| Sakanaction | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | サカナクション, Sakanakushon |
| Origin | Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan |
| Genres | Indie rock, Alternative rock, Electronica, New Wave, Dance, Rock |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | BabeStar Label Victor Entertainment |
| Website | Official Site (Japanese) |
| Members | |
| Ichirō Yamaguchi Motoharu Iwadera Ami Kusakari Emi Okazaki Keiichi Ejima |
|
Sakanaction (サカナクション Sakanakushon) are a Japanese rock band from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Their music is a mix of alternative rock, electronic, pop, and New Wave styles, and is thus difficult to classify under one category. The band consists of five members: Ichirō Yamaguchi, Motoharu Iwadera, Ami Kusakari, Emi Okazaki, and Keiichi Ejima.
In the band's own words, their name reflects a wish to act quickly and lightly, like fishes in the water, without fearing changes in the music scene. Sakanaction = Sakana (fish) + Action.[1] They are enjoying increasing popularity, having achieved some mainstream success by appearing on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 charts.
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Ichirō Yamaguchi, Sakanaction's creator, originally started a band called Dutchman, in 1998 with his fellow high school mates, including Motoharu Iwadera. It was an indie rock band that was heavily inspired by British indie bands. From 2000 to 2003, they released one maxi single titled Fly, one album titled demonstration, and a single titled Mikazuki Sunset that was only sold at live performances.[2] The band did not gain much recognition. In 2004, the members disbanded, leaving Yamaguchi to continue on alone as Dutchman. Yamaguchi began performing as a DJ at night clubs.[3]
Sakanaction was finally created in 2005. When Yamaguchi was working in a record store, he heard the song owari no kisetsu by Rei Harakami and it became a great motivation for him to create Sakanaction.[4] Yamaguchi founded the band together with Iwadera, while Kusakari left another band to join Sakanaction. Ejima was introduced by a mutual friend, while Okazaki was Yamaguchi's colleague from the record store.
The name "Sakanaction" carries an important meaning for the band members. Yamaguchi explained:
| “ | We made a new band together and named it "Sakanaction". When I first suggested "What do you think of the name Sakanaction?", he said "I hate it", but I forced.[5] | ” |
Sakanaction first attracted attention at the 2006 Rising Sun Rock Festival.[6] The band's first physical release was Go to the Future in 2007. Three songs originally from Dutchman were rereleased as Sakanaction releases - "Mikazuki Sunset" and "Inner World" were included in Go to the Future while "Word" was part of a digital download release, and later made it to NIGHT FISHING.
Some time after the release of NIGHT FISHING, the band made a decision to move from Hokkaido to Tokyo where they could reach out to more people.[7] They were also moved from Victor Entertainment's BabeStar label to the main label.
On August 9, 2008, Sakanaction performed as one of the main acts on one of Japan's top music stations, "Music On!" in the event called Summer Sonic '08. Sakanaction performed alongside, Paul Weller, The Fratellis, Death Cab for Cutie, Cajun Dance Party, Band of Horses, Blood Red Shoes, and These New Puritans. The show aired just three days before the New Year, on December 29, 2008.[8]
On December 26, 2008, they made it to #9 on Billboard's Japan Hot 100 list with their single "Sentorei" beating out MAYS's "Kiss: Koi ni Ochite... Fuyu" and coming in just after Greeeen's "Tobira." Over a course of 4 weeks the single moved from #91 to #9. This was a big accomplishment for Sakanaction as they moved forward in the Japanese Music Industry.[9]
In December 2008, the band announced their third album, Shinshiro, which was released in January, 2009. The album includes their single, "Sentorei." The album debuted at #8 on Oricon weekly charts. The band held a national promotional tour, Sakanquarium2009, in February and March 2009.[10][7][11]
On January 13, 2010, the band released the single "Aruku Around", which hit #3 on the Oricon weekly charts.[12] On August 8, 2010 they made appearances at both the Summer Sonic and the World Happiness 2010 rock festivals in Tokyo.
Sakanaction announced they would release a brand new single March 16 titled “Rookie“. Almost seven months since their last single “Identity”, “Rookie” centered around club music, pop, and rock. It peaked at #6 on the Oricon weekly charts. On March 22, the music video for Aruku Around picked up awards for Best Rock Video and Best Video of the Year from the 2011 Space Shower Music Video Awards,[13] earning the band more recognition.
Sakanaction held a short summer tour called “SAKANAQUARIUM 2011 ZEPP ALIVE” which will kick off on June 19 at the Zepp Sapporo in Hokkaido. The band will then continue to perform at five other ZEPP venues in Japan.[14]
On July 20, Sakanaction released their second single of the year, "Bach no Senritsu o Yoru ni Kiita Sei Desu." (Because I Listened to Bach Melodies at Night). This release helped them to gain even more popularity through Sakanaction's first ever live performance on the popular music variety show, Music Station.
Their fifth album, "DocumentaLy", was released on September 28[15], reaching a peak of #2 on the Oricon weekly charts, the highest the band has ever charted. The band also embarked on the "SAKANAQUARIUM 2011 DocumentaLy" tour beginning October 1.
| Year | Album Information | Oricon Albums Charts [16] |
Reported sales [17] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Go to the Future
|
105 | 5,200 |
| 2008 | Night Fishing
|
53 | 7,600 |
| 2009 | Shinshiro (シンシロ)
|
8 | 32,000 |
| 2010 | kikUUiki (Mixing Airspace)
|
3 | 56,900 |
| 2011 | DocumentaLy
|
2 | 70,000 |
| Year | Album Information |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 'Night Fishing Is Good' Tour 2008 in Sapporo
|
Remixion
|
|
| 2009 | "Fish Alive" 20min., 1 Sequence by 6 Songs Sakanaquarium 2009 @ Sapporo
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| Release | Title | Notes | Chart positions | Oricon sales [17] |
Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon Singles Charts [16] |
Billboard Japan Hot 100* [18] |
RIAJ digital tracks* [19] |
|||||
| 2007 | "Words/Sample" (ワード/サンプル Wādo/Sanpuru) | Digital download | — | — | — | — | Night Fishing |
| "Night Fishing Is Good" (ナイトフィッシングイズグッド Naito Fisshingu Izu Guddo) | Digital download | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "Sen to Rei" | 35 | 9 | — | 6,300 | Shinshiro | |
| 2009 | "Native Dancer" (ネイティブダンサー Neitibu Dansā) | Digital download | — | 60 | — | — | |
| 2010 | "Aruku Around" | 3 | 4 | 38 | 27,000 | Kikuuiki | |
| "Me ga Aku Aiiro" (目が明く藍色, "Eye-opening Indigo") | Promotional single | — | 92 | — | — | ||
| "Identity" | 12 | 7 | — | 21,000 | DocumentaLy | ||
| 2011 | "Rookie" (ルーキー Rūkī) | 6 | 7 | — | 17,000 | ||
| "Bach no Senritsu o Yoru ni Kiita Sei Desu." (『バッハの旋律を夜に聴いたせいです。』, Because I Listened to Bach Melodies at Night.) | 8 | 4 | 30 | 21,000 | |||
| *Japan Hot 100 established February 2008, RIAJ Digital Track Chart established April 2009. | |||||||