Etsuko Yakushimaru

Etsuko Yakushimaru (やくしまるえつこ, born June 3, 1987) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, composer, lyricist, arranger, and artist active since 2006. She works across art pop, indie pop, and indietronica. In September 2006, she formed Sōtaisei Riron with Seiichi Nagai, Shuichi Manabe, and Kensuke Nishiura. Alongside her work with the band, she pursued a solo career. That career later expanded into experimental music, installation art, and media art. Her first solo album, "RADIO ONSEN EUTOPIA", was released in 2013. In 2016, she released "Flying Tentacles" under the name Yakushimaru Experiment. As a solo artist, Yakushimaru became closely associated with anime through “Kimi ni, Mune Kyun.” for Maria Holic. Her later anime work includes “Venus to Jesus (ヴィーナスとジーザス)” and “COSMOS vs ALIEN” for Arakawa Under the Bridge, “Kamisama no Iutoori (神様のいうとおり)” for Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei, “Nornir (ノルニル)” and “Shounen yo Ware ni Kaere (少年よ我に帰れ)” for Mawaru Penguindrum, “X Jigen e Youkoso (X次元へようこそ)” for Space Dandy, and “Houkago Di(e)stra(u)ction (放課後ディストラクション)” and “Unknown World Map (アンノウン・ワールドマップ)” for Hi Score Girl. Across her solo releases and her work with Sōtaisei Riron, she has worked between pop songwriting and experimental arrangements.