Mistletone

CORNELIUS TOUR DATES:

FRIDAY JUNE 16: RISING MELBOURNE @ THE FORUM. Tickets on sale here.
SATURDAY JUNE 17: VIVID SYDNEY @ TUMBALONG NIGHTS. Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour, free outdoor event. More info here.

Cornelius is the brainchild of Japanese multi-instrumentalist Keigo Oyamada, one of the pillars of electronic music with a dazzling career spanning four decades. A performing musician since his teens, Oyamada created his creative alter-ego (the name is an homage to Planet of the Apes), in the early 1990s from the ashes of his previous project, Flipper’s Guitar, a duo that arose as part of the influential Shibuya-kei movement. 

With the 1997 release of Fantasma, Cornelius gained international recognition for his cut and paste style, reminiscent of American counterparts Beck and The Beastie Boys. Fantasma, often considered Cornelius’ magnum opus, was released internationally by Matador Records. Dubbed as the “modern-day Brian Wilson” and “Japanese Beck” for his orchestral-style arrangements and production techniques, Cornelius subsequently became one of the most sought after producer/remixers in the world, working with a wide range of artists including Blur, Beck, Bloc Party, MGMT, and James Brown.

With 2002’s Point, Cornelius’ music took a quantum shift, going from sampling “found sounds” to looping organic elements and creating lush soundscapes. Using water drops as the rhythmic backbone of “Drop” on his vocoder-infused cover of “Brazil”, the album dazed and amazed fans and set the path for the next phase of his career. 2007 brought this philosophy to an even higher level with the release of Sensuous.

The companion piece to the album Sensurround + B Sides, earned the nomination for “Best Surround Sound Album” at the 2009 GRAMMY Awards. The summer of 2016 saw the release of Fantasma Remastered, on Lefse Records. The package, a 2LP reissue of his classic album, also included 4 additional outtakes and earned Pitchfork’s “Best New Reissue”.

Cornelius has recorded music for Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, scored the anime mega-film Ghost in the Shell Arise, performed as the backbone of Yoko Ono’s reformed Plastic Ono Band, played the Hollywood Bowl with Yellow Magic Orchestra, and co-wrote and produced the Japanese artist salyu x salyu. He has continued his extensive remix series along with production work for Takeshi Kobayashi and Yoko Ono, amongst others.

Cornelius’ live shows are known around the world for spectacular visuals (all perfectly synchronized to the performance), custom lighting that doesn’t simply augment the performance, but becomes another instrument within it, and a full band of equally talented and diverse players.