Cornelius

Oyamada circa 2007.

***Cornelius*** (born **Keigo Oyamada** or **小山田 圭吾**; January 27, 1969) is a famous Japanese producer and musician from Setagaya, Tokyo. One of the most popular and influential musicians of the Shibuya-kei scene, Oyamada's albums Fantasma and Point under the Cornelius name both have seen wide-reaching success in underground music communities as a representative of the genre. Oyamada is also famous for his collaborative works, for example in rock band Flipper's Guitar which also held a massive influence on the Shibuya-kei scene of music. In 2007, Rolling Stone Japan named two of Oyamada's albums on their Top 100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time list, ranking Fantasma in 10th place and Camera Talk by Flipper's Guitar in 35th. Further, Oyamada is known for producing/remixing alongside the likes of Ichiko Aoba, Penguin Cafe and Fishmans, in particular contributing mixing material to Fishmans+' EP A Piece of Future.

## Biography

Born in Setagaya, Tokyo, Oyamada began his career in Shibuya-kei rock band Flipper's Guitar. He produced and performed on all three of their main studio albums from 1989's "Three Cheers for Our Side!", 1990's "Camera Talk" and 1991's "Doctor Head's World Tower." When the band would break up in 1991 after conflicting ideas on the band's future between Oyamada and bandmate Kenji Ozawa, Oyamada continued in his solo career under the name Cornelius. The name, adopted from a character by the same name from Planet of the Apes, would be the title under which Cornelius would produce a great majority of his solo works.

Oyamada became a massive influence in the Shibuya-kei scene of Japan with his early works, beginning with the First Question Award in 1994 and peaking with his hit album Fantasma in 1997. This album was later ranked #10 on Rolling Stone Japan's list of the 100 most important Japanese rock albums. Within this and the success of his subsequent 2001 album Point, Oyamada defined himself as an elite producer of sound and demonstrated the outer limits of what a producer could accomplish in his time. Beyond his solo performances, Oyamada also became famous for his soundtrack work, making many theme songs for programs on Japanese broadcasting channel NHK and in particular for Ghost in the Shell: Arise.

In 2000, Oyamada married fellow musician Takao Minekawa, having one child named Milo (named for the son of Cornelius from Planet of the Apes). The couple would divorce in 2012.

In response to the above being revealed to the public, Oyamada and his team faced severe backlash from the public, Oyamada himself releasing a half-apology on his Twitter account where he claimed exaggerations or mistakes were made by the articles which brought this history to light. Despite all this backlash, however, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games did not let Oyamada go, the chief of said committee Toshiro Muto even saying he wanted Oyamada to remain. But despite the Committee's support, Oyamada pulled away from the project on his own terms on July 19, 2021, only five days after he'd originally been announced for the project and four before the Olympics' opening ceremony. Following the situation, Oyamada made interview statements to Shukan Bunshun addressing why it took so long for him to address the allegations. Further, Oyamada defended himself with the original Quick Japan interview, showing that the interview never named him as a direct perpetrator of these events or that he intentionally caused them. A full-length statement on the matter is available on Oyamada's website.

## Discography

### Studio Albums

* The First Question Award (1994, Polystar)
* 69/96 (1995, Polystar)
* Fantasma (1997, Polystar)
* Point (2001, Polystar)
* Sensuous (2006, Warner Music Japan)
* Mellow Waves (2017, Warner Music Japan)
* 夢中夢 (2023, Warner Music Japan)

### Live Albums

* The First Question Award Tour (1994, Polystar)

### Soundtrack Albums

* Ghost in the Shell Arise OST (2013, Flying Dog)
* NHK デザインあ Original Soundtrack (2013, Warner Music Japan)
* Ghost in the Shell: The Movie - Ghost in the Shell Arise Alternative Architecture OST (2015, Flying Dog)
* NHK デザインあ 2 Original Soundtrack (2018, Warner Music Japan)
* NHK デザインあ 3 Original Soundtrack (2018, Warner Music Japan)
* Music for Parco (2020, Disk Union)
* Relaxin' with Parcornelius (2020, Relax Library)

### Remix Albums

* 96/69 (1996, Polystar)
* CM - Cornelius Remixes (1998, Polystar)
* FM - Fantasma Remixes (1998, Polystar)
* PM By Humans (2003, Polystar)

### Compilation Albums

* Constellations of Music (2015, Warner Music Japan)
* Ripple Waves (2018, Warner Music Japan)