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Coldfeet Biography - by David Hickey|Coldfeet have remixed and produced some of the biggest names in J-pop, including Kumi Koda and Mika Nakashima. But the dance duo is better known for triggering the short-lived love affair with drum’n’bass in Japan after bursting onto the Tokyo club scene in 1998. Since then, Coldfeet have slowed down the beats per minute, reinventing themselves as a funky house outfit aimed squarely at the dancefloor, collaborating with respected names such as house producers Mondo Grosso and Sugiurumn. They’ve appeared on compilations and have had several singles and albums released in the United States, Britain and Germany on a variety of different labels. Coldfeet are a two-piece fronted by vocalist Lori Fine, born to an American father and a musically inclined Japanese mother (she plays the koto, or Japanese harp). Programmer and instrumentalist Atsushi Tsunoda, (aka Watusi) is the other core member. The duo debuted in 1998 with the sleek drum’n’bass groove of “Pussyfoot.” This single, and accompanying album Shamefaced, indicated a genuine Japanese force in the predominantly British movement of drum’n’bass had arrived. Two years later, Coldfeet went Top Ten with the single “In My Lucid Dream” (inspired by the writings of American psychophysiologist Stephen LaBerge), which preceded their second album Lucid Dream. Although the album’s accompanying promo videos garnered airtime on MTV in Japan and Europe, and a Coldfeet remix album was bolstered by big names like Francois K, the group nonetheless parted company with Sony, the label that had supported them from the beginning. An aborted attempt to find a record deal in the United States resulted in the band regrouping, ditching their trademark drum’n’bass sound and exploring one of the band’s first loves with a covers album of jazz standards on the Ultra-Vybe INC label, released in 2003. Coldfeet signaled another change of direction — a funky vocal house sound that didn’t neglect classic songwriting structures — on a series of 12” singles. It was during this period that the group signed to the Avex Trax R&B/dance imprint Rhythm Zone (also home to m-flo and Ram Rider) for their fourth album Bodypop (2005). As well as wearing its more obvious dance influences on its sleeve, also in evidence on Bodypop was Watusi’s love of ’80s new wave groups such as Devo and Depeche Mode. One of the biggest names in the Japanese dance scene, Mondo Grosso, guested on four tracks. Coldfeet took the album’s 130 BPMs to the dancefloors on a live/DJ tour of Japan’s clubs, alongside another ubiquitous name on the Tokyo club scene, Sugiurumn. A remix album, Bodychop, soon followed. Coldfeet’s production credits include BoA and Chemistry; they’ve also remixed m-flo and they’ve co-written songs with Fantastic Plastic Machine, bird and, ahem, SMAP. |
