Lisa Furukawa is a Japanese-American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Lisa's performances and recordings are a fusion of folk, alternative chamber pop, and electronica. Her music combines soulful piano and vocal ballads that range in breadth from elegant love songs to complex Celtic jigs full of mythical and historical themes. She has released four albums of original music on her independent label Yume Records. Although she is often compared to Kate Bush or Tori Amos, Lisa’s heartfelt songs create a sound that is uniquely her own.
Lisa Furukawa is currently recording new original material with the Seattle based duo “Cloudsang” with guitarist and husband Leon Monroe. Inspired by eclectic tastes that range from indie bluegrass to classically influenced contemporary pop, the soon to come EP is sure to turn some heads.
Lisa has toured Japanese animation and media conventions around the world performing original folk and pop songs and diverse arrangements of anime theme songs from a variety of shows. A big fan of Yoko Kanno’s work, some of Lisa’s favorites to perform are original arrangements of Kanno’s music from Ghost in the Shell, Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf’s Rain, and many others. She has performed Kanno’s work with vocalists Ilaria Graziano and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Lisa has also worked on translations for songs and anime trailers.
Other notable events where Lisa has performed are Japan Fest, Japanese consulate functions, the Whose Who in Asian Americans Gala, and the National Association of Asian American Professionals national conference. Lisa also enjoyed performing in ceilidhs in her mother’s ancestral hometown in the Scottish highlands and hopes to perform at more Scottish events in the future.
Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Lisa grew up with a musical family and studied classical music from a young age. After receiving her degrees in Music and Asian studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, she recorded her first album of solo piano and vocal work, “This Moment is the Show.” She formed a trio in 2001 and the group performed many venues from clubs to art galleries to festivals. The trio (composed of Lisa on vocals and piano, John Metcalf on drums, and Deborah Shields on cello) recorded “Pearl Diver,” Lisa’s second album of original songs inspired by Japanese history, folk myths, and ocean themes. In 2005, Lisa began performing at Japanese Anime conventions, and composed her third album, “Reaching the Dragon.” “Reaching the Dragon” was more electronic and musically inspired by her experience with arranging anime theme songs. In 2009, Lisa was living in a small village in North Carolina, teaching Japanese and music in a charter school with less than a hundred students. Inspired by the local acoustic farmer’s market shows and resigned to not be stalled by her faulty electronic equipment, Lisa released a simple demo-like version of what was intended to become an electronic album (“Signal”). Lisa has also composed a bilingual children’s album, “The Adventures of Chibi Neko Chan.” A limited release of some of the songs have been used for charity. It will officially be released through her website in the future.
Lisa Furukawa is a Japanese-American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Lisa's performances and recordings are a fusion of folk, alternative chamber pop, and electronica. Her music combines soulful piano and vocal ballads that range in breadth from elegant love songs to complex Celtic jigs full of mythical and historical themes. She has released four albums of original music on her independent label Yume Records. Although she is often compared to Kate Bush or Tori Amos, Lisa’s heartfelt songs create a sound that is uniquely her own.
Lisa Furukawa is currently recording new original material with the Seattle based duo “Cloudsang” with guitarist and husband Leon Monroe. Inspired by eclectic tastes that range from indie bluegrass to classically influenced contemporary pop, the soon to come EP is sure to turn some heads.
Lisa has toured Japanese animation and media conventions around the world performing original folk and pop songs and diverse arrangements of anime theme songs from a variety of shows. A big fan of Yoko Kanno’s work, some of Lisa’s favorites to perform are original arrangements of Kanno’s music from Ghost in the Shell, Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf’s Rain, and many others. She has performed Kanno’s work with vocalists Ilaria Graziano and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Lisa has also worked on translations for songs and anime trailers.
Other notable events where Lisa has performed are Japan Fest, Japanese consulate functions, the Whose Who in Asian Americans Gala, and the National Association of Asian American Professionals national conference. Lisa also enjoyed performing in ceilidhs in her mother’s ancestral hometown in the Scottish highlands and hopes to perform at more Scottish events in the future.
Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Lisa grew up with a musical family and studied classical music from a young age. After receiving her degrees in Music and Asian studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, she recorded her first album of solo piano and vocal work, “This Moment is the Show.” She formed a trio in 2001 and the group performed many venues from clubs to art galleries to festivals. The trio (composed of Lisa on vocals and piano, John Metcalf on drums, and Deborah Shields on cello) recorded “Pearl Diver,” Lisa’s second album of original songs inspired by Japanese history, folk myths, and ocean themes. In 2005, Lisa began performing at Japanese Anime conventions, and composed her third album, “Reaching the Dragon.” “Reaching the Dragon” was more electronic and musically inspired by her experience with arranging anime theme songs. In 2009, Lisa was living in a small village in North Carolina, teaching Japanese and music in a charter school with less than a hundred students. Inspired by the local acoustic farmer’s market shows and resigned to not be stalled by her faulty electronic equipment, Lisa released a simple demo-like version of what was intended to become an electronic album (“Signal”). Lisa has also composed a bilingual children’s album, “The Adventures of Chibi Neko Chan.” A limited release of some of the songs have been used for charity. It will officially be released through her website in the future.
