was a

Japanese rock , sometimes abbreviated to , is rock music from Japan. Influenced by American and British rock of the 1960s, the first rock bands in Japan performed what is called Group Sounds, with lyrics almost exclusively in English. Folk rock band Happy End ...

band active from 1995 to 2005, who made their debut in 1997. Consisting of composer and vocalist Kōji Nakamura (中村弘二 ''Nakamura Kōji''), lyricist and guitarist

Junji Ishiwatari is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is also famous for being a guitarist of the Japanese band Supercar. Biography Ishiwatari found an ad looking for band members that had been posted by Miki Furukawa at a musical instr ...

(いしわたり淳治 ''Ishiwatari Junji''), bassist

Miki Furukawa (born February 19, 1979) is a Japanese musician. From 1995 to 2005 she was the bass player and vocalist of the indie rock band Supercar. She released her first solo record in 2006. Biography Originating from Aomori Prefecture, Miki Furukawa ...

(フルカワミキ ''Furukawa Miki''), and drummer Kōdai Tazawa (田沢公大 ''Tazawa Kōdai''), Supercar is best known for combining

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

with

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

and has been characterized as having an "almost foundational importance to 21st century Japanese indie rock". Internationally, Supercar is also known for providing much of the soundtrack for the Japanese film ''

Ping Pong Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

'', as well as being featured in the anime series ''

Eureka Seven ''Eureka Seven'', known in Japan as , is a 2005 Japanese anime series created by Bones. The series was directed by Tomoki Kyoda, with series composition by Dai Satō, character designs by Kenichi Yoshida and music by Naoki Satō. ...

''.

History

Hailing from

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the eas ...

, Supercar was formed in 1995 when bassist Miki Furukawa placed an advertisement in a local magazine seeking fellow musicians. Junji Ishiwatari responded and convinced childhood friend Kōji Nakamura to join as well. Junji and Kōji soon recruited drummer Kōdai Tazawa, an acquaintance from middle school. While still in high school, they began writing songs starting with the singles ''DRIVE'' and ''(Am I) confusing you?'' After writing songs and recording demo tapes, the group received a record contract in 1995. By 1997, they had released two singles (''cream soda'' and ''Lucky'') and were working on their first album. In 1998 they released their influential debut album, ''

Three Out Change ''Three Out Change'' is the debut studio album by Supercar. Released on April 1, 1998, it peaked at number 20 on the Oricon Albums Chart. The album helped establish Supercar as an important and influential Japanese rock band. Music critic Ian Mart ...

''. Music critic Ian Martin has described it as an "epic indie rock/shoegaze album" and "one of the all-time great Japanese rock albums." Later that year, they went on their first national tour. Supercar's second album, '' Jump Up'', was released in 1999 shortly after the group members had moved to Tokyo from Aomori. This album was followed by ' and ', both also released in 1999. With the 2000 album ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...

'', electronic experimentation took a larger role that would characterize the band's sound for the rest of their career. During the summer of 2001, the group performed at both the Fuji Rock Festival and

Rock in Japan Festival The Rock in Japan Festival is an annual three-day rock festival held during early August at the Hitachi Seaside Park is a public park in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Japan. Overview Covering an area of 190 hectares, the park features blooming flowe ...

. The 2002 release ''

Highvision ''Highvision'' is the fourth album by the Japanese alternative rock band Supercar. It was released on April 24, 2002, and peaked at 11th place on the Oricon Albums Chart. The album is notable for Supercar's continued experimental trajectory sta ...

'' continued the electronic development, and the single ''Strobolights'' did not even contain a guitar. Supercar released its last non-compilation album, '' Answer'' in 2004. Perhaps their most experimental album, ''Answer'' contained balance of both rock and electronica. In July of that year, they played at the Fuji Rock Festival for the third and final time. In February 2005, Supercar broke up following a final concert, released under DVD as ''Last Live''. Later that year, their song "Storywriter" featured in the

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

''. Following the breakup, Furukawa and Nakamura have pursued successful solo careers. Despite the break-up, Supercar released two remix albums named RE:SUPERCAR 1 and RE:SUPERCAR 2 in 2011. The albums are redesigned versions of some of their tracks throughout their career together with never before heard songs. The limited edition of these albums sported a different CD jacket and bonus CD containing some of their untitled tracks and demos. In 2011, Miki Furukawa and Koji Nakamura formed the band

LAMA Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hig ...

. They jump-started their formation with a single entitled Spell which has been used as an opening theme for the anime No.6 and in addition to this they will also perform the ending theme entitled "Fantasy" for the anime UN-GO.

Members

* –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

; Composer *: After a solo career under the name of NYANTORA or iLL, he formed LAMA with Furukawa currently. * –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the fe ...

; Lyricist *: After the band broke up, he has written lyrics for various musicians and bands or has produced them. * –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, vocals *: After a solo career under the name of , she formed LAMA with Nakamura currently. * –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

*: After the band broke up, he formed aM™ em who have had multiple songs feature in

Gran Turismo 5 is a 2010 racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 3 on November 24, 2010 in Europe and North America, and November 25, 2010 in Japan and Australasia, and ...

and 6.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

* "Cream Soda" (September 21, 1997) * "Planet" (December 1, 1997) * "Lucky" (March 1, 1998) * "Drive" (May 21, 1998) * "Sunday People" (September 21, 1998) * "My Girl" (February 3, 1999) * "Love Forever" (May 21, 1999) * "Fairway" (February 2, 2000) * "White Surf Style 5" (October 12, 2000) * "Strobolights" (May 23, 2001) * "Yumegiwa Last Boy" (November 21, 2001) * "Aoharu Youth" (February 6, 2002) * "Recreation" (February 14, 2003) * "BGM" (November 19, 2003) * "Last Scene" (January 28, 2004) * "Wonder Word EP" (April 28, 2004)

DVDs

* ''High Booster + U.N. VJ Works'' (November 19, 2002) * ''P.V.D.'' (November 20, 2002) * ''P.V.D. 2'' (November 20, 2002) * ''Last Live Kanzen-ban'' (LAST LIVE 完全版 ''Last Live: Complete Edition'') (June 29, 2005) * ''P.V.D. Complete 10th Anniversary Edition'' (April 4, 2007)

References

External links

Official site
-

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

Japan
Remix Album Special Site
-

- Lyrics translated to English * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Supercar Japanese musical groups Japanese indie rock groups Japanese electronic rock musical groups Japanese alternative rock groups Japanese experimental rock groups Shoegazing musical groups Musical quartets Ki/oon Music artists Musical groups from Aomori Prefecture Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups disestablished in 2005