Cuushe

{{short description|Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Cuushe

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| native_name =

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| birth_name = Mayuko Hitotsuyanagi

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| origin = Kyoto, Japan

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| genre = Dream pop{{cite web|url=https://www.residentadvisor.net/news/42371|title=Japanese artist Cuushe details stalking and abuse by Ametsub|work=Resident Advisor|first=Andrew|last=Ryce|date=24 August 2018|accessdate=23 September 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://beatsperminute.com/media/track-premiere-cuushe-hanabi/|title=Track Premiere: Cuushe – "Hanabi"|work=Beats Per Minute|first=Joshua|last=Pickard|date=18 September 2013|accessdate=23 September 2019}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Singer-songwriter|multi-instrumentalist|record producer}}

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| years_active = 2010–present

| label = {{hlist|Flau|Cascine}}

| associated_acts = {{hlist|Neon Cloud|Geskia|FEM}}

| website = {{URL|www.cuushe.net}}

}}

Mayuko Hitotsuyanagi, better known by her stage name Cuushe,{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/oct/03/new-band-cuushe|title=Cuushe (No 1,364)|work=The Guardian|first=Paul|last=Lester|date=3 October 2012|accessdate=23 September 2019}} is a Japanese singer-songwriter,{{cite web|url=http://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/premiere_cuushe_shadow_nite_jewel_remix/|title=Premiere: Cuushe – "Shadow (Nite Jewel Remix)"|work=Under the Radar|first=Laura|last=Studarus|date=14 April 2015|accessdate=23 September 2019}} multi-instrumentalist,{{cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/24269/1/cuushe-s-new-ep-is-a-long-lonely-night-in-tokyo|title=Cuushe's new EP is a long, lonely night in Tokyo|work=Dazed|first=Aimee|last=Cliff|date=31 March 2015|accessdate=23 September 2019}} and record producer{{cite web|url=https://www.thefourohfive.com/music/review/cuushe-night-lines-ep-142|title=Cuushe - Night Lines EP|work=The 405|first=Mike|last=Townsend|date=8 April 2015|accessdate=23 September 2019}} from Kyoto.{{cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/16650/1/exclusive-cuushes-kyoto-dream-pop|title=Exclusive: Cuushe's Kyoto Dream-pop|work=Dazed|first=Mika Hayashi|last=Ebbesen|date=17 July 2013|accessdate=23 September 2019}} She is based in Tokyo.{{cite web|url=https://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/new-music/cuushe-tie|title=Cuushe, "Tie"|work=Impose|first=Lexy|last=Cullinan|date=|accessdate=23 September 2019}} She is one half of the duo Neon Cloud along with Geskia.{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2014/03/18/music/geskia-cuushe-team-up-on-impressive-neon-cloud-side-project/|title=Geskia, Cuushe team up on impressive Neon Cloud side project|work=The Japan Times|first=Russell|last=Thomas|date=18 March 2014|accessdate=23 September 2019}} Her music has been released on Flau and Cascine.{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/04/12/music/cuushe-dreams-perfect-pop-night-lines/|title=Cuushe dreams of perfect pop on 'Night Lines'|work=The Japan Times|first=James|last=Hadfield|date=12 April 2015|accessdate=23 September 2019}}

Biography

Growing up in Kyoto, Cuushe spent time in Osaka before moving to Tokyo. She also spent extended periods of time in London and Berlin. She started making music in 2008.

Her debut studio album, Red Rocket Telepathy, was released in 2009.{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/j5e8vp/inside-japanese-artist-cuushes-dreamy-musical-world|title=Inside Japanese Artist Cuushe's Dreamy Musical World|work=Vice|first1=Kat|last1=Aileen|first2=Keenan|last2=MacWilliam|date=17 November 2016|accessdate=23 September 2019}} In 2012, she released an EP, Girl You Know That I Am Here but the Dream.{{cite web|url=https://www.thefourohfive.com/music/article/cuushe-i-love-you-listen|title=Cuushe - 'I Love You' (Listen)|work=The 405|first=Tim|last=Boddy|date=3 April 2013|accessdate=23 September 2019}} Her second studio album, Butterfly Case, was released in 2013.{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2013/09/cuushe-i-miss-you-stream-butterfly-case-album/|title=Cuushe's 'I Miss You' Is a Shoegazing R&B Dream|work=Spin|first=Chris|last=Martins|date=17 September 2013|accessdate=23 September 2019}} Patrick St. Michel of Pitchfork called it "a captivating collection of dream pop."{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18597-cuushe-butterfly-case/|title=Cuushe: Butterfly Case|work=Pitchfork|first=Patrick St.|last=Michel|date=2 October 2013|accessdate=23 September 2019}} In 2015, she released an EP, Night Lines.{{cite web|url=https://www.thefader.com/2015/04/07/cuushe-fader-mix-and-interview|title=FADER Mix: Cuushe|work=The Fader|first=Duncan|last=Cooper|date=7 April 2015|accessdate=23 September 2019}} "We Can't Stop", a song from the EP, was used in the American dark comedy television series Search Party.

In 2017, she became a victim of stalking and online sexual harassment by the glitch musician Ametsub, who broke into her house and stole her unreleased recordings, musical equipment, and personal items such as clothes and photographs.{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/06/19/music/fem-cuushe/|title=FEM emerges from the darkness with a newfound light|work=The Japan Times|first=Rebecca|last=Saunders|date=19 June 2020|accessdate=18 September 2020}}

Style and influences

In a 2012 interview with Dazed, Cuushe cited "musician friends, movies, [and] sadness" as her top 3 musical inspirations.{{cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/14218/1/cuushe-video-premiere|title=Cuushe Video Premiere|work=Dazed|first=Owen|last=Myers|date=15 August 2012|accessdate=23 September 2019}}

Colin Joyce of Pitchfork wrote, "The wispy-voiced Tokyo songwriter is nominally a dream-pop act, indulgent in the stirring static and hushed whispers that have become requisite for the genre."{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/17425-cuushe-tie/|title=Cuushe "Tie"|work=Pitchfork|first=Colin|last=Joyce|date=9 April 2015|accessdate=23 September 2019}}