Lisa Furukawa is a Japanese-American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Lisa's performances and recordings are a fusion of folk, alternative chamber pop, and electronica. Her music combines soulful piano and vocal ballads that range in breadth from elegant love songs to complex Celtic jigs full of mythical and historical themes. She has released four albums of original music on her independent label Yume Records. Although she is often compared to Kate Bush or Tori Amos, Lisa’s heartfelt songs create a sound that is uniquely her own.
Lisa Furukawa is currently recording new original material with the Seattle based duo “Cloudsang” with guitarist and husband Leon Monroe. Inspired by eclectic tastes that range from indie bluegrass to classically influenced contemporary pop, the soon to come EP is sure to turn some heads.
Lisa has toured Japanese animation and media conventions around the world performing original folk and pop songs and diverse arrangements of anime theme songs from a variety of shows. A big fan of Yoko Kanno’s work, some of Lisa’s favorites to perform are original arrangements of Kanno’s music from Ghost in the Shell, Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf’s Rain, and many others. She has performed Kanno’s work with vocalists Ilaria Graziano and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Lisa has also worked on translations for songs and anime trailers.
Other notable events where Lisa has performed are Japan Fest, Japanese consulate functions, the Whose Who in Asian Americans Gala, and the National Association of Asian American Professionals national conference. Lisa also enjoyed performing in ceilidhs in her mother’s ancestral hometown in the Scottish highlands and hopes to perform at more Scottish events in the future.
Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Lisa grew up with a musical family and studied classical music from a young age. After receiving her degrees in Music and Asian studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, she recorded her first album of solo piano and vocal work, “This Moment is the Show.” She formed a trio in 2001 and the group performed many venues from clubs to art galleries to festivals. The trio (composed of Lisa on vocals and piano, John Metcalf on drums, and Deborah Shields on cello) recorded “Pearl Diver,” Lisa’s second album of original songs inspired by Japanese history, folk myths, and ocean themes. In 2005, Lisa began performing at Japanese Anime conventions, and composed her third album, “Reaching the Dragon.” “Reaching the Dragon” was more electronic and musically inspired by her experience with arranging anime theme songs. In 2009, Lisa was living in a small village in North Carolina, teaching Japanese and music in a charter school with less than a hundred students. Inspired by the local acoustic farmer’s market shows and resigned to not be stalled by her faulty electronic equipment, Lisa released a simple demo-like version of what was intended to become an electronic album (“Signal”). Lisa has also composed a bilingual children’s album, “The Adventures of Chibi Neko Chan.” A limited release of some of the songs have been used for charity. It will officially be released through her website in the future.
Lisa Furukawa is a pianist, singer, and songwriter. A fusion of folk, alternative chamber pop, and electronica, her music combines soulful piano and vocal ballads that range in breadth from elegant love songs to complex Celtic jigs full of mythical and historical themes. After four album releases on her independent label (Yume Records), touring multiple conventions and folk events around the world, and a move to the Pacific Northwest, the piano playing songstress often compared by fans to Kate Bush or Tori Amos, is coming into a genre uniquely her own.
Lisa Furukawa is currently recording new original material in the Seattle based duo “Cloudsang” with guitarist Leon Monroe. Inspired by eclectic tastes that range from indie bluegrass to classically influenced contemporary pop, the soon to come EP is sure to turn some heads.
Lisa has toured Japanese animation and media conventions around the world. Her performances often surprise audiences with intricate original arrangements of music from series such as Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, and Wolf’s Rain-to name a few. She has performed music composed by Yoko Kanno and Akira Yamaoka with vocalists such as Ilaria Graziano and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. In addition to creating new arrangements of anime and video game theme songs, Lisa has translated everything from state songs to children’s songs into Japanese. She has also helped to translate anime trailers and documentaries for Studio Ghibli.
Asian and Celtic folk themes blend in Lisa’s pop music to compliment her Japanese and Scottish heritage. Lisa has performed at Japan Fest, Japanese consulate functions, the Whose Who in Asian Americans Gala, Ceilidhs in the Highlands of Scotland, and the National Association of Asian American Professionals national conference. Charity work being close to her heart- Lisa has directed multiple charity events and concerts to benefit the Asia Foundation, RAINN, and the American and Japanese Red Cross.
Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Lisa grew up in Japan and America with a musical family and studied classical music from a young age. After receiving her degrees in Music and Asian studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, she recorded her first album of solo piano and vocal work, “This Moment is the Show.” A trio was formed in 2001 (composed of Lisa on vocals and piano, John Metcalf on percussion, and Deborah Shields on cello) to perform and record “Pearl Diver,” Lisa’s second album of original songs inspired by Japanese history, folk myths, and ocean themes. In 2005, Lisa composed and self-produced her third album, “Reaching the Dragon” which was musically inspired by her experience with arranging electronic music for anime theme songs. In 2009, while living and teaching in a small village in North Carolina, she released a simple version of what was intended to become an electronic album (“Signal”). Signal deals with ephemeral and spiritual themes. Lisa says, “each song is a different type of ceremonial goodbye song. I lost my Japanese grandmother while I was working on this album, and went through some enormous life transitions with relationships and work and travel. Like the snow falling gracefully to make everything perfect for a day, many things in our lives are transitory. I guess this album was really coming to grips with that and trying to find the beauty and meaning in it.” Lisa has also composed a bilingual children’s album, “The Adventures of Chibi Neko Chan.” A limited release of some of the songs have been used for charity programs. It will officially be released through her website in the future.
Lisa Furukawa is a Japanese-American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Lisa's performances and recordings are a fusion of folk, alternative chamber pop, and electronica. Her music combines soulful piano and vocal ballads that range in breadth from elegant love songs to complex Celtic jigs full of mythical and historical themes. She has released four albums of original music on her independent label Yume Records. Although she is often compared to Kate Bush or Tori Amos, Lisa’s heartfelt songs create a sound that is uniquely her own.
Lisa Furukawa is currently recording new original material with the Seattle based duo “Cloudsang” with guitarist and husband Leon Monroe. Inspired by eclectic tastes that range from indie bluegrass to classically influenced contemporary pop, the soon to come EP is sure to turn some heads.
Lisa has toured Japanese animation and media conventions around the world performing original folk and pop songs and diverse arrangements of anime theme songs from a variety of shows. A big fan of Yoko Kanno’s work, some of Lisa’s favorites to perform are original arrangements of Kanno’s music from Ghost in the Shell, Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf’s Rain, and many others. She has performed Kanno’s work with vocalists Ilaria Graziano and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Lisa has also worked on translations for songs and anime trailers.
Other notable events where Lisa has performed are Japan Fest, Japanese consulate functions, the Whose Who in Asian Americans Gala, and the National Association of Asian American Professionals national conference. Lisa also enjoyed performing in ceilidhs in her mother’s ancestral hometown in the Scottish highlands and hopes to perform at more Scottish events in the future.
Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Lisa grew up with a musical family and studied classical music from a young age. After receiving her degrees in Music and Asian studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, she recorded her first album of solo piano and vocal work, “This Moment is the Show.” She formed a trio in 2001 and the group performed many venues from clubs to art galleries to festivals. The trio (composed of Lisa on vocals and piano, John Metcalf on drums, and Deborah Shields on cello) recorded “Pearl Diver,” Lisa’s second album of original songs inspired by Japanese history, folk myths, and ocean themes. In 2005, Lisa began performing at Japanese Anime conventions, and composed her third album, “Reaching the Dragon.” “Reaching the Dragon” was more electronic and musically inspired by her experience with arranging anime theme songs. In 2009, Lisa was living in a small village in North Carolina, teaching Japanese and music in a charter school with less than a hundred students. Inspired by the local acoustic farmer’s market shows and resigned to not be stalled by her faulty electronic equipment, Lisa released a simple demo-like version of what was intended to become an electronic album (“Signal”). Lisa has also composed a bilingual children’s album, “The Adventures of Chibi Neko Chan.” A limited release of some of the songs have been used for charity. It will officially be released through her website in the future.
Lisa Furukawa is a Japanese-American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Lisa's performances and recordings are a fusion of folk, alternative chamber pop, and electronica. Her music combines soulful piano and vocal ballads that range in breadth from elegant love songs to complex Celtic jigs full of mythical and historical themes. She has released four albums of original music on her independent label Yume Records. Although she is often compared to Kate Bush or Tori Amos, Lisa’s heartfelt songs create a sound that is uniquely her own.
Lisa Furukawa is currently recording new original material with the Seattle based duo “Cloudsang” with guitarist and husband Leon Monroe. Inspired by eclectic tastes that range from indie bluegrass to classically influenced contemporary pop, the soon to come EP is sure to turn some heads.
