Shinichi Osawa
Background information
Born (1967-02-07) February 7, 1967
OriginTokyo, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • DJ
  • record producer
  • composer
Years active1989–present
Labels
Websitewww.shinichi-osawa.com

[1]Shinichi Osawa (Japanese: 大沢 伸一, Hepburn: Ōsawa Shin'ichi, born 7 February 1967), also known by his stage name Mondo Grosso, is a Japanese musician, DJ, record producer and composer. Over the course of his career, he has worked in genres ranging from acid jazz to house, with strong influences of underground club music, though his recent work has been in the genre of electro house. HMV Japan rated Mondo Grosso at number 95 on their "Top 100 Japanese Pop Artists," and Shinichi Osawa is ranked as Japan's number 1 electro house DJ and Japan's number 3 overall DJ by TopDeejays.com.[2]

Background

Shinichi Osawa was originally the producer and bassist for the popular Japanese musical group Mondo Grosso, which formed in Kyoto in 1991 on the For Life Records label. However, in 1995, after the group disbanded, Osawa concentrated more on his own material, collaborating with many artists such as Monday Michiru, Amel Larrieux, UA, Chara, Dragon Ash and even Ayumi Hamasaki. During his collaborative work in 1997, he became a solo producer, releasing the R&B-infused acid jazz and house album Closer.

He made a move from For Life Records to Sony Music Associated Records in 1999, where he began his own label. Throughout the years, Osawa acted as a producer for artists such as Bird and Eri Nobuchika. His 2000 album MG4 displayed the diversity of his production, fusing jazz and house. It featured the hit song 'Life,' featuring Bird. In 2003 he released Next Wave, a more traditional house album.

Osawa provided the hypnotic array of techno music on the popular PlayStation Portable game Lumines in 2004. He did not reappear as a composer for its sequel.

In 2007, Osawa signed to record label Avex Trax. Feeling that, in comparison to his previous albums, the sound reflected more closely his DJ sets and performances (performed under his real name), Osawa released his electro house album The One under the moniker of 'Shinichi Osawa' rather than 'Mondo Grosso.' "Our Song" was the initial single released in Japan, followed by the Chemical Brothers cover Star Guitar. Under his real name, Osawa has received more international attention, creating acclaimed remixes of Felix da Housecat's "Radio" and Digitalism's "Pogo." He also performed at Electric Daisy Carnival, which was his first performance in America. He is also featured in Clazziquai's Robotica album in a remix for Prayers by Christina Chu.

In 2008, he remixed #1-hit song Startin' by Japanese pop sensation Ayumi Hamasaki. The mix appeared on the album Ayu-mi-x 6 -GOLD-.

In October 2008, following a release of "Star Guitar" as a single by Data Records, Southern Fried Records made a digital release of "The One" in the UK. A physical release is scheduled for January 2009.

In November 2008, "Our Song" appeared on the 16th version of Konami's DJ simulation series Beatmania IIDX, alongside several other songs by Avex's House Nation group.

Osawa is currently involved in Ravex, a collaboration with fellow Avex DJs Tomoyuki Tanaka and Taku Takahashi established to mark 20 years of Avex. Their debut album Trax was released on April 8, 2009, and follows the release of the singles "I Rave U" and "Believe in LOVE" featuring BoA.

Osawa released SO2, the second album under his given name, on June 16, 2010 digitally and June 30 on CD/DVD.

In 2009, Osawa collaborated with Takeshi Kobayashi to form the duo Bradberry Orchestra. With the lead single "LOVE CHECK," Bradberry Orchestra released their first album "Vol.0" on March 16, 2011 in Japan through Avex. Songs from the album have been used to promote Sony's Xperia phone as well as SEGA's Yakuza Of the End.

Currently, Osawa hosts a bi-monthly online radio show called Date Line with fellow DJ Masatoshi Uemura on block.fm.

In 2017, he released the Mondo Grosso song "Labyrinth". The music video, starring actress Hikari Mitsushima, has over 37 million views on YouTube as of January 2024.[3]

Along with Australian artist RHYME, Osawa is half of the duo RHYME SO. They released their single "Fashion Blogger" in March 2020.[4] In 2021, Osawa and RHYME opened The Nuts Exchange, a vegan cafe in Shibuya that serves Australian-Japanese fusion food.[5][6]

Representation

Currently, Osawa is signed onto Avex Trax's Rhythm Zone label.[7] Previously he was signed to Sony Music Japan's FEARLESS RECORDS division and released albums under the title of Mondo Grosso (Italian for "big world"), showing influences of Brazilian music and language in songs such as "Maigo no Astronauta" or "Carnival of Colors."

