Rie Fu - Music Career

Music Career

In 2002, while in high school, Rie fu learned guitar, and almost immediately began coming up with songs and recording them with a small tape recorder. She sent the demo tape off to a record company (Sony) and they signed her to their Palm Beach label.

Her first single, "Rie who!?", featuring the song "decay," was released in March 2004, while she was attending university in London. Later that year, her song "Life Is Like a Boat" was chosen as the first ending theme for the anime series Bleach, garnering her widespread recognition. In 2005 she released her first full-length album, self-titled, and her song "I Wanna Go To A Place..." was used as the Gundam Seed Destiny third ending theme and released as a single. She participated in a track on m-flo's Beat Space Nine album, and embarked on her first nationwide tour in September of that year.

In 2006 she released her second full-length album, Rose Album, and her song "Until I Say" was used as the theme song for the Japanese release of the 2005 British film Heidi. In 2007 her song "Tsukiakari" was featured as the ending theme to Darker than Black. In July upon graduation from university she returned to Japan to live full-time, and released her third full-length album Tobira Album.

In 2008, her song "Home," used as the theme to the Japanese film Koneko no Namida, was released as a single. In March, she released an album in the UK on a British label called Tired & Lonesome, titled "Who is Rie fu?", a compilation of earlier songs with a previously unreleased cover of Joni Mitchell's song "Both Sides, Now". A Japanese release with additional new tracks was planned, as was a continental European release. Neither materialized and the original UK album went out of print, having failed to establish an overseas presence for Rie fu. The following month she switched from Sony's Palm Beach label to its gr8! records label.

In 2009 she released her fourth full-length album, Urban Romantic. Having contributed vocals to all of the songs on Orange Range head Naoto's solo project delofamilia's second album, eddy, she went on tour with the band. She also joined Yōsui Inoue's commemorative 40th anniversary tour, contributing chorus vocals.

Her album, at Rie sessions, was released on 31 March 2010, and is her first self-produced album. Many of the tracks on the album feature duets with other notable singers, and were recorded at Rie fu's home. As of 2011 she is more heavily involved with demofamilia, with it being described as "A band based around Naoto Hiroyama and Rie fu" on the band's Facebook page.

Rie fu's songs are often bilingual, since she is fluent in both English and Japanese. Although most of her songs are primarily sung in Japanese, many feature entire verses written in English. Of her songs written entirely in Japanese, several have later been released as English-language versions. Her song Anata ga Koko ni Iru Riyuu was in the anime D. Gray Man for their fifth closing song.

Her first compilation album, I Can Do Better, was released on November 23, 2011.