J-band(HIGH AND MIGHTY COLOR)

High and Mighty Color (ハイ・アンド・マイティ・カラー ?) adalah grup musik heavy rock asal Jepang yang terdiri dari 6 personil. Mereka dikontrak perusahaan rekaman SME Records, dan berada di bawah manajemen Spice Music yang juga menangani Orange Range. Penggemar menyingkat nama grup ini sebagai Haikara.

Anggota

Nama asli: Maki Onaga (翁長麻紀 Onaga Maki?), menyebut dirinya dalam blog milik band sebagai Makio.
Setelah bertemu anggota nd Anti-Nobunaga, Maki membatalkan rencana　sekolah di Kanada. Maki menjadi peran utama dalam film Anata o Wasurenai karya sutradara Junji Hanadō.
Nama asli: Yūsuke Kuniyoshi (国吉祐輔 Kuniyoshi Yūsuke?)
Perannya dalam grup Anti-Nobunaga yang merupakan cikal bakal Haikara adalah sebagai vokalis utama.
Nama asli: Kazuto Heshiki (平識和人 Heshiki Kazuto?)
Gitar utamanya adalah merek ESP yang dipesan khusus dan diberi nama Purple Haze.
Nama asli: Yūsuke Ishikawa (石川祐輔 Ishikawa Yūsuke?)
Gitar yang digunakannya merek ESP yang dipesan khusus dan diberi nama Rin.
Nama asli: Masakatsu Minei (嶺井政克 Minei Masakatsu?)
Nama asli: Satoshi Nishihira (西平 聡 Satoshi Nishihira?)

[sunting] Karier musik

Selain vokalis Maki, kelima anggota High and Mighty Color memulai karier musik mereka dengan grup heavy metal Anti-Nobunaga. Meg dan Sassy membentuk Anti-Nobunaga dengan bantuan teman sekelas mereka, Kazuto, mACKAz, dan Yuusuke. Mereka sering mengikuti kontes band dan sering menang.

Pada musim panas tahun 2003, Anti-Nobunaga muncul dalam konser yang diadakan Spice Records yang pernah mengorbitkan Orange Range. Anti-Nobunaga diikutsertakan dalam album CD kompilasi Okinawa 2003. Setelah bergabungnya vokalis wanita Maki (waktu itu berusia 17), mereka berenam menamakan band baru mereka sebagai High and Mighty Color. Penampilan publik yang pertama adalah di festival "Music Picnic" yang diadakan Spice Music, September 2004.[1]

Debut mereka dengan perusahaan rekaman besar dimulai 26 Januari 2005. Singel perdana "Pride" dijadikan lagu pembuka serial anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny musim kedua. Singel tersebut sempat menempati tangga singel Oricon di urutan nomor dua, dan terus laku hingga lebih dari 300 ribu keping.[2] Sepanjang Maret hingga April 2005, mereka mengadakan 7 kali pertunjukan di 7 kota dalam tur yang diberi nama "Free Live Showcase Tour 2005". Setelah itu, mereka merilis "Over" dan "Run Run Run" sebagai singel kedua dan ketiga.

Setelah tur musim panas "Bipartite Rock Tour" yang juga dilangsungkan di 7 kota, mereka merilis singel ke-4, "Days" dan album pertama, Go Over. Singel ke-5, "Style -get glory in this hand-" dijadikan image song untuk permainan video Shinobido: Way of the Ninja di PlayStation 2. Masih di akhir tahun yang sama, High and Mighty Color menerima Japan Record Award ke-47 sebagai Artis Pendatang Baru Terbaik.

Tahun 2006 dimulai mereka dengan tur musim dingin "Shake Now Baby '06" di 3 kota. Singel ke-6, "Ichirin no Hana" digunakan sebagai lagu pembuka serial anime Bleach musim ke-3 (episode 52-74 yang ditayangkan mulai 11 Januari 2006 di Jepang). Singel tersebut menjadi singel kedua mereka yang menempati tangga lagu Oricon di urutan nomor dua setelah "Pride". Di Amerika Serikat, album Go Over dirilis pada tanggal 21 Maret 2006.

Album kedua mereka, Gou on Progressive dirilis 5 April 2006 dan diikuti dengan tur keliling "Live Bee Loud". Hingga di akhir tahun 2006, Haikara merilis 2 buah singel lagi, singel ke-7 "Dive into Yourself" dan ""Enrai -Tooku ni Aru Akari-".

