Artist: Asian2
Genre(s):
Pop: Japan
Discography:
Asian Vibration
Year: 2006
Tracks: 4
After years of laboring in the tube and a string of releases on flyspeck independent labels, rock-rap group Asian2 finally bust into the Japanese mainstream in 2006 with the catchy individual "Tooku." The five-piece is unremarkably described in their home nation as a "mixture" band in the mineral vein of Ketsumeishi and Orange Range, two of Japan's biggest-selling acts of the mid-2000s. Like those two bands, Asian2 combines catchy, feel-good rhymes with a in general overconfident message and a variety of musical influences, including rap and rock.The seeds of Asian2 were sown when MC Tatsu met drummer Hideo at junior high schooltime in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, and the two decided to form a band. By 1999, they had boiled guitar player Hisato and bassist Shoji from other local acts of the Apostles (second MC Twenty "20" completes the lineup) and found kindred spirits in one of the original "mixture" bands, SOUL-D, wHO played a show in Matsumoto the same year and invited Asian2 to play at their own "Rock Box" event.In 2001, Asian2's number one mini-album was released in the group's hometown and sold a respectable 2,000 copies. The band's profile was elevated another pass with the release the following yr of the individual "Honey the Mountain," which became the to the highest degree requested track nationwide on the Usen "popular ranking" charts. Asian2 embarked on their number one Japanese circuit in 2003 to promote the single "Brazil," subsequently which Hisato left the band citing musical differences to be replaced by Nishi. Within a year Nishi, overly, would be on his way tabu of the dance band, replaced by new guitar player Kensuke. Asian2 continued to fetch nods of blessing from their peers, including the "hip-pop" duet Def Tech -- the 2 groups shared out a phase at a live exhibit in Tokyo in 2004. They as well provided the ending song -- a collaboration with Arisa Mizuki -- to the Kenji Sonoda plastic film Tobi Ga Kururi To. Asian2 made their "major" debut (Avex Trax is really an sovereign label, albeit one of the biggest indies in the populace) in 2006 with the single "Asiatic Vibration," the picture was directed by the band's own Twenty "20." But it was the infective review "Tooku" that secured the isthmus widespread radio and television system airplay, aided by trey different commercial tie-ins (on adverts for Subaru, Fuji Cameras and Sapporo beer) that guaranteed the band maximum exposure. The consequent uncut debut album, the curiously highborn Little Phoebe Men l'mant, was released at the end of 2006, and was a optical fusion of summery rap in the vein of Ketsumeishi and harder, Red Hot Chili Peppers-style rock-rap.
