"GBI (German Bold Italic)" is a song by Japanese music producer Towa Tei from his second studio album Sound Museum (1997). The song features vocals by Australian singer Kylie Minogue and Japanese musician Haruomi Hosono. Tei produced the song and co-wrote it with Minogue. It was released as a single in Japan by Elektra, Akashic, and East West Records on September 10, 1997, featuring several remixes and an original typeface designed by Hiro Sugiyama and the design team Enlightenment. A year later, Arthrob and East West Records distributed the single in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Twenty years after its initial release, Tei (pictured in 2007) re-produced "GBI (German Bold Italic)" for his album EMO (2017).
Sednaoui partly shot the music video in Wall Street, New York City (pictured in 2013), using a hand-held camera.
Scholars have linked the music video to Madonna's (pictured in 2001) "Nothing Really Matters" (1999), which was also inspired by the geisha figure.
Minogue performing in a kimono-style short dress during the "Naughty Manga Girl" act of her KylieX2008 tour
Towa Tei is a Japanese artist, record producer, and DJ. Born in Yokohama, Japan, Towa was a member of Deee-Lite, from the US label Elektra Records in 1990 and shot to fame via their international hit single, "Groove Is In the Heart". He made his solo debut with the album Future Listening! in 1994. He has since relocated from New York to rural Nagano prefecture in Japan.
Towa Tei in 2007
