the pillows

the pillows were a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Hokkaidō, Japan on September 16, 1989. The group came together after Kenji Ueda left KENZI&THE TRIPS and joined Sawao Yamanaka, who had been the vocalist of "Coin Locker Babies", drummer Shinichirou Sato from KENZI&THE TRIPS, and guitarist Yoshiaki Manabe. The original lineup was Sawao Yamanaka (born December 7, 1968) on vocals and rhythm guitar, Yoshiaki Manabe (born October 2, 1962) on lead guitar, Shinichirou Sato (born August 16, 1964) on drums, and Kenji Ueda (born August 30, 1965) on bass. After starting as an indie band and releasing two mini-albums, they made their major debut on Pony Canyon in 1991 with the single 『雨にうたえば』. Their music blended alternative rock, j-rock, and pop rock, and they became especially well known to anime audiences for their soundtrack work on FLCL. Ueda played bass from 1989 to 1992. After his departure, Tatsuya Kashima served as a support bass player from 1992 to 1999, and Jun Suzuki has served as a support bassist since 1999. the pillows were later associated with Avex Trax. They officially disbanded on February 1, 2025, and Shinichirou Sato died on March 28, 2026.