Rie Fu is a multi-cultural singer/songwriter building an organic fan base without a lot of hype and hubbub. She was born Rie Funakoshi in Tokyo January 11, 1985, but moved to the States and lived in Maryland from age seven to ten. Rie took an interest in music and art from an early age, and cites Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch and the Carpenters as early influences. She began learning piano at age 12, and was writing her own songs on guitar and piano in high school. After finishing high school in...

Rie Fu is a multi-cultural singer/songwriter building an organic fan base without a lot of hype and hubbub. She was born Rie Funakoshi in Tokyo January 11, 1985, but moved to the States and lived in Maryland from age seven to ten. Rie took an interest in music and art from an early age, and cites Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch and the Carpenters as early influences. She began learning piano at age 12, and was writing her own songs on guitar and piano in high school. After finishing high school in Tokyo, she moved to London to study art and fashion, and haunt the museums. While in London she began performing in pubs, and through word of mouth built up some fairly steady gigs. Amongst the people Rie met at her shows was Susie Hug, a fellow singer/songwriter, and the wife of Pretenders guitarist Adam Seymour. Hug exposed her to a wide range of music, especially American 70s rock, and the two did some recording with Seymour and Pretenders drummer Martin Chambers. Meanwhile Rie made occasional trips back to Japan, where Sony took interest and signed her. She released her first single "Rie who?" in March of 2004, and followed it with "Life Is Like a Boat", which was used in the anime Bleach, and "I Wanna Go To a Place...", which was used in the anime Gundam. In her music she uses a mix of Japanese and English, but she doesn't change back and forth as rapidly as, for example, Love Psychedelico. Her cited favorite artists stretch across several generations, and include Aimee Mann, the Doors, Jack Johnson, Beck, Mazzy Star and Moby Grape. Rie released her debut album Rie Fu in January, 2005. It contained two songs, "Voice" and "Shine", entirely in English. March 2006 brought her second CD Rose Album. Roses are something of an obsession for her, and he is often photographed with them, including on the cover of both albums. Rie Fu continues to make music, occasionally plays dates in Japan and the UK, and is a continuing student the University of the Arts in London where she studies oil painting.