Exciting Japanese pop band, Angela!
ANGELA
Years active: 1993-present
Label: Starchild
MAIN MEMBERS
> atsuko
Full name: Atsuko Yamashita (山下 敦子 Yamashita Atsuko?)
Born: January 23, 1975
Origin: Okayama Prefecture
In charge of: Vocal, song composition and lyrics
> KATSU
Full name: Katsunori Hirasato (平里 勝敬 Hirasato Katsunori?)
Born: June 12, 1974
Origin: Okayama Prefecture
In charge of: Song composition and arrangement, plays keyboard and guitar
SUPPORT MEMBERS
> Jinbo-chan (じんぼちゃん?)
Full name: Yasuhiro Kojima (小島 億洋 Kojima Yasuhiro?)
Born: April 8
In charge of: drum
> Yuuki (ユウキ Yūki?)
Full name: Yūki Somekawa (染川 裕紀 Somekawa Yūki?)
Born: December 2
In charge of: bass
> kanaco
Full name: Kanako Yamaguchi (山口 佳名子 Yamaguchi Kanako?)
Born: June 18
In charge of: violin
> Hazuki (葉月?)
In charge of: trombone
> Manami (愛美?)
In charge of: trumpet
Nao (ナオ?)
In charge of: saxophone
BACKGROUND
Angela (stylized as angela) is a Japanese pop band, notable for having
their music portrayed as theme songs for several anime television shows.
The main members are Atsuko and Katsu. Their signature upbeat tunes and
rich arrangements is a dazzling mix of electronica, dance, rock, swing
jazz and ska. Angela’s energetic stage presence and stunning performance
brings together Atsuko’s versatile vocals and KATSU’s
multi-instrumental skills, instantly winning the hearts of audiences in
big scale international events like Otakon, Sakura-Con and Anime
Festival Asia. No stranger to the Oricon Chart, they've enjoyed great
success with a string of hits for countless anime titles.
Although both Atsuko and Katsu were born in Okayama Prefecture, they met
for the first time in Tokyo at a music school. In 1993 Angela was
formed and they began as street performers. In 1999 they made their
debut with the single memories, however this release went largely
unnoticed. However, in 2002 Angela signed on with Starchild. Their
breakthrough came when they wrote the opening song, "Asu e no brilliant
road" (明日へのbrilliant road), along with three different ending themes for
the anime Stellvia of the Universe. Their first album, Sora no Koe
(ソラノコエ) was released by Starchild in 2003. Since then they have provided
songs for the show Fafner in the Azure and have released five more
studio albums; I/O in 2004, PRHYTHM in 2006, a "best of compilation"
Takarabako -Treasure Box- (宝箱 - Treasure Box) in 2007, Land Ho! in 2009,
and mirror☆ge in 2011.
In 2013 they celebrate their 10th
anniversary by releasing the 6th studio album ZERO. The album peaks at
#10 on the Oricon weekly album charts, making it their 2nd album to
break into the Top 10.
In 2004, Angela played at the Otakon
Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. The following year, 2005, saw live
performances at Sakura-Con in Seattle, Washington, and also at Fan Expo
Canada (known at the time as CN Anime) in Toronto, Canada.
Sora no
Koe was released in the United States by the Geneon label as Voice of
the Sky in January 2005. Their second album I/O was released under the
Geneon label in the U.S. in August 2005. Their next album, PRHYTHM, was
released by Geneon in the U.S. in November 2006.
In 2010, for
the first time, angela performed at Southeast Asia's largest anime
convention, Anime Festival Asia (AFA), held annually in Singapore. It is
also their first time performing in the country. In 2011, they followed
up with another performance organised by jplex in Singapore at Republic
Polytechnic. In the same year, they appeared again in Singapore at
Anime Festival Asia 2011. In 2012, they were invited for the third time
to perform at Anime Festival Asia 2012 in Indonesia.
Here are some of Angela’s singles:
2003 – “Asu e no Brilliant Road”
2004 – “Shangri-La”
2005 – “Peace of Mind”
2007 – “Gravitation”
2008 – “Beautiful Fighter”
2009 – “Spiral”
2010 – “Soukyuu”
2012 – “Kings”
2013 – “Angel”
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