This article is about a music group. For Christopher Columbus ship see Niņa.
NiNa are a six-piece group formed in 1999 containing former members of the B52s (Kate Pierson), the British group Japan (bassist Mick Karn), and the Japanese groups the Judy and Mary (vocalist Yuki) and the Plastics (Takemi Shima and Masahide Sakuma), plus session drummer Steven Wolf. Sakuma composed most of the music with Pierson and Yuki providing the sometimes amusing, sometimes bizarre and sometimes beautiful lyrics. From the 30-second opening track, which starts with ominous techno music and ends with Yuki and Pierson exclaiming "Hello everybody nice to meet you we're Nina", the band's eponymous first and only album is very diverse. A number of songs song like no other band, while a few sound as if a Japanese singer has wandered into a B-52s recording session and been invited to join in. The voices blend well with both singers possessing acrobatic voices which in an instant can change from soft to shouty. The distinctive album contains a wide variety of music from straight forward ballads to electronica. Credited as "conceptual and visual agent provocateur", Shima appears to have played a Brian Eno like role on the recording. The album and two singles which proceeded it were all hits in Japan but are unfortunately almost unknown in other parts of the world.
Albums: Nina Singles:Happy Tomorrow; Aurora Tour