Perfume is a 3-member, all female technopop unit originally from Hiroshima.  The group formed in 2000 at the Actors School Hiroshima (ASH), where the three twelve year old members ayaka Nishiwaki (A-chan), Yuka Kashino (Kashiyuka), and Yuka Kawashima (Kawayuka) were enrolled. Soon after forming, Kawashima left the group to pursue a solo career under the name Risky, and later as Yuka.  In the year following, Ayano Omoto (Nocchi) joined, completing what is the current lineup.  Perfume...

Perfume is a 3-member, all female technopop unit originally from Hiroshima.  The group formed in 2000 at the Actors School Hiroshima (ASH), where the three twelve year old members ayaka Nishiwaki (A-chan), Yuka Kashino (Kashiyuka), and Yuka Kawashima (Kawayuka) were enrolled. Soon after forming, Kawashima left the group to pursue a solo career under the name Risky, and later as Yuka.  In the year following, Ayano Omoto (Nocchi) joined, completing what is the current lineup.  Perfume debuted in 2002 on their school's indie imprint, Momiji Label, with with song "Omajinai Perori", a peppy little pop song accompanied by a video that featured the girls looking cute in a variety of outfits and situations.  For the next several years, the group's sphere was still largely limited to the Hiroshima area, where they did instore appearances in record shops, shopping center events, and other local gigs.  The girls moved to Tokyo in the spring of 2003, just before their third year of junior high school, joining up with the Amuse management agency, which had ties to their former school.  The group worked the indie circuit until 2005, when they made their major label debut with the single "Linear Motor Girl".  At the same time, they lost their "retro techno" look, ditching the colorful outfits for sleeker, monotone futuristic look.  The video accompanying "Linear Motor Girl" went along with the new image, taking on a Fifth Element theme modeled after Luc Besson's film of the same name.  In 2006 the band started their longtime relationship with Yasutaka Nakata, also of Capsule, who still creates all of their lyrics and music.  Since then, the band has exploded from a cult favorite to full-fledged stars, and in addition to releasing records, can be seen promoting products and appearing in various media.