was a Japanese vocal group formed by composer

Yuki Kajiura Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Yuki, ...

in 2007, mainly to perform theme songs for the anime ''

Kara no Kyōkai ''The Garden of Sinners'', known in Japan as sometimes referred to as , is a Japanese light novel series, written by Kinoko Nasu and illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi. Originally released as a series of chapters released independently onl ...

'', but later expanded to include many other theme songs for other anime shows and films including the ''

Madoka Magica Madoka is both a feminine Japanese given name and a Japanese surname. Possible writings Madoka can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: ;as a given name *円, "circle" *円花, "circle, flower" *窓香, "window, incense/arom ...

, Black Butler, and'' ''

Fate/stay night ''Fate/stay night'' is a Japanese visual novel developed by Type-Moon and originally released as an adult game for Windows on January 30, 2004. A version of ''Fate/stay night'' rated for ages 15 and up titled ''Fate/stay night Réalta ...

'' franchises. They released five albums that have charted in the top 10 for Oricon. They disbanded in 2018–19.

History

The group first appeared in January 2008 with two original members from Yuki Kajiura's FictionJunction project,

Wakana Ōtaki , who goes by the mononymous stage name Wakana, is a Japanese pop singer. She was one of the vocalists of the FictionJunction project started by Yuki Kajiura, and was a core member of the vocal group Kalafina. She is currently signed with Victor ...

and Keiko Kubota, whose membership was not confirmed until the first Dream Port 2008 concert held on April 29, 2008. In May 2008, it was announced that two more vocalists, Maya Toyoshima and

Hikaru Masai Hikaru Masai (born July 2, 1987), who has gone by the stage names Hikaru and currently Helical (stylized H-el-ical//), is a Japanese pop singer. She was one of the core members of the vocal group Kalafina, which was started by Yuki Kajiura to per ...

, would be added to the project. Kalafina moved to the Sacra Music record label under Sony Music Entertainment Japan in April 2017. In 2009, Toyoshima left the group, resulting in a trio. In an interview with the group at Anime Central, the concept of Kalafina differs from FictionJunction in that Kajiura does not perform on stage with the singers, but serves as an off-stage producer and songwriter. With Yuki Kajiura leaving her agency Space Craft Produce in 2018, news agency Oricon reported that the group was expected to continue even with Kajiura leaving. Space Craft has further announced that concerts and 10th anniversary film's plans would still move forward. Despite the band being expected to disband in spring, Space Craft reported to the official fan club that only one member will leave Kalafina. Although rumors said that Hikaru would leave the group, Sports Hochi reported that the member that would leave the group was Keiko, and that official news about who was leaving the group would be announced at the end of March 2018. It was confirmed on April 13, 2018 on Kalafina Lineblog that Keiko had officially left the group as of April 1, 2018. Following this, Hikaru left the agency as of October 20, 2018, although she did not state that she left the group. Finally, on March 13, 2019, Space Craft announced Kalafina's break up.

Members

Main vocalists

* : Like Wakana, she is also a member of Kajiura's FictionJunction project and worked alongside her under the name FictionJunction KEIKO. She officially left the group in April 2018. She hails from the Shibuya area in Tokyo, Japan. Prior to FictionJunction and Kalafina, she was in a rock vocal duo called Itokubo. Space Craft describes her singing as a "captivating bass voice". In 2020, she is working on a solo album with Avex Trax. * : She is also a member of FictionJunction and previously collaborated with Yuki Kajiura as FictionJunction WAKANA. She moved from Space Craft to Victor Entertainment in 2019, and has released two solo albums and an EP. * Maya Toyoshima (豊島摩耶 ''Toyoshima Maya''): Was selected in an audition held by Sony Music Japan. She sang on the single " Sprinter/Aria". She left the group in 2009. * : Was selected along with Maya in an audition held by

Sony Music Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

. She officially left Space Craft on October 20, 2018 after her contract expired. She is from Toyama Prefecture. In 2020, she is pursuing a solo career under the name H-el-ical//

Supporting

: The primary composer and arranger of Kalafina's songs. Kajiura left the group upon her departure from Space Craft Produce. * REMI (田中玲美 ''Tanaka Remi'', born January 6, 1977): Background vocalist. * Yuriko Kaida (貝田由里子 ''Kaida Yuriko,'' born November 1): Background vocalist, she was part of FictionJunction's group of singers. * Hanae Tomaru (戸丸華江, ''Tomaru Hanae''): Background vocalist.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2009: '' Seventh Heaven'' * 2010: '' Red Moon'' * 2011: '' After Eden'' * 2013: '' Consolation'' * 2015: ''

Far on the Water Far on the water is the fifth studio album by the Japanese music group Kalafina on 16 September 2015 under Sony Music Japan label.Official Discography (in Japanese) http://www.kalafina.jp/disco/category/?album Track listing Usage in media *"hea ...

Other albums

* 2008: '' Re/oblivious'' (EP) * 2013: ''Kalafina 5th Anniversary LIVE SELECTION 2009-2012'' (live) * 2014: '' The Best "Red"'' (compilation) * 2014: '' The Best "Blue"'' (compilation) * 2016: ''Kalafina 8th Anniversary Special products The Live Album「Kalafina LIVE TOUR 2014」at TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FORUM HALL A'' (live) * 2016: ''Winter Acoustic "Kalafina with Strings"'' (acoustic) * 2018: ''Kalafina All Time Best 2008-2018''

References

External links

* * Musical groups established in 2007 Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists All-female bands Japanese pop music groups 2007 establishments in Japan Musical groups from Tokyo Anime musical groups Sacra Music artists Yuki Kajiura {{Japan-band-stub