| “ | Welcome home, master & princess | ” |
―BAND-MAID | ||
BAND-MAID are an all-female Japanese rock band whose image is based on Japanese maid cafes whose members are Miku Kobato (real name Mika Noguchi, born: October 21, 1991))[citation needed], Saiki Atsumi, Kanami Tōno, MISA and Akane Hirose who describe themselves as "an impossibly hard rocking maid band."[citation needed]
Formation[]
The band were formed by Miku Kobato in 2013, with the concept of them wearing maid outfits coming from Miku previously working in a maid cafe in Akihabara[1][2] where she hit upon the idea of the contrast of how maids are seen as cute and submissive yet their music is wild, powerful and dominant.[3]
The first member recruited as lead guitarist Kanami Tōno, who recommended her occasional session drummer Akane Hirose, and in turn Akane recommended bassist MISA who she had previously worked with in a project for Japanese TV personality Becky[4] having previously both attended the Tokyo School of Music.[citation needed]
Initially the band performed as a quartet, with Miku handling vocals as well as rhythm guitar duties, but Miku decided her vocals were not strong enough and it would be better for the band to have a dedicated vocalist, with vocalist Saiki Atsumi recruited soon afterwards, allowing them to use twin vocals. [citation needed]
Initially Saiki was not aware of the band's maid uniforms, merely being told the band would wear "cute clothes" and only learning about the uniforms when she reached the studio, where her immediate response was to discard her apron.[5]
With the band fully formed they began to work on their material, with Kanami writing the music before sending it to the other members to work on their parts and Miku writing the lyrics.[6]
BAND-MAIKO[]
On April 1st 2018 the band released a video for secret MAIKO lips, a re-recording of the song secret My lips from the Just Bring It album recorded with traditional Japanese instruments and sung in Kyoto dialect. The following year they released another song, Gion-cho, with a full BAND-MAIKO EP released a couple of days later.[citation needed]
cluppo[]
On April 1st 2021 it was announced that Miku had begun her own side project, cluppo,[7] with their first song PEACE&LOVE being uploaded to YouTube on the same day - albeit, for western audiences, the announcement and video went up on 31st March 2021 due to the time difference.[8] When announcing the project, Miku described their music as a new genre she calls HIPPIE-POPPO,[9] and her vision for the project being that, while BANDMAID are about world domination, cluppo would be about world peace with Miku wearing bright and colourful attire compared to BANDMAID's black and white outfits.[10]
Band Members[]
- Miku Kobato - rhythm guitar, vocals
- Saiki Atsumi - vocals
- Kanami Tōno - lead guitar
- MISA - bass
- Akane Hirose - drums
Charm Points[]
Keeping with the maid aesthetic of the band, each member has their own charm point, which are played up both during their concerts but also in the music video for Don't You Tell Me.
- Miku - describes herself as a pigeon, to go with her "Kuruppo!" catchphrase.
- Saiki - doesn't have a charm point, making her more of a tsundere.
- Kanami - her eyes.
- MISA - her love of alcohol, with her carrying and using a hip flask during concerts.
- Akane - her appetite.
BAND-MAIKO names[]
- Hatoko - rhythm guitar, vocals
- Fujiki - vocals
- KANOEMI - lead guitar
- Umemisa- bass
- Akatsuki - drums
Video View Milestones[]
- 100 million views: January 25, 2021[citation needed]
Discography[]
Trivia[]
- BAND-MAID's song glory was chosen as the fourth ending theme for the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS.[11]
- BAND-MAID's song Different was chosen for the Fall 2020 season of Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table.[12]
- Miku was previously a member of the idol group Lil Cumin, which also saw her working as an actress.[13][14]
- Kanami and Akane also perform with the band Mochi to Cheeze (Rice Cakes and Cheese), with Kanami performing acoustic guitar and Akane performing on the cajón.[15]
- The band have a cameo in the 2021 film Kate.[16]
- Their song Sense will be the opening theme to the 2021 anime TV series Platinum End.[17]
- Their song Shambles will be the ending theme of the second season of the 2023 anime TV series Kengan Asura.[18]
References[]
- ↑ JaME World: Interview with BAND-MAID
- ↑ Reddit: Himawari, the sunflower maid 🌻
- ↑ Metal Hammer: Who are Band-Maid and what do they want?
- ↑ YouTube: MISA & Akane Before BAND-MAID
- ↑ YouTube: Music Gold Rush 74 Band Maid Part 2 Eng subs
- ↑ J Generation: BAND-MAID – Interview (2019)
- ↑ Twitter: @bandmaid NEWS BAND-MAIDを生み出した小鳩ミクのソロプロジェクトが始動！ その名も "#cluppo 新たな音楽ジャンル「HIPPIE-POPPO」を創造し、 1st Single「PEACE&LOVE」4/1～ #エイプリルフール に配信開始！ MV https://youtu.be/kR-FPvYgPjM MORE INFO https://cluppo.tokyo #cluppo #AprilFoolsDay
- ↑ YouTube: cluppo / PEACE&LOVE (Official Music Video)
- ↑ Barks: Miku Kobato (BAND-MAID) launches solo project "cluppo"
- ↑ Barks: cluppo (Miku Kobato / BAND-MAID) aims for "world peace"
- ↑ Moshi Moshi Nippon: BAND-MAID to Release Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS Ending Theme ‘glory’ on CD
- ↑ Moshi Moshi Nippon: BAND-MAID Perform TV Anime Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table’s Opening Theme
- ↑ YouTube: Miku Before BAND-MAID
- ↑ Vimeo: Band-Maid, Miku Kobato - Mika Noguchi in previous live, 野口みかさん
- ↑ Ameblo: Mochi to Cheeze
- ↑ Instagram: @cn3yan Many of you have wandered if @bandmaid.jp were in my film #katenetflix . The answer is YES THEY ARE . We shot a scene with them and there is two songs from them featured in the film . Here we are the night of the shoot with @miku.martineau who plays Ani in the film . @bandmaid.jp are absolutely awesome and for all their fans out there they rocked this! #onset #netflixfilm #setlife #bandmaid #ilovejapan #japanisthebest #filmaking
- ↑ Anime News Network: Platinum End Anime's 2nd Multilingual Trailer Previews Band-Maid's Opening Song
- ↑ BAND-MAID official site: New Release BAND-MAID New Digital Single "Shambles"