Awal tahun 2007 diawali dengan dirilisnya singel ke-9, "Tadoritsuku Basho" / "Oxalis", dan mulai diputarnya film yang dibintangi Maki, Anata o Wasurenai (26 Year Diary) di bioskop-bioskop Jepang. Lagu "Tadoritsuku Basho" dipakai sebagai lagu tema, dan "Oxalis" sebagai lagu sisipan.

Setelah album ke-3 San yang dirilis 21 Februari 2007, mereka merilis singel ke-10, "Dreams" (1 Agustus 2007) yang dipakai sebagai lagu penutup serial anime Darker than Black.

[sunting] Diskografi

[sunting] Singel

Era indie
  1. "Over" (24 November 2004) - label indie, produksi terbatas 1.500 keping
Label mayor
  1. "Pride" (26 Januari 2005)
    "Pride Remix" (26 Maret 2005)
  2. "Over" (20 April 2005)
  3. "Run Run Run" (22 Juni 2005)
  4. "Days" (17 Agustus 2005)
  5. "Style -Get Glory in this Hand-" (9 November 2005)
  6. "Ichirin no Hana" (11 Januari 2006)
  7. "Dive into Yourself" (26 Juli 2006)
  8. "Enrai -Tooku ni Aru Akari-" (25 Oktober 2006)
  9. "Tadoritsuku Basho / Oxalis" (24 Januari 2007)
  10. "Dreams" (1 Agustus 2007)
  11. "Amazing" (12 Desember 2007)
  12. "Flashback / Komorebi no Uta" 27 Februari 2008)

[sunting] Album studio

  1. Go Over (14 September 2005)
  2. Gou on Progressive (5 April 2006)
  3. San (21 Februari 2007)
  4. ROCK PIT (19 Maret 2008)

[sunting] Album kompilasi

  1. 10 Color Singles (26 Desember 2007)

[sunting] DVD

  1. Video Go Over (22 Februari 2006)

[sunting] Referensi

  1. ^ High and Mighty Color: Oricon Style Special Comment. Oricon Style. Diakses pada 8 November
  2. ^ High and Mighty Color: Profile. Diakses pada 8 November

[sunting] Pranala luar

03.14 | Category: | 0 komentar

J-Band (Vidoll)

History

[edit] 2002: Formation

On February 2, 2002 Vidoll was formed by Rame, who had recruited the other members starting with Tero followed by Jui and Ayano. Vidoll signed to Kisaki's Matina record label in 2002, and for their first release, Vidoll released two complementary EPs on July 21, 2002, Face Mayura and Face Pisaroto.

While on Matina, Vidoll also released their first single, "Occult Proposal", starting a tradition of Christmas Day single releases, and contributed to several compilation CDs.

[edit] 2003

After the Matina label shut down, the label founder, Kisaki, formed a smaller label in March 2003, Under Code Production. Vidoll then released another pair of singles followed by an EP release, "If...Yakubutsu Ranyou Bokumetsu Campaign". The release was followed by the band's first national tour in Japan, as well as their first solo live show. The band then released their first DVD, Doll Mansion 209 Goushitsu, showcasing their music videos. Later that year guitarist Ayano left the band for "musical differences". Hide was recruited as the new guitarist on September 7.

[edit] 2004

On March 10, the single "Wagahai wa, Korosuke Nari..." was released. This first press was limited to 10,000 and only available through mail order. This release would sell out, and a second pressing of 10,000 would later be released. On April 28, the French label Mabell released "Bijinkei," an 11 track compilation album of Vidoll songs for the European market. On June 30 both the single Ningyo and the Live DVD Gyaku went on sale.

The tour final "Ningyou Enzetsu" was held on September 11 in front of an audience of 900, and was the final stop in their one-man tour. A special copy of Romanesque Gothic was released with a special (all black) cover. The First press (red cover) went on sale September 29, along with the second press of Waghai wa, Korosuke Nari...". A live DVD of the event went on sale November 17, "Ningyou Enzetsu 2004.9.11 Liquidroom Ebisu".

Toward the end of the year several more one-man performances were held, and on December 15 "Mukashi Natsukashi Ningyoushuu~sono ichi," and "Mukashi Natsukashi Ningyoushuu~sono ni," were released. These two mini-albums were new recordings of songs from previously sold out releases. On this day the DVD "Ningyoukai PV" (containing two Music Videos) was also released.

[edit] 2005

On January 1, Vidoll's official fan club "Ningyou Kan" began. In March Vidoll had a One-man tour only for members of their fan club, for a total of 8 shows.

The Live DVD "Mijin Kakumei~Saishuu Kaukumei Yokokubi 1229~ was released, with over 3 hours of live footage. A special single and Music video (Remind Story) was released in two versions, the Osaka version and Tokyo version on April 22 and 26th, sold at two of their one-man shows.

