the same reason.

The story follows Yasuyuki, an amateur musician living alone in Tokyo, supported by an allowance from his parents. He doesn't go to college or have a steady job, but instead spends his days travelling through Tokyo with artist Eriko (Kahori Fujii) and punk pizza delivery boy Kinta (Kazuhiko Kanayama). Yasuyuki cannot figure out his place in the world, or what he truly wants. One day, the group runs into a man who turns out to be Eriko's fiance, and it is revealed that Eriko is actually from a wealthy elite family. She leaves with the man, and seems to disappear, with rumours circulating that she's going to marry him in South America after graduation. The trio breaks up, and it's up to Yasuyuki to search for his friends, and his own purpose in life.

Collaborations