Asako Toki's bio

Asako Toki is a Japanese pop and jazz singer-songwriter, currently signed under avex trax's rhythm zone sub-label. She was formerly known as the vocalist for the Japanese indie rock band Cymbals from 1997 to 2003. Toki made her solo debut in 2004 with a string of jazz cover albums under the indie label, LD&K Records.

She was born in Toukyou, Japan. Toki's father was a famous saxophone player, so Toki grew up listing to Jazz music.

In 1997, Toki joined a local band with bassist/guitarist Okii Reiji and drummer Yano Hiroyasu, becoming the groups vocalist and lyricist. The three piece band soon decided on the name, Cymbals. The band was a Shibuya-kei styled band (their sound was a mix of jazz, rock, and pop). The band made their debut in 1998 under the indie label, LD&K Records.

Over the years the band would change record labels over to the major label Victor Entertainment in 2000. Under this major label their music became more widely accessible, causing the band to garner more success. A few years after the label change, the band would break up in September 2003. They later reunited to give a fairwell concert on January 20, 2004 at Shibuya O-East.

In 2004, Toki announced that she would be started her solo career. Her first release was a mini cover album of famous jazz songs called, STANDARDS. A few months later she returned with her first single "Love's Theme", which was used as NTT's CoDen CM song. Then in November, Toki finished out the year with another cover album, STANDARDS on the sofa.

In the fall of 2005, Toki released her first original album, Debut. The album didn't sell or chart well on the Oricon chart, but was well received by critics. She had many collaborators on the album including Ishiwatari Junji (former guitarist and song writer for SUPERCAR). Much like the year before Toki released another cover album in November, STANDARDS gift ~Toki Asako Jazz wo Utau~. A few weeks later she released a live album, Toki Asako LIVE@VILLAGE VANGUARD!!.

Another year would pass before Toki's next release. Her next release WEEKEND SHUFFLE, was another cover album, which did contain a couple original songs. It wasn't long after this release that Toki left her indie record label and signed with the major label, avex trax. She was placed under their rhythm zone sub-label, which is know for housing avex's hip-hop and R&B artists.

Toki Asako's first release under her new label was the album, TALKIN'. The release was a new high point in her career, becoming her best selling album. Currently, Toki is promoting her recent jazz cover album (her first with the new label), Summerin'.
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