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TsuShiMaMiRe

TsuShiMaMiRe (つしまみれ; abbreviated TSMMR) is a Japanese all-female rock trio. They gained attention in the United States through the Austin, Texas South by Southwest music festival, and performances at anime conventions, with the Suicide Girls, and at Benten Label's "Japan Girls Nite" U.S. tours.

The band's original lineup consisted of Mari Kono on lead guitar and vocals, Yayoi Tsushima on bass, and Mizue Masuda on drums. They originally formed the band while in college in Chiba, Japan. In January 2017, Mizue announced she was leaving the band to pursue other projects. The band now performs with their new drummer, Asami Suzuki.

Tsushimamire is a made-up word coined by the band. It is a combination of "Tsushima" (the family name of bassist Yayoi) with "Ma" (from guitarist/vocalist Mari Kono) and "Mi" (from original drummer Mizue Masuda). In addition, mamire means "mix together" or "mixture/full of/all over" in Japanese. Thus, as explained by Mari, the meaning is that of "the three of us will mix together to create a new type of music".

TsuShiMaMiRe's musical style has been classified as punk rock or art punk, with eclectic influences of noise and Japanese pop music. Their lyrics are often quirky and idiosyncratic, with common themes including sex, food, love and peace and darker subjects such as death.

With a relatively raw production style, bass-heavy songwriting, and overdriven guitars, the band's sound leans heavily into punk rock. However, this is juxtaposed with unconventional sound design and song structures that lean more into art punk.[citation needed]

In interviews, the band members have stated that their original inspiration was to be a female version of the Japanese band Blankey Jet City, who make rock music that is very fast, energetic, and full of rapid changes. Mizue named the band's drummer, Tatsuya Nakamura, as a musician she respects. They also consider Rage Against the Machine to be an influence as well as local folk songs from their hometowns, such as "Yasuki-bushi [ja]". Yayoi has also expressed a fondness for Western classical music, citing Chopin, Brahms and "Sabre Dance" by Aram Khatchaturian.

Mari (lead vocals and guitar), Mizue (backing vocals and drums) and Yayoi Tsushima (backing vocals and bass guitar) formed TsuShiMaMiRe in 1999 while they were students at Chiba University, in the school's Sound House Zoo band club. The trio started out covering Blankey Jet City songs, after Mari was inspired by their performance at Akasaka Blitz, playing in various clubs in Chiba Prefecture. TsuShiMaMiRe then released their first demo single, "Hamburger Set", in 2000. This was followed by the release of their second demo single "Bloody Mohawk" [Ryuketsu Mohikan] in 2001. The band submitted recordings made at the university to various record labels, with EMI taking a particular interest. EMI then introduced them to the owner of Benten Label.

As the label was active in promoting US tours for their roster, they encouraged TsuShiMaMiRe to embark on such a tour before releasing their first studio album. Thus, in March 2004, they toured the United States with other Japanese bands Petty Booka, Bleach, Noodles, and Kokeshi Doll, including performing at the South by Southwest Japan Nite showcase. On August 25 of the same year, TsuShiMaMiRe released their first full-length album, Pregnant Fantasy, on Benten Label. Mari would later describe the album as being "full of passion and urge."

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