Ikimono-Gakari

Ikimono-Gakari

Ikimono Gakari, one of the most successful young pop-rock bands of Japan, actually claim to be not so young, citing 1999 as formation date. However, their early attempt at rocking out didn't go anywhere. The group was established in Kanagawa between college mates Mizuno Yoshiki and Yamashita Hotaka, who expanded to a trio by the end of the year when they picked up their girl underclassman Yoshioka Kiyoe as the vocalist. Right from the start the band was dubbed Ikimono Gakari -- a name that is as amusing in English as it is in Japanese, translating ‘those in charge of the school pets'. However, in 2000, after a year of spirited street performances, the band members abandoned Ikimono Gakari in favor of their student careers and went to study in the university. That's a very banal story; what's unusual here is that in 2002, after getting through with their courses, they resurrected the project, and not just in a sense of fun class reunion. The band got picked by and independent label Thunder Snake, and by 2003 played sold-out local shows and released its first EP, Makoto ni Sen'etsu nagara First Album wo Koshiraemashita, which translates ‘Indeed, We Were Being Audacious When We Made Our First Album'. Irony is rarely the path to mainstream recognition, but the pop sensibility of the band soon propelled them to the top league: in 2005, after two more ‘indies', they were picked by a major label (Epic Records), and didn't miss out their chance. Ikimono Gakari's first single for the new label, Sakura (2006), reached the Oricon charts and lingered there for 29 weeks, although not rising above #17. That was followed by the debut LP with the sweetly naïve name Sakura Saku Machi Monogatari (The Story of the Town Where Cherry Blossoms Bloom), that scored #4 on the charts. The band solidified their success in a traditional Japanese way -- by providing a song for the long-running and very popular anime series Bleach (the single Hanabi, 2006). Another 7 singles, released over the course of the next 1.5 years, paved the way for the second LP, Life Album, that was out in February 2008, debuting on #2 in the charts and selling more than 150,000 copies in three weeks. ~ Alexey Eremenko, All Music Guide

Source: http://music.aol.com/artist/ikimono-gakari/biography/599016