Ukigumo (Ryosuke Nagaoka)

Overview

Ryosuke Nagaoka (長岡亮介, born October 7, 1978 in Chiba, Japan) is a Japanese musician, singer and guitarist. Under the stage name Ukigumo (浮雲, "drifting cloud"), he is the second guitarist of Ringo Sheena's band Tokyo Jihen, and he is the lead vocalist and guitarist of his own band Petrolz. In Tokyo Jihen he also took on lead vocals, backing vocals, rap and mandolin on certain songs. He is also an in-demand support guitarist, having worked with Ringo Sheena, Gen Hoshino, illion (Yojiro Noda of RADWIMPS), Ohashi Trio, Original Love and LOVE PSYCHEDELICO.

Career

Early life and beginnings

Born and raised in public housing in Chiba Prefecture, Nagaoka grew up with bluegrass and country music played by his father, an amateur enthusiast. He began piano lessons at age 9 and took up the guitar in junior high school, later joining his father's country band while in high school. While at Tokai University he began working as a guitarist, including in the band of a professional country singer, and entered Sony Music's NEWDIGSOUL Audition. Even after his major-label success he has continued to play irregularly with a country band at a venue in Akasaka.

2000s

In 2000 he joined Shiina Junpei's backing band The Evil Vibrations, which led to his friendship with Junpei's younger sister, Ringo Sheena. In 2002 he sang lead on an internet-released cover of TOTO's "Georgy Porgy" with the Shiina siblings, his first vocal work. In 2003 he took part in Sheena's third album, Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana, playing guitar and vocal percussion, and wrote and arranged the vinyl bonus track "Ichijiku no Hana". In 2004 he helped produce Sheena's demos for Tokyo Jihen's debut album Kyōiku; his guitar riff from the demo was adopted as the intro of the single "Sōnan". That year he also spent about six months studying in London.

He formed Petrolz in February 2005 and, that summer, replaced departing first guitarist Mikio Hirama in Tokyo Jihen, receiving the name Ukigumo from Sheena. In 2007 he contributed to Sheena's album Heisei Fūzoku, playing guitar on "Gamble" and writing the Japanese lyrics and music for "Oiran". In July 2007 he wrote his first Tokyo Jihen song, the single "OSCA". In 2009 he arranged and sang backing vocals on "Marunouchi Sadistic (EXPO Ver.)" and wrote "Mezame" for Rie Tomosaka.

2010s

On December 31, 2011, he backed Sheena at the 62nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen with Tokyo Jihen. The band disbanded on February 29, 2012, after which he joined Ohashi Trio's "ohashiTrip" tour. In 2013 he supported illion in London and Hamburg, and began working with Gen Hoshino after playing on the single "Gag", going on to join Hoshino's live shows and recordings. He also joined the project Gokumontō Ikka, involving Avu-chan of Queen Bee, in 2013.

In October 2014 he released his first solo work, the three-track CD LOUNGE LOVER. That year he joined Sheena's arena tour band The Mighty Galactic Empire and appeared at the 65th Kōhaku. In 2015 he held a solo show in Taiwan, played festivals including FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL and ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL with Sheena's band MANGARAMA and Hoshino's band, joined Sheena's first overseas concert in Taiwan, and played in a special band for LOVE PSYCHEDELICO's Hong Kong and Taiwan tour. At the 66th Kōhaku he sang backing vocals for Sheena and played guitar for Hoshino.

In 2016 he supported Hoshino's "YELLOW VOYAGE" tour, Ohashi Trio's national tour and Original Love's 25th anniversary tour. In September his cover of Pizzicato Five's "Tokyo wa Yoru no Shichiji" (with new lyrics by Sheena, retitled "Rio wa Asa no Shichiji"), sung under his real name, was played during the flag handover portion of the Rio 2016 Paralympics closing ceremony. In 2017 he joined Hoshino's "Continues" arena tour, and in October performed the remade song on NHK as part of the special unit HUMAN ERROR with MIKIKO and Ringo Sheena.

2020s

Tokyo Jihen reformed on January 1, 2020, with Ukigumo returning. The band released the mini-album News in 2020 and the full album Ongaku in 2021. At the 71st Kōhaku on December 31, 2020, he appeared with Tokyo Jihen and also backed Gen Hoshino as guitarist. As of 2024, Petrolz has released three albums and two mini-albums; on November 26, 2024, the band's drummer Toshihide Kawamura was found dead in his home.

Selected discography

• With Tokyo Jihen: Kyōiku (2004), Adult (2006), Variety (2007), Sports (2010), Dai Hakken (2011), Color Bars (2012), News (2020), Ongaku (2021)
• With Petrolz: Renaissance (2015), GGKKNRSSSTW (2019), plus live albums, EPs and singles
• Solo and collaborations: LOUNGE LOVER (2014); Sessions with Takao Tajima (2018)

Musical style

Nagaoka's favorite guitarist is country player Pete Anderson, and his inventive phrasing is rooted in country and bluegrass, blended with many other genres. He excels at chicken picking and uses slide, fingerpicking and effects such as wah pedals to shape his sound. He often plays lines that do not sound like typical guitar parts, sometimes imitating keyboards, horn sections or scratching. Producer Seiji Kameda has said that playing a straight eight-beat riff is not Ukigumo's style unless it is very deliberate. His economical, highly functional playing is known for making songs shine with a minimum of notes.

Personality and interests

He did not sing or write songs until encouraged by Ringo Sheena; he began composing seriously after forming Petrolz, and his London study also shaped his approach. He is an avid fan of cars (owning a Citroën Ami and a Citroën BX) and bicycles, and is a well-known collector of bizarre guitars, owning around 50. His most trusted instrument is a 1969 Fender Telecaster.