Spotlight On: YUKA C HONDA

ABOUT this week’s podcast guest + radio hour featured interview:

It’s not unusual to interview an artist in the days leading up to or right after their album release, but I think that today’s conversation was the first time that I sat down with someone who not only had just released their new EP, but also just finished recording it. The trailblazing artist,  electronics instrumentalist, composer, and producer (though she enjoys calling herself a “decomposer”), Yuka C Honda, has made a career of making music that doesn’t necessarily subscribe to rules and genres. As you will hear her describe today, her music centers around what is pleasing to her rather than seeking the approval of others. Widely known as a founding member of the influential band, Cibo Matto in the 90’s, Yuka was born in Tokyo, Japan, and while she studied some classical music as a child, Yuka always thought she would become a writer. She moved to New York City in 1986, and founded Cibo Matto in 1994. Their debut album. Viva La Woman, was released in 1996 on Warner Records, and spent six weeks at number one on college radio charts. Their second album, Stereo Type A, came out in 1999. They announced their breakup in 2001, but after an almost decade-long hiatus, Yuka Honda and her bandmate, Miho Hatori, reunited in 2011, playing a series of concerts and recording new material. They released their third and final studio album, Hotel Valentine, in 2014. Yuka has worked with folks as diverse as producer Hal Willner, Los Lobos, Yoko Ono, Marc Ribot, Beastie Boys, and David Byrne. As a producer, she has produced albums by Cibo Matto, Sean Lennon and Martha Wainwright, among others. In late 2009 and early 2010 she performed as a member of the reformed Plastic Ono Band. Along the way, she also performed improvisational shows with Mike Watt and Nels Cline of Wilco Fame in the groups Floored by Four and Brother's Sister's Daughter. She and Nels Cline got married in 2010. A recent article by Tape Op says that since releasing her first album in 1989, she has amassed over 268 recording credits as an artist, producer, remixer, and/or accompanist. Yuka has also recently created a multi-media opera titled “No Revenge Necessary” which tells the story of a post-apocalypse world in which humans survive and coexist with A.I. entities. In addition to her solo work, Yuka also has a duo with her husband Nels Cline called CUP. I sat down with Yuka at Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival at the end of June to talk about her brand new EP under the moniker Eucademix, called Farm Psychedelia, and her journey thus far. I’m thrilled to welcome Yuka C Honda as this week’s SHERO in the Spotlight.