Sekai no Owari

Sekai no Owari

SEKAI NO OWARI at Space Shower Music Awards in 2016.
From left to right: Fukase, Saori, Nakajin, DJ Love.
Background information
Native name SEKAI NO OWARI
Origin Tokyo, Japan
Genres
Labels Lastrum (2009–2010)
Toy's Factory (2011–present)
Associated acts
Website sekainoowari.jp/en
Members Nakajin (Leader, Sound Producer, Gt)
Fukase (Conceptor, Vocal)
Saori (Piano, Stage Producer)
DJ LOVE (DJ, Sound Selection)

Sekai no Owari (literally, "End of the World"; stylized as SEKAI NO OWARI) is a Japanese band, originating from Tokyo. The band was formed in 2005 and has four members: Nakajin, Fukase, Saori, and DJ Love.

Since their debut they have released 3 albums and various singles as well as featuring in their own documentary film 'TOKYO FANTASY'. The band has performed at the renowned Nissan Stadium, Japan's largest concert venue and are currently considered to be one of the biggest music acts from Japan.[1] Their live performances and concerts are also subject to praise, being considered one of the highest quality produced musical events worldwide, often being compared with music festivals such as tomorrowland and ultra music festival.[2] The band's members have also produced and wrote other content for several Japanese singers and groups and lead vocalist Fukase has inspired a synthesized Vocaloid character of himself.

In 2016 the band announced their plans to debut internationally with an English language album currently in production and expected to be released in 2017. The band has previously collaborated with other world-known artists such as Owl City and Nicky Romero.

History

2007–2009: Formation and indie debut

Fukase and Saori knew each other since kindergarten and met Nakajin in primary school. Together the three began a copy band at an early age while still in high school inspired by senior professional bands such as Bump of Chicken. Later on they met DJ Love who was added to original line-up as a DJ replacing Fukase who was meant to take on the concept of a clown, this role was relayed to DJ Love and Fukase became the lead vocalist while Nakajin and Saori became the guitarist and pianist of the band respectively. Starting out as an indie band they performed their first live concert at their own-made live house 'Club Earth' with 15 people attending.[3] The band self-produced their first demo, Sekai no Owari, with a limited edition of 1,000 copies. Fukase, vocalist, named the band Sekai no Owari because "Once you've experienced the bottom (the negative side of your life), you have to find a way to go up (the positive side). So I named my band End of the World to create the strength [I needed] through the music."[3]

2010–2011: First album, Nippon Budokan and major label debut

Sekai no Owari released their very first album EARTH under the independent label Lastrum. The album reached number 15 in the Oricon Weekly Album charts and the band started to become popular in the Japanese indie scene in 2010.

The band started touring Japan with their first two tours 'Heart the eartH TOUR' and 'One-Man fall tour' while simultaneously releasing their first double A-side single 'Tenshi to Akuma/Fantasy' which peaked at number 8 in the Oricon Single charts. In August 2011, Sekai no Owari performed a solo concert at the Nippon Budokan[4] and signed to the major label Toy's Factory, house to the same veteran band Bump of Chicken.

The band changed their original name '世界の終わり(Sekai no Owari)' to the romanized version SEKAI NO OWARI.

2012–2014: ENTERTAINMENT, nationwide tours and increasing popularity

After signing to Toy's Factory, SEKAI NO OWARI released two singles in 2011. The singles titled 'INORI' and 'Starlight Parade' reached number 13 and 16 respectively. The band embarked in their next tour 'SEKAI NO OWARI TOUR 2011'. The next year they released their next single "Nemurihime" (眠り姫, "Sleeping Beauty") which reached 4 in the Oricon Single charts and was set to be included in the new album the band was working on.

In July 2012 the band released their second album and first major studio album ENTERTAINMENT which reached number 2 in the Oricon charts. To support the album release, the band also toured 'Arena Tour 2013 Entertainment in Kokuritsu Yoyogi Daiichi Taiikukan' and 'ARENA TOUR 2013 'ENTERTAINMENT. The band went on to release two more singles in 2013, the first 'RPG' reached number 2 in the Oricon charts and number 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and was later given the double platinum certification by RIAJ for over 250,000 copies sold. The second single 'Death Disco' was released as a digital single only and reached number 20 in the Billboard Japan Hot 100.

In 2013, they performed their first-ever outdoor-live-event, Fire and Forest Carnival gathering a total of 60,000 people, their largest audience at that moment.[5]

After finishing their tour activities SEKAI NO OWARI resumed recording activities releasing 3 different singles during 2014. The first single 'Snow Magic Fantasy' reached number 1 and was certified gold by the RIAJ. The next single 'Honō to Mori no Carnival' (炎と森のカーニバル, "The Flame and Forest Carnival") was released almost 3 months after and reached number 2 in the Oricon charts being certified gold once again by the RIAJ. In October 2014, the band collaborated with Owl City on a new song, titled "Tokyo". It was released on Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.[6] The song was later put on Owl City's fifth studio album, Mobile Orchestra, in Japan.[7] In November, they released a single 'Dragon Night', which was produced by Dutch DJ Nicky Romero.

On August 15, 2014, Tokyo Fantasy, a 90-minute film featuring the band members was released nationwide in Japan. It was directed by French filmmaker Raphaël Frydman and later made available on DVD.

2015–present: Tree, overseas activities and international debut

January 2015, Sekai no Owari released their third album, Tree 2 years and 7 months after their previous album. The album topped the chart at No. 1, and reached 1 million sales in total of physical sales and digital downloads.