On June 8, Mukashi Natsukashi Soushuuhen + Omake Tsuki was released. This is a re-release of the songs on the two "Mukashi Natsukashi Ningyoushuu" mini-albums, combined into one album, as the previous albums had quickly sold out all 10,000 copies. The "extra" was a music video on a DVD. On July 13 another Live DVD, from their "Roman Kokuhaku" live was released.

On April 26, at the Roman Kokuhaku one-man live, Jui announced that members Hide and Yukine were leaving Vidoll at the end of June. Messages from each band member were quickly posted on Vidoll's official website confirming the band was staying together. Hide's message stated that though he loved the band, the members, and the fans, the hectic tour schedule was effecting his health. Yukine left for personal reasons.

The band took one last tour "Toumeihanzai" before Hide and Yukine left on 6.26. This was a fan club only tour. The last concert with all the members was recorded and later released as a set of two DVDs through the fan club.

[edit] 2006

On June 13, two new members: Shun (of CalorZe and Gossip) and Giru (Lilith), joined Vidoll. Kisaki, the executive manager of Vidoll's label, Under Code Productions, announced that three of the label's bands, including Vidoll, would be "graduating" from the label.

[edit] 2007

During Memorial Day weekend, spring of 2007, Vidoll had their US premier at J-rock Revolution in Los Angeles, California. Yoshiki, of X Japan fame, hosted the event, and several other visual kei bands also had their US debut during the course of both nights.

[edit] 2008

On January 7, 2008, Megacon posted information on their official website confirming that Vidoll will be present at Megacon (March 7-9, 2008) for 2 autograph signings, 2 photo sessions, and a Q & A. Vidoll will release a DVD of their live show held at C.C. Lemon Hall on December 2nd, 2007. The two hour long DVD from Sword Records will go on sale for 4500 yen on March 5th.

[edit] Members

Former members

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums and EPs

[edit] Singles

[edit] DVDs

[edit] References

KOKESHI:DECONSTRUCTER (VIDOLL@THE J-ROCK SAGA)
Vidoll's Page at Grass Thread

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidoll"
03.12 | Category: | 0 komentar

J-Band (Alice Nine)

History

[edit] 2004-2005: Conception and early work

In August 2004,[5] Alice Nine formed after the disbandment of the band Givuss, and the band's vocalist, Shou, and guitarist Tora continued on to search for members to form a new band. Saga, the bassist for the band Delta Ark, and Nao, drummer for the bands Fatima and RusH, were also seeking bandmates as well, and the four members eventually joined together. Hiroto was the last member to join after Shou, Tora, Saga, and Nao spotted him at a performance with his band at the time, Baquepia. Shou explains that the "Alice" in the band's name was something that they believed sounded "very visual kei" to them, while the "Nine" is written in kanji and represents their origins as a Japanese band.[6]

Their first concert was held at the Ikebukuro Cyber on May 11, 2004 and soon after they released their first single, Namae wa, Mada Nai in July, and they soon toured with fellow PS Company band BIS. In November, their first EP, Gion Shouja no Kane ga Naru, was released, and later that month, they did a nation-wide tour with the band Karen from Under Code Productions.[5]

In 2005, the pace of CD releases increased; the band released the singles "Gin no Tsuki Kuroi Hoshi," "Yami ni Chiru Sakura," and "Yuri wa Aoku Saite" consecutively for three months. These singles were eventually compiled onto their first major EP, Kasou Musou Shi, through a joint deal with PS Company and King Records. Alice Nine also went on tour with several bands throughout the year, including Ayabie, Kra, and Kagrra. Following these events, the band had its first solo tour, Alice in Wonder Tour, in August that year.[7][2]

[edit] 2006: Zekkeishoku

In a short span of time after beginning the year, Alice Nine released several maxi singles, including "Kowloon -Nine Heads Rodeo Show-," "Fantasy", and the double A-side release, "Akatsuki/Ikuoku no Chandelier." The songs "Akatsuki" and "Ikuoku no Chandelier" were used as opening and closing themes in the second season of the anime series Meine Liebe. With the exception of these two songs, the singles were added onto the group's first full-length album, Zekkeishoku, which debuted on the Oricon daily charts at #4. The group completed the Kacho Fugetsu Vol. 1 tour in support of the album.[8][4]

