Cibo Matto
Formed: 1999
Location: New York, New York, USA
Genre: Trip Hop, Indietronica, Art Pop
Years Active: 1995 - 2002; 2011 - 2017
Meaning of the Name: Translates from Italian as "crazy food"
Core Members: Yuka Honda, Miho Hatori
Way of Working: Collaborative
Associated: Sean Lennon, Beastie Boys
Essential Releases
Viva! La
Woman (1996)
Eclectic, food-obsessed debut album, blending trip-hop, jazz, and pop with playful and surreal lyrics.
Stereo Type A (1999)
More direct funk and hip hop influences, while still maintaining their unique sound
Imagine a musical melting pot where jazz, rap, funk, and even metal collide with playful abandon, seasoned with a healthy dose of comedic wit and lyrics about everything from beef jerky to Obi-Wan Kenobi. That's the wonderfully unconventional world of Cibo Matto.
Their track 'Sci-Fi Wasabi' exemplifies this, featuring a Japanese woman rapping over live instruments about the Star Wars legend waiting for her in Union Square.
Cibo Matto offered an inventive, breath of fresh air using comedy as their primary weapon to couterbalane the pretentious seriousness of the time. While many po-faced singer-songwriters fancied themselves as redefining the meaning of life by strumming a few similar chords, Cibo Matto released Viva! La Woman, an album almost entirely dedicated to culinary delights.
Their work featured tasty song titles like Beef Jerky, Birthday Cake, and Know Your Chicken. As a result, Cibo Matto were unpretentiously fun while other outfits were striving for cool, performing their laid-back beats in smoke-filled clubs to half-interested listeners.
As adventurous Japanese exploring the Big Apple, Cibo Matto were dazzled by the vast array of influences readily available to them. They viewed the ordinary through the fresh eyes of outsiders, imbuing it with new life and startling confidence. The cover for Viva! La Woman features a statuesque Amazonian standing triumphantly with her hands on her hips, as if to proclaim, "I came, I saw, I conquered." Yet, the groups success was long in the making.
While working in a bustling Tokyo record shop, vocalist Miho Hatori was exposed to a wealth of influences that piqued her curiosity about the far-flung corners of the globe. It wasn't long before she packed her bags and embarked on an expedition into the unknown. Fate, however, would have it that she met Yuka Honda, also from Tokyo, in New York City.
The two formed a close bond, as strangers in a strange land often do, but it was their shared love of music that truly solidified their connection. Though they hailed from the same city, it was destiny that they met on the opposite side of the world.
Skills
Emotional Impact
45
Mental Impact
35
Originality
90
Artistry
80
Authenticity
25
Live
65
Production
80
Musicianship
75
Singing
65
Songwriting
75
Danceability
70
Fun
90
Consistency
80
Range
100
Cool
70
Charisma
65
Commercial & Critical Success
Awards
Certifications
Charts
Critics >>>
- Spin: Viva! La Woman - Best Albums of 1996: #10
- Spin: Viva! La Woman - Best Albums of the 1990s: #90
CRITICISM
- Some listeners couldn't engage with the band during their live performances. They describe a disconnect that was likely generated by different cultural expectations between audience and performer.