Discography

Studio albums

2007The One
2010SO2

Extended plays

1994Invisible Man
1995Pieces from the Editing Floor

With "Mondo Grosso"

1993Mondo Grosso
1995Born Free
1997Closer
2000MG4
2003Next Wave
2017Nandodemo Atarashiku Umareru (何度でも新しく生まれる; Reborn Again and Always Starting New)
2018Attune/Detune
2022Big World

Live albums

1995The European Expedition
2004Live on the Next Wave (1 and 2)

Remix albums

1996Diggin' Into The Real
1998The Man From The Sakura Hills
2000Mondo Grosso Best Remixes
2001MG4R
2003Henshin
2008The One+
2009TEPPAN-YAKI – A Collection of Remixes

Singles

1995"Oh Lord, Let Me Do No Wrong"
1995"Family"
1997"Laughter in the Rain"
1997"Everyday Life/Thing Keep Changin'"
2000"Life" (feat. Bird)
2000"Butterfly"
2000"Now You Know Better"
2001"Don't Let Go"
2002"Blz"
2002"Everything Needs Love" (feat. BoA)
2003"Shinin'"
2003"Hikari" (, Light)
2007"Our Song"
2008"Star Guitar" (cover version of The Chemical Brothers' song)
2008"Push"
2008"Main Street Electrical Parade"
2009"EEAA"
2009"Love Will Guide You"
2014"Main Street Electrical Parade" (extended mix)
2017"ラビリンス" (feat. Hikari Mitsushima)
2018"False Sympathy" (偽りのシンパシー?) (feat. Aina the End)

Collaboration albums

2011Singapore Swing (with Paul Chambers)

Compilation albums

2000Sakurahills Disco 3000
2004Make the Style 'drivin' slow'
2009Teppan Yaki

Mixtapes

2003Fearless"THE HOUSE"
2004Mix the Vibe~STREET KING~
2005Fearless 4/4 Rockers
2006Kitsune Udon

Remix singles

2000Jackson 5 – "Never Can Say Goodbye"
2005Archie Shepp – "Blues For Brother George Jackson"
2006Christopher & Raphael Just – "Popper"
2006Plaid – "White's Dream"
2006Anna Tsuchiya – "Ah Ah"
2007Boys Noize – "Feel Good (TV = OFF)"
2007Mighty Dub Kats – "Magic Carpet Ride 07'"
2007鉄コン筋クリート – "White's Dream"
2007Digitalism – "Pogo"
2007Clazziquai Project – "Prayers"
2007Bunny Lake – "Strobe Love"
2007Kap10Kurt – "Dangerseekers"
2007Thomas Anderson – "Washing Up"
2008Ayumi Hamasaki – "Startin"
2008Felix Da Housecat – "Radio"
2008Rubies – "Stand In A Line"
2008TVMR – "Bowie In The Bronx"
2008De De Mouse – "Light Night Dance"
2008The Subs – "Papillon"
2008MINMI – "Perfect Vision"
2008Popular Computer – "Lost & Found"
2008The Whip – "Blackout"
2008Cazals – "Poor Innocent Boys"
2008Alex Gopher – "Aurora"
2009Bag Raiders – "Turbo Love"
2009Van She – "Kelly"
2009Girl Next Door – "情熱の代償"
2009DJ Ozma – "Masurao"
2009Lost Valentinos – "Thief"
2009The Young Punx – "Rock Star"
2009Hac Mac – "B B Girls B B Boys"
2009Benny Benassi vs. Iggy Pop – "Electro Sixteen"
2010globe – "DEPARTURES"
2011Vandroid – "We Exist"
2011Ayumi Hamasaki – "Appears"
2012moumoon – "Sunshine Girl"
2012moumoon – "Chu Chu"
2012Ayumi Hamasaki – "You & Me"
2013The M Machine – "Tiny Anthem"
2013Duck Sauce – "It's You"
2015Sandaime J Soul Brothers – "Summer Madness"
2015Faint Star – "Sly"
2015Shihoko Hirata – "Pursuing My True Self" Persona 4: Dancing All Night OST

Production discography

1997Junior Sweet (for Chara)
1999Bird (for Bird)
2000Mindtravel (for Bird)
2005nobuchikaeri (for Eri Nobuchika)
2008WHAT A FEELING (for Namie Amuro)
2012LADY MIND (for Nami Tamaki)
2012Naked (for Namie Amuro)
2012PARADISE (for Nami Tamaki)
2013Heaven (for After School)
2014Shh (for After School)

References

  1. "Shinichi Osawa". SoundCloud. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  2. Top Deejays Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, DJ Database in Japan. Retrieved on 27 November 2015.
  3. MONDO GROSSO / ラビリンス on YouTube
  4. "RHYME SO artist profile". SubmitHub.
  5. "Australian-Japanese duo RHYME SO create music unbound by genre". Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  6. "Registration". Retrieved 23 June 2023 via Facebook.
  7. "Shinichi Osawa Biography", IMO Records. Retrieved on 14 March 2011.

Further reading

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