MAY’S is a j-urban duo from Kiryu, Japan. The group consists of Maiko Katagiri (片桐舞子) and NAUGHTY BO-Z (河井純一). Maiko was heavily influenced by traditional Japanese folk music as a child and was an active guitarist/songwriter as a teen. She met NAUGHTY BO-Z while attending high school and decided to pursue her dreams of being a musician and the two started a band together.
Taking note of American performers such as Whitney Houston and Celine Dion they decided to go in a new direction with their music in order to become more accessible and popular. Maiko describes the style as “the essence of the [pop music of the] ’90s” mixed with more traditional music styles of Japan.
Despite being active since the early 2000s, they weren’t signed to a label until 2005. Their first mini-album, Drawing, was released in late 2005 on 12” and in very limited quantities. Their much anticipated and first full length album, Beginning, was released on September 13th, 2006. |
