Anamanaguchi

Anamanaguchi

Anamanaguchi at U Street Music Hall in Washington, D.C. in 2015.
Background information
Origin New York, New York, United States
Genres electronic, pop, rock
Instruments tracker software, NES, Game Boy, personal computer, synthesizer, guitar, bass guitar, drum kit, vocals
Years active 2004–present
Associated acts 8bitpeoples, Knife City, George & Jonathan
Website www.anamanaguchi.com
Members Peter Berkman
James DeVito
Luke Silas
Ary Warnaar
Past members Spencer Casey
Charlie Hankin
George Michael Brower

Anamanaguchi is an American electronic band from New York City.[1] The band has four members: lead songwriters and guitarists Peter Berkman & Ary Warnaar, bassist James DeVito, and drummer Luke Silas.[2]

Anamanaguchi combines digital electronic sounds such as those seen in Chiptune and Bitpop with traditional band instrumentation. As with other chiptune artists, they have created music using video game hardware from the mid- to late 1980s: namely an NES and a Game Boy. Berkman has stated that their music is not solely influenced by video game music and that much of it is inspired by "[s]imple pop stuff, like Weezer and the Beach Boys,"[3] as well as Janet Jackson.[4] Berkman also cites Japanese producer Yasutaka Nakata as a notable influence.[5]

The origin of the band's name is unclear. In one interview, Berkman said the name "Anamanaguchi" came about from a member in one of his former bands pronouncing gibberish in the style of Jabba the Hutt.[6] On several other occasions, the band has explained that their name came about after the members worked as interns at Armani (Berkman and DeVito), Prada (Warnaar), and Gucci (Silas) while studying fashion at Parsons School of Design (though three of the four majored in Music Technology at New York University). People began calling them the "Armani-Prada-Gucci boys," which eventually was slurred into "Anamanaguchi."[7]

Career

2006-2009: Power Supply & Dawn Metropolis

The band formed in Chappaqua, NY where Peter Berkman & James DeVito were classmates.[8] Through events such as Pulsewave NYC they formed a relationship with the netlabel 8bitpeoples and subsequently released their debut the Power Supply EP in August 2006. Peter Berkman met Ary Warnaar at New York University where they were studying Music Technology. In 2009, Ary Warnaar and Luke Silas joined the band for the release of their following EP, Dawn Metropolis. The album was released with an accompanying website that included animated videos for each of the songs, done in collaboration with artists David Mauro and Paris Treantafeles.

A song from Dawn Metropolis titled "Jetpack Blues, Sunset Hues" is the current theme to Chris Hardwick's The Nerdist Podcast.[9] On November 26, 2013, Anamanaguchi appeared as guests on the very podcast itself.[10]

(left to right) James DeVito, Peter Berkman and Ary Warnaar in Brooklyn, New York, in 2009.

2010-2012: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World & Summer Singles

In 2010, Anamanaguchi was approached by Ubisoft to compose music for the video game adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game.[11] The soundtrack for the game was released on Amazon and iTunes by ABKCO Records on August 24, 2010.[12] The soundtrack debuted at No. 3 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart (aka Soundscan's New Artist Chart).[13]

In the summer of 2010, Anamanaguchi began releasing a series of singles for free download on their website. These singles were released with animated gif cover art (featuring collaborations with artists such as Paul Robertson (animator) and Ryder Ripps) and were printed as limited 7" vinyl with lenticular artwork to mimic the animated images.

2013-present: Endless Fantasy & [USA]

On May 3, 2013, Anamanaguchi launched a Kickstarter project for their album Endless Fantasy. In just 11 hours, their funding goal of $50,000 was reached. At the end of its run, the project was backed by 7,253 people who contributed to raising a grand total of $277,399,[14] making it the second most-successful music project to be funded on Kickstarter at the time, behind that of singer Amanda Palmer.[15]

Anamanaguchi was featured on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on June 17, 2013, where they played their song "Endless Fantasy" from the album of the same name.

On June 19, 2014, they released a single titled "Pop It" featuring a then-unknown singer whose face was hidden from view.[16] The song was a stylistic departure for the group in that it did not feature any chiptune elements nor traditional band instrumentation, with a lead vocal. Entertainment Weekly described the song as having "glitchy electronic flourishes and relentlessly bubble gummy vibe" citing comparisons to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.[16] In September, the song was featured in a Target TV advertisement. On November 24, 2014, the singer's name "Meesh彡☆" and face were revealed to the public.[17]

On November 21, 2014, Anamanaguchi revealed they are working on a new album entitled [USA], set to release sometime in 2015.[18] The band says that the album will not be a chiptune album.[19]

Music Videos

Meow

Anamanaguchi collaborated on a music video for the song "Meow" with Daniel Gray Longino and Eric Notarnicola from Absolutely Productions. The video takes place in an arcade where the various members of the group join different social cliques. The video features a cameo from 4chan founder, moot.

Endless Fantasy

Using funds raised from their Kickstarter, Anamanaguchi produced a music video for the title track of the album Endless Fantasy. The video features a girl (played by Charlotte Wimberly) sending a slice of pizza up to space with a weather balloon.

