Yae

	Date of Birth:	December 14, 1975 (Tokyo)
	Active From:	1999
	Related Projects:	Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
	Official Web Site:	Yaenet

Biography

Note: This biography was written exclusively for Square Enix Music Online by Chris. The act of copying it without advance written permission is regarded as a copyright infringement. It was last updated on April 22, 2006.

Born on December 14, 1975, vocalist, actress, and dancer Yae became interested in physical expression during high school and started studying modern dance. She made her first appearance on stage as an actress in 1995 when she was picked out to play the singer's part in a rendition of the musical Dr. Korczak, portraying the holocaust in Poland. Here, she won high praise for her dignified acting and expressive vocal performances, noted especially for her almost unconstrained vocal range. The combined effect of the overwhelmingly popular response to her performances and the personal revelation of how wonderful it is to sing on stage led Yae to want to sing in front of people whenever possible. From 1999, she sung in all sorts of places, notably restaurants and small bars, but ultimately had no contact with other musicians or a record label.

As time passed, she formed a band, expanded her musical capacity to incorporate genres related to world and pop music, and experienced songwriting and composing with creations like "I Feel" and "Hana yo kaze yo" for the first time. In June 2000, Yae made her official debut with the album new Aeon, released under Pony Canyon's organic new age sublabel Leafage. In November of the same year, she released her first maxi single, "Kaze no michi", selected as the ending theme song for the TV program Suteki na Uchusen Chikyugo. This was the first of several musical productions related to visual media that she was involved in. In 2002, she sung and provided lyrics for a new arrangement of one of Chopin's piano sonatas, used in a TV commercial on Pioneer. She also sung the ending theme song for the movie 13 Kaidan and took a similar role on the animated movie Nitabo.

Yae released her second album, Blue Line, on January 2003, celebrated in a successful live concert the following year. On August 2003, Yae was chosen to be the vocalist of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for the GameCube. She provided vocals for the opening theme "Kaze No Ne" and ending song "Starry Moonlit Night", offering an airy organic sound to Kumi Tanioka's compositions. Her vocals were beautifully complemented by performances of various ancient instruments from ROBA HOUSE in the original versions, though were also subject to experimental arrangements, where Yae's voice radiated as an ethereal force amidst minimalistic textures and various electronic sounds. "Kaze No Ne," in particular, proved highly successful among gamers and became the centrepiece of Yae's second official single. During this period, she also took part in several productions as a radio actress and is now a DJ of several radio programs on behalf of FM Kyoto and FM Fukuoka.

After another successful single, "To You, The Unknown" and a collaboration with another musician, Yae created her most ambitious musical production to date, the concept album Yae - Flowing to the Sky. Released in February 2004, it featured organic interpretations of traditional folk songs and incorporated her two preceding singles. Yae's latest album, Aloha Nui, produced by Teresa Bright and recorded in Hawaii for release in July 2004, was entered into the eminent annual Hawaii Music Awards. While Yae hasn't been especially active over the last two years, she has many ambitions, both musically and relating to dance, art, acting, philanthropy, and collaborations with other musicians.

List of Songs for Related Projects

List of Covered Albums