Etsuko Yakushimaru

Born on June 3rd, 1987, Etsuko Yakushimaru (やくしまる えつこ, Yakushimaru Etsuko) is a Japanese singer, producer, composer, lyricist, arranger and artist who unleashed her debut studio album Blu-Day in 2010 as Etsuko Yakushimaru & D.V.D. The follow-up, Radio Onsen Eutopia, came in 2013 and her third, Flying Tentacles, in 2016 under the Yakushimaru Experiment moniker. She has contributed to a string of talked-about anime series such as The Tatami Galaxy, Arakawa Under the Bridge, and Sailor Moon Crystal, singing the opening theme song of season three, "Fall in Love with the New Moon." In 2017, she melded science with pop and won the European Commission's STARTS prize for Artistic Exploration after converting her song "I’m Humanity" into DNA and rolled out a trio of singles the following year: "AfterSchoolDi(e)stra(u)ction", "Songs of Atarima Etsuko," and "Ballet Mécanique" (as Etsuko Yakushimaru & Yoshinori Sunahara). The Songs of Atarima Etsuko album landed in 2018 while 2022 saw the release of the Yakushimaru Etsuko Metro Orchestra Existence of Us EP.