Jack or Jive

Founded in 1989, this Japanese band only has two members, Chako and Makoto Hattori. They've been married since 1992. While Makoto remains mostly behind the scenes handling technical aspects of the music, Chako is a visual spectacle of wild or spikey hair, flowing priestess gowns, strange talismans and heavy, morbidly styled makeup. Japan's Jack or Jive create lush, dark and disturbing music that straddles the line between ritual, new age and experimental electronics music. Singer songwriter Chako has a one of a kind voice, strident and angelic at once.

Japan's Jack or Jive create lush, dark and disturbing music that straddles the line between ritual, new age and experimental electronics music. Singer songwriter Chako has a one of a kind voice, strident and angelic at once. Like Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, she sings in a private language. Her compositions can be classically influenced or influenced by the culture of her birth, and her melodies are haunting.