Lisa has toured Japanese animation and media conventions around the world performing original folk and pop songs and diverse arrangements of anime theme songs from a variety of shows. A big fan of Yoko Kanno’s work, some of Lisa’s favorites to perform are original arrangements of Kanno’s music from Ghost in the Shell, Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf’s Rain, and many others. She has performed Kanno’s work with vocalists Ilaria Graziano and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Lisa has also worked on translations for songs and anime trailers.
Other notable events where Lisa has performed are Japan Fest, Japanese consulate functions, the Whose Who in Asian Americans Gala, and the National Association of Asian American Professionals national conference. Lisa also enjoyed performing in ceilidhs in her mother’s ancestral hometown in the Scottish highlands and hopes to perform at more Scottish events in the future.
Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Lisa grew up with a musical family and studied classical music from a young age. After receiving her degrees in Music and Asian studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, she recorded her first album of solo piano and vocal work, “This Moment is the Show.” She formed a trio in 2001 and the group performed many venues from clubs to art galleries to festivals. The trio (composed of Lisa on vocals and piano, John Metcalf on drums, and Deborah Shields on cello) recorded “Pearl Diver,” Lisa’s second album of original songs inspired by Japanese history, folk myths, and ocean themes. In 2005, Lisa began performing at Japanese Anime conventions, and composed her third album, “Reaching the Dragon.” “Reaching the Dragon” was more electronic and musically inspired by her experience with arranging anime theme songs. In 2009, Lisa was living in a small village in North Carolina, teaching Japanese and music in a charter school with less than a hundred students. Inspired by the local acoustic farmer’s market shows and resigned to not be stalled by her faulty electronic equipment, Lisa released a simple demo-like version of what was intended to become an electronic album (“Signal”). Lisa has also composed a bilingual children’s album, “The Adventures of Chibi Neko Chan.” A limited release of some of the songs have been used for charity. It will officially be released through her website in the future.
Lisa Furukawa
A fusion of folk, alternative chamber pop, and electronica, Lisa Furukawa's music combines soulful piano and vocal ballads that range in breadth from elegant love songs to complex Celtic jigs full of mythical and historical themes. Lisa has released four solo albums of original music on her independent label (Yume Records) and one EP with the band Cloudsang. She has toured multiple conventions and folk events around the world.
Since 2005 Lisa has performed at Japanese animation and media conventions around the world. She began performing at events such as MTAC (the Middle Tennessee Anime Convention), Realmscon, Mechacon, Otakon, Anime Central, SAC-Anime. She performed at almost 50 conventions around the US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia (Armageddon Expo). Lisa was the first anime guest at Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA, and has been invited to return year after year to many events. Her performances often surprise audiences with intricate original arrangements of music from series such as Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, and Wolf’s Rain-to name a few. She has performed music composed by Yoko Kanno and Akira Yamaoka with vocalists such as Ilaria Graziano and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. In addition to creating new arrangements of anime and video game theme songs, Lisa has translated everything from state songs to children’s songs into Japanese. She has also helped to translate anime trailers and documentaries for Studio Ghibli.
Asian and Celtic folk themes blend in Lisa’s pop music to compliment her Japanese and Scottish heritage. Lisa has performed at Japan Fest, Japanese consulate functions, the Whose Who in Asian Americans Gala, Ceilidhs in the Highlands of Scotland, and the National Association of Asian American Professionals national conference. Charity work being close to her heart- Lisa has directed multiple charity events and concerts to benefit the Asia Foundation, RAINN, and the American and Japanese Red Cross.
Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Lisa grew up in Japan and America. Lisa is an accomplished classical pianist and teacher. After receiving her degrees in Music/piano and Asian studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, she recorded her first album of solo piano and vocal work, “This Moment is the Show” in 2001. A trio was formed (composed of Lisa on vocals and piano, John Metcalf on percussion, and Deborah Shields on cello) to perform and record “Pearl Diver” in 2005, Lisa’s second album of original songs inspired by Japanese history, folk myths, and ocean themes. In 2006, Lisa composed and self-produced her third album, “Reaching the Dragon.” In 2009, while living and teaching in a small village in North Carolina, she released “Signal”.
Lisa has also composed a bilingual children’s album, “The Adventures of Chibi Neko Chan.” A limited release of some of the songs have been used for charity programs. It will officially be released through her website in the future.
Lisa recorded the EP Write as Rain with the band Cloudsang (with guitarist and husband Leon Monroe and drummer Phil Mauck) and released it on Yume Records in 2014. Inspired by eclectic tastes that range from indie bluegrass to classically influenced contemporary pop, this special EP is currently available from Lisa's website.
Lisa is currently performing with John Metcalf on drums and Jeremy Boomhower on upright bass and celtic dobro. The trio formed in 2021 and will be performing and recording in 2022.