The band continued with a string of solo tours throughout the rest of the year, such as the tour Kimi no Hitomi ni Utsuru wa Zekkeishoku in May and the Hello, New Super View tour in the fall. The latter ended with the final venue at Shibuya Kokaido on October 6; footage of the event was later released the following January on the live DVD Hello, Dear Numbers. Around the same time, the band's first DVD single, "Number Six," saw release. Directed by guitarist Tora, the DVD combined the music video with a short film. [7]

[edit] 2007: Alpha and mainstream success

A turning point for the band came when the single "Jewels" was released in March. The single allowed the band to land their first magazine cover and feature article with volume 171 of Shoxx Magazine.[9] On April 28 the band released 'Dive into the Sun', a photo book which comes with the song "Gekkou Yoku", which translates to "Moonlight Bath", which isn't included in any of Alice Nine's releases, althought the video for it was included in Alice in Pictures II [10]. Another landmark was Alice Nine's first performance outside of Japan at the JRock Revolution festival in Los Angeles, California on May 25, 2007. They joined with several other Japanese bands and became the closing performance of the Friday that weekend.[1] [11]

The release of the "White Prayer" single in June marked another milestone for the band's development; vocalist Shou explained in an interview with Shoxx Magazine that the song defined the style that the band was aiming for and hoped to maintain in the future. The process of the song's creation also came about more naturally than usual, as many songs until then were made through trial and error.[12] Later that year, on October 24, the group's single "Tsubasa" was released and peaked at number six on the Oricon charts,[13] making it one of their successful singles to date and landing the band a guest appearance on the Fuji Television variety show Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ for the first time.

On November 28, 2007, their second full-length album, Alpha, was released. The title for the album originated as a means to describe the band's return to their roots and beginning anew. The uppercase first letter of the Greek alphabet, Α, was chosen to symbolize this idea. Aside from the singles to be compiled onto the album, recording for songs began in September and lasted for approximately one month.[12] The album reached the ninth position on the Oricon weekly chart, selling over 17,000 copies in its first week.[14]

[edit] 2008-present: Vandalize

Alice Nine started off the year with another tour, alice nine. 2008 standing tour "A to U". However, complications arose when guitarist Tora was diagnosed with a spinal disc hernia, which had worsened over time to the point of numbness throughout the left side of his body. Finally seeking medical help, the tour had to be postponed until Tora recovered enough for the band to resume activities in Tokyo.[15]

The band released a new single, titled "Mirror Ball" on March 26, 2008. The title song of the single was used in the live-action movie adaptation of the manga Aquarian Age.[16]

Two compilations of the band's music videos, "Alice in Pictures I" and "Alice in Pictures II", were released on July 2, 2008. The DVDs contain approximately 8 music videos in chronological order of their original release, with "Alice in Pictures I" including the videos from "Gin no Tsuki Kuroi Hoshi" to "Number Six". "Alice in Pictures II" contains videos from "Jewels" to "Eraser -Memoire d'une fleur-", and also includes a new music video for "Gekkouyoku", a song which was exclusively included with the "Dive into the Sun" photobook.[17]

On August 6, the band released their latest single, "Rainbows." The single reached a peak mark of #3 on the Japanese Oricon daily charts which is currently the band's current top position on mainstream Japanese charts.[18] The band also started their tour called "Discotheque play like 'A' Rainbows" which coincided with the new single. The tour lasted the entire month, and the concert footage is scheduled for release on their live DVD called Discotheque play like "A" Rainbows -enter&exit- on October 29, 2008.[19]

A new single called "Cross Game" was released on December 10, 2008. The aforementioned song is currently being used as the ending theme song for anime Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D'S, and was released in two versions.[20] On December 19, 2008, the band's tour at the time would culminate in the grand final, named "Crossing the Supernova", at NHK Hall.[21]

A blog entry by vocalist Shou announced that the band is already in recording session for a third album named Vandalize, which is set for release on January 14, 2009.[22][23] "Cross Game" will be the third single to be featured on the album, along with "Mirror Ball" and "Rainbows" for a total of 11 tracks. The album's title comes from the theme of "the destruction of culture."[24]

[edit] Style

Alice Nine's musical style can mainly be described as rock, with touches of metal, pop, and more recently, a few instances of dance music. Their works range diversely, including heavier songs that were more prevalent in their early career, emotional ballads and medium tempo songs, and the lighter rock sound marked with more melodic instrumentation and synthesizers that is present on their more recent album, Alpha. Like some other Visual Kei bands, as they progressed through the years, the band experimented and released songs that focus more on the mainstream public.

