Hazel Nuts Chocolate

Hazel Nuts Chocolate is the name under which Tokyo-based female musician and illustrator Yuppa releases her musical output. A former student of children's literature, Yuppa is heavily influenced by fairy tales and children's books, with the work of French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry apparent in both her music and illustrations. One of Hazel Nuts Chocolate's first recorded outings was on the song "Idol Fancy" by Capsule, which featured guest vocals by Yuppa and which later appeared on Capsule's third album, Phony Phonic. For much of 2003 and 2004 Yuppa was much in demand, contributing guest vocals to various contemporary groups' albums and providing her own tracks on numerous compilation albums, including the Softly! label's Tribute to Flipper's Guitar -- Bandwagonesque. This network of associations ensured Hazel Nuts Chocolate's position as a prime figure in what became known as the neo-Shibuya-kei movement, which combined the style-conscious lounge, bossa nova, and French pop sounds of 1990s Shibuya-kei with the more high-energy sounds of Japanese new wave and techno-pop. Hazel Nuts Chocolate's debut album, Bewitched, was released in 2004 and followed up quickly by Cute the following year. Both albums heavily featured the programming and sound production talents of Hayashibe Tomonori of Plus-Tech Squeeze Box, whose second album, Cartooom!, had already featured Yuppa as one of its many guest vocalists, and whose music Hazel Nuts Chocolate's work resembles with its uptempo techno-pop sound and strong emphasis on cuteness. After Cute, Hazel Nuts Chocolate remained active as a live musician, teaming up with guitarist Dr. Usui from electro-pop band Motocompo for live performances in 2008, but recorded only rarely. The song "Burning Tiger, Screaming Me" on Groovie Drunker Records' Good Girls Don't! Neo compilation showcased a more electro- and punk-influenced sound, reminiscent of U.S. band Le Tigre. ~ Ian Martin