Paint in Watercolour // Cradle (Version)

Hailing from Niigata, the cold countryside of Japan facing the Japan Sea, Paint In Watercolour were one of Japan's first shoegaze bands and represented the more obscure side of the Western-influenced and highly eclectic Shibuya-kei scene.
The original members were Masato Nunokawa (vocals and guitars), Kenichi Sekiguchi (guitars), Manabu Shimizu (bass) and Shigemi Sakyo (drums).

After releasing the six-song mini album "flow" (1991) from Victor's subsidiary indie label Aja Records, they made a major debut in 1992, releasing the "glare" ep and the album "unknown" in the same year. Their work showed influences from My Bloody Valentine and Ride, but also had Madchester tendencies a la Stone Roses. These influences lumped them into the Shibuya-kei scene along with other UK-styled bands such as Venus Peter, Secret Goldfish, Loco-Holidays and White Come Come.

Later Shimizu was replaced by Masayuki Maruyama, and the band released their second full-length, "velocity" (1993). This album featured Japanese lyrics unlike their earlier material, but failed to make much impact just the same.
The band called it quits and the members have got steady jobs.