Cibo Matto (meaning crazy food in Italian, and pronounced {ˈtʃiːbo ˈmatto}) was a New York City-based band formed by two Japanese women, Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori, in 1994.[1] The lyrics in their songs are primarily concerned with food[2] and their sound has been described as a combination of "Jazz, Hip-Hop, Brazilian music, African Drumming, and Disco samples".[3]
While the two founding members of the group are Japanese expatriates,[1] they are not especially popular in Japan; the group did not gain nearly as large a following in Japan as it did in the United States. According to Billboard, their "minialbum" Viva La Woman! sold only 20,000 copies in Japan but over 74,000 copies in the U.S.[4] Japanese producers did not understand the appeal of the group.[5]
Matrix
Mona in her room with a Cibo Matto poster on the wall
Cibo Matto are also popular in the Matrix, as seen in the Matrix comic "There Are No Flowers in the Real World", where Rocket's girlfriend Mona Thomas has a poster of the band up on her wall.
One of the band's most popular songs Sugar Water has the line "When a black cat crosses my path" in the chorus, a cultural reference paralleled in the déjà vu scene in The Matrix.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.last.fm/music/Cibo+Matto
- ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p169814/biography
- ↑ W. DIRE WOLFF. "Cibo Matto Review." Web. <http://www.wdirewolff.com/JapCibo.htm>.
- ↑ BELL, CARRIE. "Warner Bros. Positions Cibo Matto To Break Its 'Stereotype'." Billboard: 13. 1 May 1999.
- ↑ CONSIDINE, J. D. "Band Builds Lyrical Bridge Between Japan and the U.S.: Cibo Matto filters blues, funk, jazz through Asian aesthetic." Los Angeles Times. 11 Aug 1999.