The Japanese psychedelic pop group Water Fai were founded in Osaka in 2002 by Yuko Kureyama (guitar, vocals), Yumi Norimoto (guitar, vocals), Makiko Toba (bass, vocals), and Mayumi Ennaka (keyboards). (Sole male member Tadahiko Aono joined on drums as of 2007.) The four women gave their first performance as the background music for a live painting event. They self-released their debut album, Girls in the White Dream, in Japan in September 2006. It was re-released in the U.S. by Brooklyn-based independent label White Shoe Records on April 15, 2008, after White Shoe act the Exeter Popes discovered Water Fai while on tour in Japan. ~ William Ruhlmann