Def Tech

Overview

Def Tech is a Japanese pop duo formed in 2001, made up of Shen, who was born in China and raised in Hawaii, and Micro, who is from Tokyo. They are signed to the independent label 2VOX. The duo describes its sound as "Jawaiian reggae" (Japan + Hawaii + Jamaica), a genre of their own making. The name combines two ideas, "super cool technique" and "not showing off your technique," and was given by Jesse, the vocalist of RIZE. The members handle their own songwriting, arranging and production.

Career

Breakthrough

Thanks to "My Way" — used in a Yokohama Tire "DNA S-drive" commercial, put into heavy rotation on radio stations nationwide and featured on the spring high school baseball digest show "Minna no Koshien" — their self-titled debut album, released on January 22, 2005, reached #1 and sold 2.8 million copies. It was the third best-selling album in Japan in 2005, and the duo performed at Live8 in Tokyo that July. They also became the first indie-label artist to appear at NHK's Kohaku Uta Gassen. Their first Music Station appearance came on June 24, 2005, with a medley of "My Way" and "KONOMAMA Def Tech reintroduc RIZE."

They followed with Lokahi Lani (June 29, 2005; 500,000 copies) and Catch the Wave (April 26, 2006; 1 million copies). At the 2005 Tokio Hot 100 Awards they won Best Song for "My Way" and Best New Artist, and at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards Japan they took Best Group Video for "Konomama." Live DVDs BUDOKAN Live and OKINAWA Live followed in December 2006.

Breakup and reunion

In November 2006 reports surfaced of friction between the two, but Micro took the stage at Shen's wedding party and declared that Def Tech would not break up. In February 2007 Micro founded his own label, Primary Color Recordz, within Universal Music, and made his solo debut on July 11, 2007. On March 24, 2007 he sang the national anthem at the Pacific League opening game at Chiba Marine Stadium. In September 2007, however, the duo announced their breakup on their official website, citing differing views on musical direction.

On June 3, 2010 they declared a comeback with the message "Def Tech is back again" on their website, and also announced it on Fuji TV's Mezamashi TV alongside the "A-1" video. The formal reunion came on October 27, 2010 with the fourth album Mind Shift (certified gold). Before release, fans could preview 90 seconds of each new song and download free sample MP3s, a promotional approach that continued through 24/7.

After the reunion

Albums since the reunion include UP (October 5, 2011), 24/7 (July 10, 2013), Howzit!? (June 3, 2015), Eight (July 6, 2016) and Powers of Ten (November 18, 2020). Compilations include GREATEST HITS (April 18, 2012; gold) and the mix CD Def Tech Best Mix (November 19, 2014), and the Def Tech Special Box Set (9 CDs + 2 DVDs) arrived on November 11, 2020. Since reuniting, the duo has tended to choose relatively small venues for its concerts.

On November 21, 2020 they appeared on the YouTube channel THE FIRST TAKE with a rearranged "My Way," and returned on December 2 with "Like I Do." They performed "My Way" on NHK's Utacon (April 6, 2021) and Music Station Ultra Super Live 2021 (December 24, 2021), and released The Best on December 22, 2021. On July 23, 2022 they performed "My Way" and "2 Good 2 Be True" on MUSIC BLOOD, and on July 3, 2024 they teamed up with BE:FIRST for "My Way" on the 2024 FNS Music Festival Summer.

Recent singles include "2 Good 2 Be True" (July 2022), "Save Me Tonight" (November 2022), "Automatic" (July 2023), "Weakends" (September 2023), "Ring D Alarm" (May 2024), "MAMA -beat by DJ YUTAKA-" (May 2024), "FANTASY" (July 2024), "Child in me" (March 2025) and "On the Shore" (May 2025). The album 4ELEMENTS was released on June 20, 2025.

Members

• Shen (born Shen Brown, May 9, 1981): Born in China and raised on Oahu, Hawaii. Visits to Japan every summer because of his father's work in applied linguistics led him to pursue music in Japan, and he moved there at age 20. He is bilingual in English and Japanese and is also a member of E.D.O.
• Micro (born Yuki Nishimiya, August 28, 1980): From Kamata, Ota Ward, Tokyo, and a graduate of Hosei University. His family ran a surf shop, and he visited Hawaii often as a child and surfed from elementary school. He wrote the lyrics and music for "ALISA IN WONDERLAND" on Arisa Mizuki's 2011 album SpeciAlisa and appeared in the Broadway musical In the Heights in April 2014.

Collaborations

Def Tech has worked with Bennie K ("Better Days feat. Def Tech"), RIZE ("Vibration"), DJ SOULJAH ("Transformer"), SPiCYSOL ("THE SHOW"), MONKEY MAJIK ("O.G. Summer"), Jake Shimabukuro ("One Day"), and others.

Musical style

Def Tech's sound is built on reggae and blends Japanese, Hawaiian and Jamaican elements into what they call Jawaiian reggae. Their songs move between English and Japanese and carry a surf-culture atmosphere, with the members writing, arranging and producing themselves. They have said they release good songs freely and discard weaker ones, and they have produced numerous remixes, including their Jawaiian Mix series.