Cibo Matto didn't spring out of nowhere, it evolved over time as two friends pursued their musical careers together. Before settling into the current forum of music collaboration, Yuka Honda and Miho formed a loose punk jam band know as "Leitoh Lychee". While hanging out writing music or after a night's gig, they often wandered over to one of the many great New York restaurants to relax, talk, and enjoy the food. New York is a place where any time, day or night, food from a diverse set of cultures can be found. Like their eclectic tastes in music, they shared the same eclectic taste in food. Slowly there developed a fusion between Yuka and Miho's friendship, their shared love for food, and their desire to make music. Out of this fusion, the band Cibo Matto was born.

Cibo Matto recorded their first mini CD on the Japanese recording label known as "Error Records" . The self named mini album "Cibo Matto", was released in Japan by the Error label. This CD was released in 1995. The CD included material already prepared in the United States for demos and their two independent 7" singles. The hard work that Yuka and Miho had put in over the years came together in the release of the CD, "Viva! La Woman", in early 1996. With the distribution resources of Warner Brothers Records behind them, Cibo Matto found a great deal of new success and popularity. Their second release on Warner Brothers was the mini CD titled, "Super Relax", release in 1997.

Sean Lennon joined Miho and Yuka in the studio to provide the bass lines on most of the tracks for the "Super Relax" album. After the release of Super Relax, Cibo Matto went back to playing live gigs. They started taking Sean along on tour to accompany them on bass guitar. Over time, Sean came to be recognized as a member of what had been a two person band.

In addition to Sean on bass, Cibo Matto enlisted Timo Ellis to play drums and help out on vocals while touring. When it came time to start recording their third major release in 1998, "Stereotype A", Timo was there. They went into the studio as a four piece band, but by the end of the sessions another full time member, Duma Love, had been added to the band's bill. Duma plays electric drums, percussion, and he also raps. Duma can be heard on "Stereotype A" doing the impressive rap on "Lint Of Love" and also the human beat box on "Clouds".

The band has slowly been formed into its current format, Yuka Honda, Miho, Timo Ellis, Duma Love, Rick Lee (bass), Brandt Abner (keyboards), and Ganda (vocals); with special guest appearances by their network of musical associates and friends. Each member shares a common interest in the cooperative development of new musical ideas. Miho describes the band's musical process by saying, "What I'm proudest of on "Stereotype A" is the collaboration. It's the product of four people listening all the time."
( INFO COURTESY OF: http://www.damoon.net/CIBOMATTO.htm )

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

"We wanted a title that you have to chew on a little, not just swallow whole." yuka honda, on the band's name

"People always expect you to choose sides between digital or analog, old school or new school, even between Chinese or Italian food. Well, we eat everything." miho hatori

"People are mistaken if they think sampling is just patching together some cool old music. I am not interested in re-playing someone else's music." yuka honda, on sampling

"Our first songs were written to be played live in tiny places like CBGB's Gallery, and what's on our first record is pretty much what we did live at our first shows. We were kind of test-driving and we didn't know shit. We've learned and evolved. On Stereotype A, we spent time experimenting, taking chances, to think about the album as a whole…to try to achieve our potential. We set much bigger goals." yuka honda, on the bands' growth

"What I'm proudest of on Stereotype A is the collaboration. It's the product of four people listening all the time." miho, on collaborating with sean, yuka, and timo

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