In 2001, 川瀬智子 (Tomoko Kawase) 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 whom she is also lead singer of, Tommy february6’s persona and sound are that of a generic American 1980s pop icon. Her eponymous debut album was released on the day of her 27th birthday. 川瀬智子’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 川瀬智子 began to feel that the character could no longer maintain its purity. After a performance as Tommy february6 in 2003, 川瀬智子 took off her glasses and donned a much more alternative look to create Tommy heavenly6, a brand new character with a modern rock sound. 川瀬智子 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 川瀬智子 claims that Tommy heavenly6 is far more pure and true to her heart than Tommy february6 is. 川瀬智子 claims that the invention of Tommy heavenly6 occurred due of her disappointment in Tommy february6’s character, but far from being a replacement, 川瀬智子 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 2006/2007 Kawase has had a very busy period, releasing five new singles and a new album, Heavy Starry Heavenly as Tommy heavenly6. She finished this productive phase with the Heavy Starry Tour, four live performances as Tommy heavenly6 during March 2007. She incorporated most of her songs into this live format, pleasing her army of fans with an hour and a half show, complete with her now regular backing band. Tommy heavenly6 created a new single for the SOUL EATER anime entitled PAPERMOON which was released December 10th, 2008 and was used as the opening for the show this fall as well as a new song entitled ‘Unlimited Sky’ which was used as an insert song for the GUNDAM 00 anime, this song was included on the soon to follow ‘best of’ release “Gothic Melting Ice Cream Gothic Nightmare” which was a collection of all her singles to date, plus some album tracks and b-sides. Soon to follow was the controversial release of a new concept album, “I KILL MY HEART” on April 29th 2009. This saw Tommy move away from the Pop/Rock sound to a more Grunge/Alternative Rock sound. The album was to include no singles, but did include two promotional videos. This album split Tommy fans right down the middle, with some condeming it as boring and stale, while others raved about it being brilliant and a work of genius. At the moment Tommy’s future is uncertain after she ended her relationship with Sony Music Japan and DefSTAR , along with the other members of The Brilliant Green.|____________________________________________________________________|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. Tommy heavenly6’s official website is http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Tommy. |
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