Aikawa Nanase

Romaji of 相川七瀬. Nanase Aikawa (相川 七瀬, Aikawa Nanase), born February 16, 1975 in Osaka, Japan, is a Japanese musician known for employing a variety of musical styles, most notably rock. She publishes her music under the Motorod label, a division of Avex Group. On her latest album and tours she has employed many well-known musicians such as guitarist Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth), guitarist Pata (X JAPAN), bassist Cool Joe (ex-Dead End), keyboardist D.I.E (ex-hide with Spread Beaver), and drummer 真矢 (ex-LUNA SEA). While she does have her fair share of soft songs (such as ~dandelion~, The Last Quarter) and fun songs (Break Out!, COSMIC LOVE), a good portion of her collection (and, indeed, the majority of her most popular songs) fall firmly in the rock category. She has remained a constant source of quality rock with a slight pop edge, and though some may argue she belongs fully in the J-Rock category, her pop-idol status and ability to work outside the rock confines would say otherwise. -= Career =- After she released her first single in November 1995, she released three more singles, and then her first full album Red in 1996, which sold more than two million copies in its first month, and saw her named “the brightest star” in female rock. That album won her an invitation to perform in a New Year’s Eve singing contest between male and female teams of popular singers sponsored by NHK (one of Japan’s television companies).