Cibo Matto

Cibo Matto

Company type	Musical group
Industry	Music
Founded	1994 in New York City, United States
Founder	Yuka Honda, Miho Hatori
Defunct	December 2017
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Products	Studio albums: Viva! La Woman (1996), Stereo Type A (1999), Hotel Valentine (2014)

Cibo Matto (; ) was an American alternative rock ensemble established by Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori in New York City in 1994. Their initial album, Viva! La Woman (1996), prominently featured lyrics centered around culinary themes. The follow-up record, Stereo Type A (1999), broadened their thematic range and included guest appearances from Sean Lennon, Timo Ellis, and Duma Love.

Both Honda and Hatori are Japanese expatriate musicians. While Viva! La Woman sold approximately 40,000 copies in Japan, it achieved greater commercial success in the United States with sales exceeding 74,000 units. Their expanding audience in Japan eventually led to a contract with the Japanese label Commmons in 2014.

Following an almost ten-year break, Honda and Hatori reunited in 2011 to perform live shows and issue new recordings. Their third studio release, Hotel Valentine (2014), reached number 168 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band officially dissolved in December 2017.

Viva! La Woman: 1994–1996

After collaborating in the noise rock group Leitoh Lychee, Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda founded Cibo Matto in 1994, with Honda handling instrumentation and Hatori as lead vocalist. In 1995, they issued a self-titled EP through El Diablo Records, which caught the attention of Warner Bros. Records, who signed them later that year. Their first major-label album, Viva! La Woman, produced by Mitchell Froom, featured lyrics inspired by food, aligning with the band’s name meaning "Crazy Food" in Italian. The lead single "Sugar Water" achieved moderate success on college radio and dance charts, supported by a creative split-screen music video directed by Michel Gondry. After MTV exposure for "Know Your Chicken" and "Sugar Water," Cibo Matto appeared on television programs such as Oddville, Viva Variety, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The track "Birthday Cake" was included in the soundtrack of the video game Jet Set Radio Future. In 1996, they contributed "Águas De Março (Waters of March)" to the AIDS awareness compilation album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin.

Stereo Type A: 1997–2001

In 1997, Cibo Matto released the EP Super Relax, which saw the group expand with additions including Sean Lennon and Timo Ellis, later joined by Duma Love. Lennon’s debut solo album Into the Sun (1998) featured collaborations from Hatori and Ellis and was produced by Honda. The enlarged lineup also appeared in the music video for Lennon's single "Home." The band’s sophomore album, Stereo Type A (1999), represented a stylistic evolution from their debut and garnered favorable critical reception. That same year, they performed alongside Luscious Jackson at Toronto’s The Opera House.

Hiatus: 2002–2010

Cibo Matto remained active on tour until their disbandment in 2002. Honda explained that this decision was intended to facilitate growth by moving forward despite being challenging. During this interval, members focused on individual projects. In 2007, a compilation titled Pom Pom: The Essential Cibo Matto was released.

Reunion and Hotel Valentine: 2011–2017

Cibo Matto revealed their reunion on March 18, 2011, just before participating in a benefit concert at Columbia University to support those affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. This event featured notable performers such as Yoko Ono and Sonic Youth. The positive reception led to a follow-up performance that included acts like the Plastic Ono Band and Patti Smith.

On June 26, 2011, the band appeared at the Hollywood Bowl alongside Yellow Magic Orchestra for another charitable event. Their US reunion tour, titled "Yeah, Basically Cibo Matto," kicked off on May 16, 2011, promoting an upcoming studio album set for release in 2012. In July 2012, they supported Wilco on tour, with Yuko Araki joining as drummer.

During the June 2013 Meltdown Festival in London, Cibo Matto showcased new material and announced plans for an album release in 2014. According to Pitchfork, Hotel Valentine was slated for release on February 14, 2014, accompanied by the "MFN" music video. The album reached number 168 on the Billboard 200 chart.

In 2014, Cibo Matto signed with the Japanese label Commmons, which led to performances at events including the Summer Sonic Festival and concerts at Blue Note Jazz Clubs in Nagoya and Tokyo.

September of that year brought news of their Fall Flavor Tour along with a new video for "Déjà Vu," directed by Jean Claude Billmaier in collaboration with Marabigo. The video was described by Pitchfork as "vibrantly colorful," while Spin referred to it as "stylish bubblegum pop-meets-digital-disaster." Rioux served as the opening act for several US dates, with Nels Cline joining them on tour.

In 2015, they completed two tours: the "Avocado Tour" across Japan and the "Banana Split Tour" covering the eastern United States and Canada. On December 11, 2017, Cibo Matto announced their disbandment, framing it as a "necessary and positive change."

