Their music is distinguished by the distinctive vocals of the late lead singer Shinji Sato, the drumming of Kin-Ichi Motegi, and rocksteady basslines of Yuzuru Kashiwabara.

While never achieving widespread commercial success during their active years, Fishmans gradually accumulated an international cult following and wider recognition.

In May 1988, Fishmans would start performing live in small venues in Tokyo, and bassist Yuzuru Kashiwabara would join their ranks in August of the same year.

[citation needed] Producer ZAK would make his first of many appearances with Fishmans for a live concert performed that year in June, marking the beginning of a long collaborative history between him and band writer Sato.

The project was meant to express "a feeling of winter" within its four track runtime, and bears an only faint resemblance to their first LP due to its experimental nature.

The band quickly developed a very easy-going sound (mainly influenced by reggae and dub, but also including elements of rock, pop, drum and bass, hip hop, ska, etc.

In 1992, the Japanese broadcasting company Fuji TV approached the group to write a theme song for television show 90 Days Totenam Pub (90日間トテナムパブ), and in response the band produced the first of many renditions of "100mm-Chottono (100ミリちょっとの)".

The record took a much more experimental direction with their sound, featuring everything from jazz rock to sunshine pop, throwing multiple styles at the wall to see what would stick.

Despite this experimentation, Fishmans always succeeded in avoiding reggae cliches, keeping a dub foundation powered by Motegi and Kashiwabara's rocksteady rhythm section.

The band would follow the release of this record with many live performances, including appearances at Shibuya Parco, Shinsaibashi Club Quattro, and Nissin Power Station.

They would proceed to tour around Tokyo from November 1 until the end of the year, changing their sound to approach a more rock-laiden style in preparation for the release of a fourth album.

On February 2, 1994, Fishmans released their maxi-single Go Go Round This World!, furthering the sound achieved on Neo Yankees' Holiday towards a more funk-oriented direction.

The single included a popular alternate mix of "Smilin' Days, Summer Holiday" that transformed the laid-back dub track into an energetic and bombastic jam that foreshadowed the sensibilities coming in their next album.

Despite this sudden departure, the group released their second maxi-single on June 17 entitled Melody, a groovy piano-based production that served as one of Fishmans' most important singles going forward.

On October 21, single My Life and new album Orange were released simultaneously, taking the group towards a more defined funk rock sound, along with a newly redefined version of "Melody".

On February 1, 1996, Fishmans would release their fifth studio album Kūchū Camp (空中キャンプ), which readily flaunted a more stripped-down, tight production quality.

Producer ZAK and writer Sato would often work together on the record to create songs that were more stripped down to their most basic elements, instead of flooding them with lush backgrounds, which contributed to a simpler, cleaner and more crisp output.

In celebration of a successful album release, the group embarked on a 10-show tour titled Young but Historical (若いながらも歴史あり) which would much later be printed on DVD video.

Their final studio project, Uchū Nippon Setagaya (宇宙 日本 世田谷), was released on July 24 and took the group in a much more ambient pop direction than their previous LPs.

Lyrically, the album focused on personal everyday life while retaining a wide worldview that inspired the title of the record, steadily magnifying from space, down to Japan, and down to the city of Setagaya.

The album included single Magic Love, as well as standout tracks "Walking in the Rhythm", "Weather Report" and others, pushing much of the record to stand out as a classic in their discography.

To coincide with the album's release, a tour entitled Uchū Nippon Okudaizumu (宇宙 日本 奥田イズム) was conducted, which included twelve shows across Japan.

[8] Fishmans proceeded to make numerous appearances on Space Shower TV throughout 1998, after which in 2007 three "episodes" were released on DVD cataloging their complete broadcasts on the program.

In December 1998, Fishmans held five concerts for the Otokotachi no Wakare Tour (男達の別れツアー) to grant bass player Kashiwabara a last hurrah with the group.

The following month, Motegi was supported by Kashiwabara, Honzi, Darts, as well as former members Hakase-Sun and Kensuke Ojima on a three-show live event in Japan titled Fishmans-teki Kumiai (フィッシュマンズ的組合) under the Fishmans name.

Kashiwabara, who had originally planned to abandon the music industry, eventually joined forces with Yusuke Oya (ex-LabLife) to form Polaris,[11] whose spacey and dubby tracks bear significant resemblance to Fishmans' sound in the late '90s.

On November 22, 2005 the remaining members of Fishmans paid tribute to their fans and Shinji Sato by performing live at the Rising Sun Rock Festival.

In 2006, The Long Season Revue was released on DVD (directed by Kensuke Kawamura), which contained a nearly complete live video of Fishmans' tribute concert on November 22 of the previous year.