Lisa Furukawa

Biography:
Lisa Furukawa is a Japanese-American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Utilizing her talents in contemporary and classical music, Lisa's performances and recordings display a fusion of Japanese folk, alternative pop, and electronica.

Her latest recording, "Reaching the Dragon" was released in April, 2006. Lisa composed, produced, and performed all of the songs on the new CD. The new work displays a subtle combination of electronic arrangements, piano, and vocals in Japanese and English.

"Reaching the Dragon" is ambient and lush, and remains hopeful even through the most melancholy moments. Always fascinated by myth and history, Lisa looked to the Eastern myths and folklore of dragons for inspiration. Lisa says, "Reaching the dragon is about tapping into the yang spirit, strong basic life force, and accepting change and transformation."

Lisa has three CDs of original songs published through her Yume label. Her first recording, “This Moment is the Show,” is an intimate CD of solo piano and vocal arrangements. Her second CD, “Pearl Diver,” is a collaborative piece that originated from Lisa's piano and vocal compositions, but was realized and recorded with cellist, Deborah Shields and percussionist, John Metcalf.

Lisa has performed at various events and festivals, and has entertained audiences in large and small atmospheres. Currently, she is enjoying her appearances and performances at various anime conventions and cultural events around the US and Canada. She is exploring the electro/dub sound while composing for the multi-art and multimedia dance troupe -The Wandering Star Project. She hopes to continue pushing technological boundaries while continuing to contribute a lyrical vocal element to electronic music. Lisa has performed in the soulful dream-pop group the Lovestars, and has enjoyed collaborations with other musicians and film makers. When she isn't performing or teaching, she contributes her time and efforts to helping several charitable organizations by directing events such as the annual Tori Amos Tribute Show/RAINN Benefit and the Triangle Asian-American Music Festival.

Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Lisa began studying the piano at the age of three. She has BA's in Music and Asian Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, and is an educator and translator as well as a performing songwriter. She has translated everything from pop tunes to state songs into Japanese, and hopes to promote cultural understanding and diversity through music.