Band members

• Yuka Honda: sampler, sequencer, keyboard instruments including piano, organ, synthesizer, harpsichord; backing vocals (1994–2002, 2011–2017)
• Miho Hatori: lead vocalist, percussionist, acoustic guitarist (1994–2002, 2011–2017)
• Sean Lennon: bass guitar, electric and twelve-string acoustic guitars, drums, percussion, synthesizer; backing vocals (1997–2002)
• Timo Ellis: drums and percussion, bass guitar, electric and acoustic guitars; backing vocals (1997–2002)
• Duma Love: percussionist, vocalist, turntablist, beatboxer (1997–2002)
• Yuko Araki: drummer and backing vocalist (2011–2017)

Timeline

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 id:voc  value:red        legend:Lead_vocals
 id:keys   value:purple     legend:Keyboards
 id:guitar   value:green      legend:Guitar
 id:bass  value:blue       legend:Bass
 id:drums   value:orange     legend:Drums
 id:perc   value:claret      legend:Percussion
 id:bvoc   value:pink      legend:Backing_vocals
 id:bbox   value:gray(0.5)      legend:Beatboxing
 id:gray   value:gray(0.75) legend:EPs
 id:black  value:black      legend:Studio_albums

Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:01/01/1994 LineData =

 at:12/14/1995 color:gray layer:back
 at:01/16/1996 color:black layer:back
 at:01/28/1997 color:gray layer:back
 at:06/08/1999 color:black layer:back
 at:02/14/2014 color:black layer:back

BarData =

 bar:Miho text:"Miho Hatori"
 bar:Honda text:"Yuka Honda"
 bar:Lenn text:"Sean Lennon"
 Bar:Timo text:"Timo Ellis"
 Bar:Ark text:"Yuko Araki"
 bar:Duma text:"Duma Love"

PlotData=

 width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Honda from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/2001   color:purple
 bar:Honda from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/2001   color:pink width:3
 bar:Miho from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/2001  color:red
 bar:Miho from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/2001  color:claret width:7
 bar:Miho from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/2001  color:green width:3
 bar:Lenn from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001   color:blue
 bar:Lenn from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001   color:green width:9
 bar:Lenn from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001   color:purple width:7
 bar:Lenn from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001   color:orange width:5
 bar:Lenn from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001   color:pink width:3
 bar:Duma from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001   color:pink
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 bar:Timo from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001    color:orange
 bar:Timo from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001    color:blue width:7
 bar:Timo from:01/28/1997 till:12/31/2001    color:guitar width=5 green 
   (corrected below)
   

Correcting last line:

bar:Timo from...color=green width=5

Continuing:

bar:Timo from...color:pink width=3

bar Honda from March18_2011 onwards purple,pink

bar Miho same

bar Ark May16_2011 onwards orange,pink

</timeline>

Grand Royal affiliation

Despite being signed with Warner Bros. Records, Cibo Matto maintained a strong connection to the Grand Royal Records collective.

• Under the Grand Royal label, Honda and Hatori initiated the side project Butter 08 in 1996, collaborating with Russell Simins, Rick Lee, and Mike Mills.
• Hatori contributed to the Beastie Boys’ 1998 release, Hello Nasty, who were also the founders of Grand Royal.
• Sean Lennon launched his first album, Into the Sun (1998), through Grand Royal, featuring appearances by Honda, Hatori, and Ellis.
• Yumiko Ōno from Buffalo Daughter, previously signed to Grand Royal, added moog synthesizer and backing vocals on the 1999 album Stereo-Type A.
• The 2000 Grand Royal compilation At Home with the Groove Box included Lennon’s "Winged Elephants" and Honda and Hatori’s "We Love Our Lawyers", alongside artists such as Beck and Sonic Youth.
• After Grand Royal ceased operations in 2002, members contributed to the soundtrack for Jet Set Radio Future, which featured Cibo Matto’s "Birthday Cake".

Studio albums

• Viva! La Woman (1996)
• Stereo Type A (1999)
• Hotel Valentine (2014)

Compilations

• Pom Pom: The Essential Cibo Matto (2007)

EPs

• Cibo Matto (1995)
• Super Relax (1997)

Singles

• "Birthday Cake" 7" (1995)
• "Know Your Chicken" 7" (1996)
• "Working for Vacation" (1999)
• "Moonchild" (1999)
• "Spoon" (1999)

Music videos

• "Know Your Chicken" directed by Evan Bernard (1996)
• "Sugar Water" directed by Michel Gondry (1996)
• "MFN" directed by Georgia (2013)
• "Déjà Vu" directed by Jean Claude Billmaier (2014)

In popular culture

Cibo Matto is mentioned in the lyrics of Le Tigre’s "Hot Topic" and made an appearance performing in the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Their song "Birthday Cake" was included on the 1996 soundtrack Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy as well as in the 2002 video game Jet Set Radio Future.