Perfume's song 'Polyrhythm' to appear on soundtrack of 'Cars 2'

Perfume, the Japanese girl group from Hiroshima, is to lend their hit song "Polyrhythm" to Pixar for use in the upcoming animated movie "Cars 2." The collaboration apparently came about when a Perfume fan on the movie's crew recommended "Polyrhythm" to the producers, who were looking for a Japanese artist for a scene that takes place in Japan.

Director John Lasseter -- a longtime Japan fan -- is said to have liked the way the futuristic pop sound blended with the neon cityscapes of the Japanese scenes and approved the selection. The song will also appear on the movie's soundtrack, which goes on sale in June.

Perfume is a techno-pop trio consisting of Ayano Omoto, Yuka Kashino and Ayaka Nishiwaki. The group debuted locally in 2001 and made their transition to a major label in 2005, but their greatest success came when the band collaborated with Yasutaka Nakata, founder of the group Capsule and the Contemode label.

"Polyrhythm" has already garnered some attention abroad, appearing in video games such as Konami's "Dance Dance Revolution" and Namco's "Taiko no Tatsujin." Former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman also released a cover version of the song on his album "Tokyo Jukebox."

However, this is the first time that the song has been optioned for a major Hollywood motion picture and is set to offer the girls far greater international exposure than they have enjoyed so far.

"Cars 2" is scheduled for release in Japan on July 30.

© Compiled from news reports