Soulhead


Soulhead is a Japanese urban contemporary/R&B duo consisting of sisters Yoshika Sawayama and Tsugumi Sawayama. Both were born in Hokkaidō; Yoshika was born on July 20, 1978 and Tsugumi was born on January 25, 1981. Since their debut, they have worked with several well-known artists, including Sowelu, Koda Kumi, Crystal Kay and Ken Hirai.

Biography

Before they assumed the name Soulhead, Yoshika and Tsugumi were known as Batti Baas. Batti Baas released one vinyl single through Handcuts Records called Lovin' You, which featured Aaron Blackmon. The song was a remake of the Minnie Riperton standard. In February 2002, they released a CD single through Tokuma Japan Communications called Inside Out.
Shortly after the release of Inside Out, they were signed to Sony Music Associated Records and began working under the pseudonym Soulhead. The label sent them one year abroad to Australia and New Zealand to improve their proficiency in English. They released their debut single, Step to the New World, on August 21, 2002. In 2006, they were transferred to Sony Music Associated Records' sublabel, onenation. They have appeared on various compilations with other Japanese artists. Soulhead's sound is a blend between various genres, such as soul, hip-hop, R&B, dancehall, reggae and funk, with many of their lyrics in English. They usually work with the production team known as Octopussy. They have also worked on releases with other Japanese artists, such as Kumi Koda and Soul'd Out. Yoshika is also a renowned songwriter, who has worked with artists such as Sowelu, Ken Hirai and Crystal Kay.
On February 21, 2007 they released a greatest hits album called Best of Soulhead, which contained all of their singles released up to Naked, along with a few b-sides. On February 24, 2010, after a four-year hiatus, they released a new album titled Soulhead under Avex Group, which they transferred to from SMEJ. On September 28, 2011, the duo released their second Avex album, Jump Up the Wall. This has been their final release to date.
Yoshika released her first solo album on July 3, 2013, titled My Anthem, which consisted of twelve new songs and one remix. Six months later, she released another album: a remix album compiled of remixes from My Anthem.
As of March 2016, their Avex site was unavailable.

Influences

Some musical artists who they respect are Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, The Beatles, Janis Joplin, Takuro Yoshida and Ice Cube.

Personal life

It was announced in their official blog that Yoshika gave birth to a baby.

Albums

Studio Albums

  1. Oh My Sister
    Rank: #3 / Sold: 214,545
  2. :March 5, 2003
  3. BRAIDED
    Rank: #4 / Sold: 139,992
  4. :April 28, 2004
  5. Naked
    Rank: #5
  6. :March 8, 2006
  7. SOULHEAD
    Rank: #40
  8. :February 24, 2010
  9. JUMP UP THE WALL
    Rank: #73
  10. :September 28, 2011

    Best Albums

  11. BEST OF SOULHEAD
    Rank: #5
  12. :February 21, 2007

    Remix Albums

  13. RE-CONSTRUCT ALBUM Vol.1 "REFLECTION"
    Rank: #89 / Sold: 9,602
  14. :September 26, 2003
  15. RE-CONSTRUCT ALBUM Vol.2 "CRYSTALLIZED"
    Rank: #41
  16. :June 21, 2006
  18. :January 22, 2014

    Yoshika Solo Albums

  19. MY ANTHEM
    Rank: #286
  20. :July 3, 2013

    Singles

Standard Singles

  1. Lovin' You feat. Aaron Blackmon
  2. :January 7, 2001
  3. Inside Out
  4. :June 2, 2002
  5. STEP TO THE NEW WORLD
    Rank: #24 / Sold: 59,287
  6. :July 24, 2002
  7. :August 21, 2002
  8. LOVER, KNIGHT, MAN
    Rank: #36 / Sold: 18,410
  9. :November 20, 2002
  10. 空
    Rank: #28 / Sold: 16,035
  11. :February 5, 2005
  12. Oh My Sister /I'm just going down
    Rank: #114 / Sold: 2,561
  13. :May 2, 2003
  14. GET UP! ep
    Rank: #28 / Sold: 15,967
  15. :July 30, 2003
  16. You can do that
    Rank: #36 / Sold: 18,691
  17. :January 21, 2004
  18. NO WAY
    Rank: #50 / Sold: 5,353
  19. :March 24, 2004
  20. AT THE PARTY
  21. :June 2, 2004
  22. Fiesta
    Rank: #35 / Sold: 7,773
  23. :May 25, 2005
  24. SPARKLE☆TRAIN/Got To Leave
    Rank: #30 / Sold: 15,324
  25. :December 14, 2005
  26. Pray/XXX feat. Koda Kumi
    Rank: #22 / Sold: 10,109
  27. :January 27, 2006
  28. キミノキセキ/いつまでも…
    Rank: #56
  29. :December 6, 2006
  30. Dear Friends
    Rank''': #60
  31. :January 24, 2007

    12" Analog Singles

  32. Too Late /Song For You |TOO LATE /Song For You
  33. :August 20, 2003
  34. Break Up/Playboy|BREAK UP /PLAYBOY
  35. :August 20, 2003
  36. TO DA FAKE MCS
  37. :September 10, 2003
  38. LOVER, KNIGHT, MAN /MOON SHINE feat. Aaron Blackmon
  39. :September 10, 2003
  40. SPARKLE☆TRAIN ~worked by mark de clive-lowe/You can do that ~worked by Reel People
  41. :July 13, 2006
  42. XXX ~worked by SA-RA/Pray ~worked by Kenny Dope
  43. :July 13, 2006

    DVDs

  44. Oh My Sister LIVE & CLIPS
  45. :October 8, 2003
  46. '
  47. :August 9, 2006
  48. '
  49. :November 11, 2007

    Collaborative Efforts & Featured Artist

  51. :from album '
  52. Like a Queen feat. SOULHEAD
  53. :from single Like a Queen feat. SOULHEAD / Tomita.Lab
  54. D.D.D feat. SOULHEAD
  55. :from album ' / Koda Kumi
  56. Home party feat. TSUGUMI of SOULHEAD
  57. :from album おたくgirlsの宴 / lecca
  58. Beauty and the Beast
  59. :from album TRIBUTE TO CELINE DION
  60. Love Majic feat. LUNA, TSUGUMI of SOULHEAD & JAMOSA
  61. :from album POWER BUTTERFLY / lecca
  62. Round Mirror Moon feat. Yoshika
  63. :from album 攻め燃える / JABBERLOOP
  64. Natural High feat. Tsugumi
  65. :from album 攻め燃える / JABBERLOOP
  66. SLOW MOTION feat. TSUGUMI
  67. :from album OPEN THE DOOR / HIROKO
  68. DREAMERS feat. TSUGUMI
  69. :from album BEHIND the TRUTH / NERDHEAD