Sekai no Owari held a two-day show, Twilight City at Nissan Stadium, Japan's largest concert venue in July 2015. Twilight City was a two-day event with 70,000 people each day for a total of 140,000 and is to date their biggest audience received. American pop-star Austin Mahone joined the show as a guest act.[8] An English version of their hit song 'Dragon Night' was released in their YouTube channel in June.[9]

Their following singles "Anti-Hero" and "SOS" were used as the theme songs of the movies Attack on Titan and Attack on Titan: End of the World, respectively and they both sold 100,000 copies with 'SOS' reaching again number one in the Oricon album charts being the third time the band achieves so. Both songs are performed fully in English.[10]

In August 2015, it was announced that a Vocaloid vocal for the Vocaloid 4 engine based on Fukase would be produced.[11]

SEKAI NO OWARI performing as support act to Clean Bandit in 2016.

In September 2015, Sekai no Owari became the first Japanese act to perform for MTV World Stage Malaysia 2015 in front of 20,000 people.[12] They performed 5 songs: ANTI-HERO, Death Disco, SOS, Mr.Heartache and Dragon Night. Later on Sekai no Owari held a special live event in Taiwan supported by KKBOX and was also invited to perform at Taiwan's prestigious 'KKBOX Music Awards' representing Japan.[13][14]

In late March 2016, SEKAI NO OWARI announced their plans to debut in the United States working on an English language album that is planned to be released in 2017. For this occasion the band is working with famous producers Nicky Romero, Clean Bandit and Owl City.[15]

Musical style

SEKAI NO OWARI first started off as an alternative rock band but later on adopted concepts of J-pop and has experimented with other genres since. Although their music has changed drastically during the years, in a special interview with Instagram's official music staff channel, the band expressed their wish to "-not to be thrown into any particular box..." as they have a very diverse sound.[16] The band's music can range from electro-pop to jazz, rock and classical music. Guitarist and sound producer Nakajin can also sing, writing and performing two tracks on SEKAI NO OWARI's second album, Entertainment (2012). The band in general takes on a vivid concept to cheer up their audience. Fukase also performs in English to have a wider appeal to their fans outside Japan.

Band members

Discography

Albums

Singles

Filmography

Release Date Title Peak Position
DVD BD
世界の終わり /Lastrum
15 June 2011 2010.12.23 SHIBUYA C.C.Lemon Hall 16 —
SEKAI NO OWARI /Toy's Factory
1 17 July 2013 ARENA TOUR 2013「ENTERTAINMENT」 in 国立代々木第一体育館 2 —
2 9 April 2014 炎と森のカーニバル in 2013 1 —
3 15 April 2015 TOKYO FANTASY SEKAI NO OWARI[18] 2 2

Tours

Japan tours

World tours

Festivals and events

Awards

Year Ceremony Award Nominee/Work Result
2010 CD Shop Awards 3rd Sub Grand Prix "EARTH" Won
2012 CD Shop Awards 5th Grand Prix "ENTERTAINMENT" Won
54th Japan Record Awards Best Album Award Won
2014 56th Japan Record Awards Excellent Work Award "炎と森のカーニバル, "The Flame and Forest Carnival"" Won
2015 57th Japan Record Awards Best Album Award "Tree" Won
2016 Space Shower Music Video Awards Best Group Artist SEKAI NO OWARI Won
2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Asian Artist Japan Won

References

  1. ↑ "JpopAsia interviews SEKAI NO OWARI". September 22, 2015.
  2. ↑ "SEKAI NO OWARI".
  3. 1 2 "MTV IGGY (English)". mtviggy.com.
  4. ↑ "(In Japanese) SEKAI NO OWARI wraps up first Budokan live to a starry sky". Natalie.mu. November 24, 2011.
  5. ↑ "(In Japanese) SEKAI NO OWARI's Fire and Forest Carnival a major success gathering over 60,000 people and arena tour announced". musicman.net. October 15, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Owl City ft. SEKAI NO OWARI - Tokyo".
  7. ↑ "Mobile Orchestra by Owl City - iTunes (Japanese Store)".
  8. ↑ "(in Japanese) Overseas' Austin Mahone Appears at SEKAI NO OWARI's Nissan Stadium Concert". Barks.jp. March 7, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  9. ↑ "SEKAI NO OWARI to Perform Theme Songs for Live-Action Attack on Titan Films". Anime News Network. May 26, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  10. ↑ "SEKAI NO OWARI - Dragon Night".
  11. ↑ link
  12. ↑ "MTV Reveals First Wave of Performers With Apink and SEKAI NO OWARI To Perform For The First Time At MTV World Stage Malaysia". July 21, 2015.
  13. ↑ "SEKAI NO OWARI performs first live overseas at KKBOX". November 20, 2015.
  14. ↑ "The 11TH KKBOX AWARDS an exciting night to remember". January 25, 2016.
  15. ↑ "SEKAI NO OWARI Working On First English Album, Entering US & International Markets". April 29, 2016.
  16. ↑ "SEKAI NO OWARI: Old Stomping Grounds, New Beginnings". January 5, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Sekai No Owari Official Site". TOKYO FANTASY Inc. Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  18. ↑ SEKAI NO OWARI、初の映画『TOKYO FANTASY SEKAI NO OWARI』をBlu-ray＆DVDとして発売（RO69・2015年2月10日）
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