Biography
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Born
6 February 1975 (age 49)
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Born In
Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
In 2001, 川瀬智子 (Tomoko Kawase) (born February 6, 1975, in Kyoto, Japan) launched her solo career under the name of Tommy february6, a character named from a combination of her nickname and birthdate. Vastly different from the japanese rock / japanese pop sound of the brilliant green for which she is also lead singer, Tommy february6's persona and sound are that of a generic Stock Aitken Waterman style 1980s pop icon. Her eponymous debut album was released on the day of her 27th birthday.
Kawase's original intention with Tommy february6 was to create a character who was far from innocent, though she appeared that cute in both sound and appearance; Tommy february6 was designed to be someone who was true to her feelings despite the cutesy nature of her outward character, do as she wanted (and as such, Tommy february6 is seen repeatedly in music videos drinking alcohol from flasks, bars, etc.) Unfortunately, the original concept started to disappoint her, and Kawase began to feel that the character could no longer maintain its purity.
After a performance as Tommy february6 in 2003, Kawase took off her glasses and donned a much more alternative look to create Tommy heavenly6, a brand new character with a modern rock sound. Kawase would later explain that Tommy heavenly6 was born from a dream that Tommy february6 had, in which she extrovertly embraces all the elements of her personality she had previously been repressing. This is reflected in the promotional video for Tommy heavenly6's first single, Wait Till I Can Dream, wherein Tommy february6 drinks from a hip flask and falls asleep, only to be woken by Tommy heavenly6. Musically, she's the polar opposite of Tommy february6, and possesses an image most people would consider more dangerous, but Kawase claims that Tommy heavenly6 is far more pure and true to her heart than Tommy february6 is.
Kawase claims that the invention of Tommy heavenly6 occurred due of her disappointment in Tommy february6's character, but far from being a replacement, Kawase chose to keep the two characters' careers separate. During 2003 and 2004, Tommy heavenly6 released only two singles, whilst Tommy february6 went on to release her second full album, Tommy Airline. It would be in August 2005 (nearly exactly two years after her first single) that Tommy heavenly6 would finally release her third single, which was shortly followed by her own long awaited eponymous debut album.
In the period between summer 2004 and November 2006 Tommy february6 released just two singles. L・O・V・E・L・Y ～夢見るLOVELY BOY～ (L・O・V・E・L・Y ~Yume Miru LOVELY BOY~) was used as the theme to Pokemon movie 7 and Lonely In Gorgeous was used as the opening the the popular anime Paradise Kiss. The later song is often cited as the song which first introduced many western fans to Tommys music through the watching of Paradise Kiss. To the immense dissapointment of Tommy february6 fans, no new album was to follow these two release and it would be almost 4 years before a new Tommy february6 song.
In 2006/2007 concentrated soley on Tommy heavenly6, releasing five new singles and a new album, Heavy Starry Heavenly. She finished this productive phase with the Heavy Starry Tour, four live performances as Tommy heavenly6 during March 2007. She incorporated most of her heavenly songs into this live format, pleasing her army of fans with an hour and a half show, complete with her now regular backing band.
in 2007 she returned to her roots as singer for The Brillaint Green releasing three singles and a Complete Singles Collection with the band, also being heavily involved in providing songs for the Gundam 00 anime as both The Brilliant Green and Tommy heavenly6 and also the opening theme for SOUL EATER as heavenly.
Tommy briefly appeared as Tommy february6 to contribute a song for a Cyndi Lauper tribute album. Her version of "All Through The Night" is considered one of the strongest songs on this particular album.
In February 2009 Tommy released a "Best of" CD for both february and heavenly. The Tommy february6 version was named "Strawberry Cream Soda Pop Daydream" and included the first new song since 2005, given the same name as the album. The song included a promotional video, but was not released as an individual single.
Tommy then quickly followed this with a new Tommy heavenly6 album, and still continues to use the february6 character in various videos even as Tommy heavenly6, so hope for future projects as february are still very high amongst fans.
In addition to her own solo singing career, Kawase has produced and written songs for the idol group Tommy☆angels, as well as making a protege of former soloist Asuka Hinoi.
Kawase has also made an appearance as the voice of Pikki in the anime series Piroppo, briefly modelled for Italian fashion house Fiorucci and for a period of time hosted Break Down, an MTV show.
She also worked as a producer on the Takashi Fujii single, entitled OH MY JULIET.
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