The band's appearance and shift from a heavy visual kei look also took place over the length of their career. In early work, Alice Nine's clothing in promotional footage and live concerts was a sort of stylized take on traditional Japanese clothing, along with moderate makeup, piercings, and bright hair colors such as red and pale blonde. However, in 2006, the look began to fade out and essentially disappeared the year after, having been replaced with leather and the onset of street fashion. Music videos for "Blue Planet" and "Gekkouyoku" show off their recent relaxed and casual look, while videos such as those for "Cosmic World" and "Rainbows" are examples of forays into street fashion.

[edit] Members

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums and EPs

[edit] Singles

[edit] Home video

[edit] Bibliography

  • [2007.04.28] "Dive into the Sun" (photo book)
  • [2007.12.25] "Shiny Summer X'mas 2007" (photo book)
  • [2008.02.29] "Alpha" (band score and tablature)
  • [2008.03.27] "Zekkeishoku" (band score and tablature)
  • [2008.09.13] "alice nine. first piano collection" (piano solo tablature)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b ""Yoshiki and 4 Fini Surge Forward with Multi-Artist Festival, May 25-26"". animenewsnetwork.com. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2007-04-12/yoshiki-and-4-fini-surge-forward-with-multi-artist-festival-festival-may-25-26. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  2. ^ a b "CD Journal artist profile". cdjournal.com. http://www.cdjournal.com/main/artist/artist.php?ano=159382. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
  3. ^ ""CLJ Records artist profile". cljrecords.com. http://cljrecords.com/cms/content/view/98/87/. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
  4. ^ a b "Alice Nine special feature". cdjapan.co.jp. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/jpop/essentials/alice_nine/index.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  5. ^ a b "Barks.jp artist profile". barks.jp. http://www.barks.jp/artist/?id=1000001049&m=biograph. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
  6. ^ "Interview with JaME about JRock Revolution". jame-world.com. http://www.jame-world.com/us/article.php?id=2445. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  7. ^ a b "Alice Nine at King Records". kingrecords.co.jp. http://www.kingrecords.co.jp/alicenine/. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  8. ^ ""Alice Nine Hits the top 10"". oricon.co.jp. http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/ranking/19906/. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
  9. ^ "Interview in Shoxx Magazine about Jewels (translated by Jhouserock)". jhouserock.com. http://www.jhouserock.com/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=224&Itemid=516. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  10. ^ http://starsbright14.multiply.com/photos/album/19
  11. ^ "JRock Revolution interview". jrockrevolution.com. http://www.jrockrevolution.com/webzine/interviews/65-alice-nine-interview.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  12. ^ a b "Interview in Shoxx Magazine about Alpha (translated by Jhouserock)". jhouserock.com. http://www.jhouserock.com/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=243&Itemid=516. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  13. ^ ""Tsubasa" Oricon Ranking". oricon.co.jp. http://ranking.oricon.co.jp/free_contents/search/ranking_list.asp?itemcd=730885&samecd=1&chart_kbn=111&linkcd=40441771. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  14. ^ ""Alpha" Oricon Ranking". oricon.co.jp. http://ranking.oricon.co.jp/free_contents/search/ranking_list.asp?itemcd=736434&samecd=1&chart_kbn=11A&linkcd=31388602. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  15. ^ "Interview in Shoxx Magazine about Mirror Ball (translated by Jhouserock)". jhouserock.com. http://www.jhouserock.com/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=250&Itemid=516. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  16. ^ "aquarian-movie". official movie site. http://www.aquarian-movie.com/. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  17. ^ "Official website promotion for DVD compilations". pscompany.co.jp. http://web.pscompany.co.jp/alicenine/dvd/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  18. ^ "Official website news on Rainbows (Japanese)". pscompany.co.jp. http://web.pscompany.co.jp/alicenine/whan/index.cgi. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  19. ^ "Official website news on Rainbows (Japanese)". pscompany.co.jp. http://web.pscompany.co.jp/alicenine/disco/index.cgi. Retrieved on 2008-10-01.
  20. ^ "CROSS GAME information". pscompany.co.jp. http://web.pscompany.co.jp/alicenine/disco/single.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-01.
  21. ^ "Official updates on 2008 tours and releases (Japanese)". pscompany.co.jp. http://web.pscompany.co.jp/alicenine/whan/index.cgi. Retrieved on 2008-09-19.
  22. ^ ""Vandalize" information on CDJapan". cdjapan.co.jp. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=KICS-91416. Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
  23. ^ "Official site announcement of "Vandalize"". pscompany.co.jp. http://web.pscompany.co.jp/alicenine/vandalize/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
  24. ^ ""Recording samadhi" (Japanese)". ameblo.jp. http://ameblo.jp/alice-syou/entry-10149941130.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-21.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Nine"
03.11 | Category: | 0 komentar