"Hands twoHands" consist of two people, they are :

Ms. Kumiko Hasegawa. Piano[upper]on vocal :
At present, She is active as a pianist. She plays wonderful piano, and her singing voice is soft & gentle.

Mr. Masaru Suzuki. Piano[lower] on chorus :
He supports for many musians at their live and recording work.
He does performance activities as a tour member of Ken Hirai and he also cooperate for songs writing.

They organized a unit "Hands two Hands" in 1992 while they are the student of Tokyo College of Music.
Started activities as a unit by the four-hand playing of the piano.
At the same time, the production of the songs by Hasegawa's vocal took root in the present figure in parallel.
His voice is very gentle.

Mr. Suzuki is a famous pianist between Ken's fans, recognized by his musics that plays wonderful and touchable piano. Also as all people had already know well that Mr. Suzuki and Ken Hirai are very good friends in private.

Some of his wonderful works:
1. Went to Hong Kong with Ken Hirai on spring 2001.
2. Played the piano in the show case live for Ken Hirai.
3. Joined the KEN HIRAI Live Tour 2001 "gaining through losing"
4. Publish the first work collection "Hands two Hands" in 2001.
5. Participated in the Ken Hirai live as a member of back support in 1997.

Multi-Genre Performers
The pioneer of this new music trend was Ken Hirai, whose music is based on the rhythm-and-blues (R&B) genre first made popular by African-American artists in the 1950s. Bursting out of nowhere, Hirai's 2000 album, The Changing Same, became a million seller, and his single release, "Rakuen" (Paradise), was also a big hit. He scored again with a TV-drama theme song. Hirai's stardom can be attributed to his sweet, soft, high-pitched voice and his chiseled good looks.

Gospel is a form of music that originated in American Southern Baptist church choirs. Today in Japan, the Gospellers, a five-member male choral group, have become popular singing music with a heavy gospel tinge. The group debuted in 1994 and so have been in the music game for quite some time, but they made their break in summer 2000 with the single "Towa ni" (Forever). Their current album Love Notes, released in June 2001, has sold over 1.2 million copies to become a smash hit.

Soul Music, but Rooted in J-Pop
In the United States R&B-based music has been part of the musical mainstream for over 10 years - particularly hip-hop, which has even evolved into a fashion trend. These styles of music have also found a loyal audience in Japan, but some experts believe that the secret to the popularity of hip-hop and R&B in Japan is the way in which the original sound has become fused with the nation's own melodic pop music, rather than simply importing the original American sound wholesale.

Some also believe that the dominance of young female pop singers over the past few years has resulted in a craving for some male talent. Others attribute the recent popularity of the falsetto-rich R&B sound in Japan to an easing of resistance to high-pitched male voices. Tadahiro Murao, a professor of music education at the Aichi University of Education, considers the trend of male vocalists singing in high keys to be linked to increasingly unisex fashion styles that play down differences between the sexes.

Following in the wake of Ken Hirai and the Gospellers, Chemistry, a male R&B duo, scored a million seller in March 2001 with their debut single "Pieces of a Dream." Less than a year since their appearance, Chemistry has been chosen to take part in a collaborative recording among two Japanese and two Korean artists for the official song of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan.

Other popular young R&B artists include the male group Skoop On Somebody, noted for their singing skills; Junpei Shiina, who possesses a stoic demeanor to go along with his highly praised singing voice; and 18-year-old sensation Kiyotaka. On the reggae scene, the single "Lifetime Respect," released in May 2001 by Dozan Miki, sold 800,000 copies. And rap artists like Rappagariya, DABO, and Gaki-Ranger keep on pumping out aggressive, American-style hip-hop beats. A glimpse at 2001 record sales in Japan clearly reflects the surge in R&B-based male Japanese vocalists. The popularity of these artists has even begun to reach overseas into Taiwan, Hong Kong, and throughout Southeast Asia.

Copyright (c) 2002 Japan Information Network. Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.