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[20]		 US
Dance
[21]		 Heatseekers
[22]
Dawn Metropolis — — —
Endless Fantasy 102 2 1
"—" denotes items which failed to chart.

EPs

Singles

Year Title Album
2010 "Airbrushed" Summer Singles
"My Skateboard Will Go On"
"Aurora (Meet me in the Stars)"
"Airbrushed" (RAC remix)
"Mess"
2011 "My Skateboard Will Go On" Split w/ Starscream
2013 "Meow" Endless Fantasy
"Endless Fantasy"
2014 "Prom Night"[23]
"Pop It" non-album single

Live bootlegs

Compilation albums

Soundtracks

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[20]		 US
Dance
[21]		 Heatseekers
[22]
Bit.Trip Runner ("Blackout City" and "Mermaid") — — —
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game (Original Videogame Soundtrack) 180 7 3
Retronauts Theme
  • Intro theme song for the new Retronauts podcast.
  • First used July 1, 2013
 — — —
"—" denotes items which failed to chart.

Covers

Artist Track Year Notes
Weezer "You Gave Your Love to Me Softly" 2005 Uploaded to 8 Bit Collective
My Bloody Valentine "When You Sleep"
Wavves "So Bored" 2009
The Beatles "I Will" Made for the 8BitOperator's WANNA HLD YR HANDHELD Beatles tribute album
Weezer "Holiday" Made for the Weezer - The 8-Bit Album Weezer tribute album
Tugboat "Penpal" 2010 Released as a B-Side to the Airbrushed single
Britney Spears "Till the World Ends" 2011 All three of these covers were part of a single medley track
Katy Perry "Hot n Cold"
Miley Cyrus "Party in the USA"
M83 "Don't Save Us From the Flames" Included on the Daytrotter Studio 7/21/2011 album

Remixes

Year Track Original Artist Album
2010 "Rainbow in the Dark" Das Racist My Skateboard Will Go On
2011 "Too Dramatic" Ra Ra Riot N/A
2012 "Sisterly" Fang Island Sisterly
2013 "Coming Home (feat. Neverstore)" Futurecop! Coming Home (Remixes)
"Overexposed" Matt and Kim Lighting Remixes
2014 "Kill Your Radio" HEARTSREVOLUTION N/A
"Sad Machine" Porter Robinson Worlds (Limited Edition Box Set)
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" Cyndi Lauper She's So Unusual: REMiXED
"Pretty Green" Spinee Pretty Green
2015 "Feel The Lightning" Dan Deacon N/A

References

  1. ↑ Anamanaguchi Home Page as of October 10, 2011
  2. ↑ Berkman, Peter, James DeVito, and Ary Warnaar. "Anamanaguchi Avoid the Perils of Cheap Nostalgia." Interview by Vijith Assar. The Village Voice. 4 August 2009. Web. 13 August 2009.
  3. ↑ Berkman, Peter. "8-bit punks Anamanaguchi beyond the side-scrollers." Interview by David Wolinsky. A.V. Club. 18 July 2011. Web. 18 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "Anamanaguchi: From NES to MTV - IGN". IGN. 02-08-13. Retrieved 20-02-14. Check date values in: |date=, |accessdate= (help)
  5. ↑ Berkman, Peter. "Song Exploder Ep. 18" Interview by Hrishikesh Hirway. Web. 2 Sep 2014
  6. ↑ Machkovech, Sam (2013-05-23). "Anamanaguchi: The Ninja Turtles of Rock « Polygon". polygon.com. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
  7. ↑ "We Talked to Anamanaguchi About Bitcoin, Memes, and Dick Tricks | NOISEY". Noisey.vice.com. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  8. ↑ http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2011/04/sound_current_anamanaguchi.php
  9. ↑ Hardwick, Chris (2011-11-30). "Nerdist Podcast Theme on Two Guitars « Nerdist". Nerdist.com. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
  10. ↑ Levine, Katie (2013-11-26). "NERDIST PODCAST: ANAMANAGUCHI". Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  11. ↑ Twitter / Anamanaguchi: WE ARE DOING THE MUSIC FOR. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-16.
  12. ↑ Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game (Original Videogame Soundtrack): Anamanaguchi: MP3 Downloads. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-16.
  13. ↑ "Heatseekers Albums 2010-09-11". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
  14. ↑ "Anamanaguchi - make Endless Fantasy more than an album by Anamanaguchi". Kickstarter.com. 2013-05-03. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
  15. ↑ "Kickstarter Projects - Music - Most Funded". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 http://music-mix.ew.com/2014/06/20/anamanaguchi-releases-a-mysterious-but-catchy-new-single/
  17. ↑ https://twitter.com/anamanaguchi/status/536942941806526465
  18. ↑ https://twitter.com/anamanaguchi/status/535890981602992129
  19. ↑ "ANAMANA... GUCHI on Twitter: "[USA] will not be a chiptune album"". Twitter. 14 Dec 2014. Retrieved 14 Dec 2014.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Anamanaguchi – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Anamanaguchi – Chart History: Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Anamanaguchi – Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  23. ↑ Anamanaguchi. "Prom Night 2014 SINGLE". SoundCloud. Retrieved 30 January 2014.

External links