Cornelius is the recording name of Japanese musician and producer Keigo Oyamada, born in 1969 in Setagaya, Japan. He first comes to prominence as a member of Flipper's Guitar, one of the key groups in the Tokyo Shibuya-kei scene. After Flipper's Guitar disbands in 1991, he begins a solo career under the Cornelius name and also works as a producer for Pizzicato Five.

Style and influences

His music is often described as experimental and exploratory, combining dissonant passages with more familiar, melodic material. It also draws on sounds and samples from mass culture, pure electronic tones, and recorded sounds from nature. His influences include Beck, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Primal Scream. His work is associated with alternative dance, folktronica, indietronica, neo-psychedelia, shibuya-kei, electronic, and electronica.

Name and collaborations

The name Cornelius refers to the chimpanzee character from Planet of the Apes, played by Roddy McDowall, and he adopts it as a pseudonym in tribute to the film character. He commissions a song about himself on Momus's 1999 album Stars Forever. He also marries fellow musician and collaborator Takako Minekawa in 2000, and the couple later divorces in 2012.

Related acts

He is also associated with Fishmans+ and 妖精たち.