Since the debut of Monkey Majik, Maynard and Blaise have both simultaneously worked solo ventures into the music industry to much acclaim[by whom?].

Monkey Majik was formed by Maynard Plant, Tom Pritchard, Chad Ivany, and Misao Urushizaka as a way to pass the times with friends in Aomori prefecture, Japan while serving as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in the JET Programme, 1998–2001.

With a line-up consisting of Urushizaka, Kuypers, and the Plant brothers, Monkey Majik released 1000 copies of their first EP, Tired, through Tower Records in Sendai in a personally-financed venture.

[citation needed] Shortly thereafter, Kuypers and Urushizaka left the group, and were replaced by current band members, ex-dental technician and salaryman, drummer Tax (Takuya Kikuchi) and bassist Dick (Hideki Mori).

Their fourth studio album, Sora wa Maru de.. (2007), had a slickly-produced pop-rock sound, with hip-hop artists m-flo and SEAMO participating.

In 2010, Monkey Majik produced and in 2011 released their sixth studio album, "Westview", a spiritual counterpart to "Eastview" reflecting the views of a Japanese in western society.

The lead single, Sunshine,[1] was used as the opening theme of Weekly Shōnen Jump's anime adaptation of its popular manga, Nurarihyon no Mago.

[2] They performed with figure skater and two-time Olympic champion, Yuzuru Hanyu, to the song "Change", which the band had recorded in collaboration with the Yoshida Brothers.