(stylized as the brilliant green) is a Japanese

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

formed in 1995. They were signed to

Sony Music Entertainment 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 Group Corporation and is opera ...

. Their major debut single under Sony, " Bye Bye Mr. Mug", was released in 1997. Their contract with Sony ended in 2008, and on December 1, 2009, the band announced that it had signed with

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

Japan.

Overview

The Brilliant Green takes much of their influence from Western music, most predominantly

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, with over half their songs including English lyrics. Their break came in 1998 when their third single, "There Will Be Love There," was chosen as the theme song for the popular Japanese TV drama series ''Love Again'' and, as a result, went straight to the top of the charts. After another number one hit with "Tsumetai Hana" they released their self-titled debut album which sold over one million copies in just two days. On the back of this success their first national tour, titled "There Will Be Live There", sold out across Japan in only three minutes. In 2001, ''

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'' chose The Brilliant Green as one of the top ten contemporary acts outside the U.S. for their ''Los Angeles'' album. In 2001, Tomoko Kawase started a solo project under the name Tommy February6. After the release of '' The Winter Album'' in 2002, the band members moved on to solo projects, but the group never officially broke up. Kawase continued as a solo artist under the names Tommy February6 and Tommy Heavenly6. Matsui also started a new project called Meister. On November 22, 2003, Kawase and Okuda announced their marriage. On June 1, 2007, it was announced that after five years of inactivity, The Brilliant Green would be returning with a new single to celebrate their 10th anniversary. The song, titled "Stand By Me," was selected as the ending theme for the new series of TV drama, ''

Detective School Q is a Japanese manga series, written by Seimaru Amagi and illustrated by Fumiya Satō (the creators of ''Kindaichi Case Files''), originally serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' between June 2001 and August 2005, with its cha ...

'', which began on July 3, 2007. The comeback began in earnest on August 22, 2007, as the new single hit the stores. The band appeared in their first proper live show since their comeback by playing at the Iwafune Mountain Cliff Stage on October 21, 2007. This performance was part of the "Iwafune Cliff Stage Special 2007''"'' with The Brilliant Green appearing alongside other musical acts including DxD, Sowelu, and Viagrade. The second single release of their comeback, "Enemy", was released on December 12, 2007. The following single, titled " Ash Like Snow", appears as an opening theme 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 ...

series, ''

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 is a Japanese anime television series, the eleventh installment in Sunrise studio's long-running ''Gundam'' franchise comprising two seasons. The series is set on a futuristic Earth and is centered on the exploits of the fictional paramilita ...

''. On February 20, 2008, a compilation album titled ''

Complete Singles Collection '97-'08 Complete may refer to: Logic * Completeness (logic) * Completeness of a theory, the property of a theory that every formula in the theory's language or its negation is provable Mathematics * The completeness of the real numbers, which implies ...

'' was released. The band also mentioned in an interview that a new studio album was currently in the works, consisting of previously unrecorded songs that were written over the previous ten years. Following the release of their compilation album in February 2008, the group's 18th single, "Like Yesterday" was released on February 2, 2010. It featured a rearrangement of a previous single, "Sono Speed de", that was re-written in English, titled "At Light Speed". It was their first single since 2008's "Ash Like Snow" and was their second-lowest selling single since 2007's "Enemy". On May 5, 2010, it was announced that guitarist and original member Ryo Matsui had left The Brilliant Green. His reasons for leaving were not stated, but Kawase and Okuda continued the group as a duo. The Brilliant Green's fifth album, ''Blackout'', was released on September 15, 2010. The Brilliant Green's sixth album, ''The Swingin' Sixties'', was released on July 23, 2014.

Members

Current members

Tomoko Kawase is a Japanese singer, songwriter, producer, actress, and model from Kyoto. She is the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Brilliant Green. She also has a solo career under the alter-ego pseudonyms Tommy february6 and Tommy heavenly6. ...

– vocals ''(1997–present)'' *

Shunsaku Okuda Shunsaku Okuda (born July 11, 1971) is the leader of the Japanese rock/pop band the brilliant green where he plays bass guitar and rhythm guitar and has composed the vast majority of the band's music.

– lead guitar ''(2010–present)'', bass ''(1997–2010)'', rhythm guitar ''(1997–present)''

Former members

* Ryo Matsui – lead guitar, drums ''(1997–2010)''

Touring members

* James "J.J." De Barrado – drums ''(2010–present)'' * James MacWhyte – bass guitar ''(2010–present)''

Discography

* ''

The Brilliant Green (stylized as the brilliant green) is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto formed in 1995. They were signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Their major debut single under Sony, " Bye Bye Mr. Mug", was released in 1997. Their contract with Sony ...

'' (1998) * ''

Terra 2001 ''Terra 2001'' is the second album of The Brilliant Green (stylized as the brilliant green) is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto formed in 1995. They were signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Their major debut single under Sony, " Bye ...

'' (1999) * ''

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

'' (2001) * '' The Winter Album'' (2002) * '' Blackout'' (2010) * '' Swingin' Sixties'' (2014)

References

External links

Official website

Official Warner Music Japan Profile

Official Sony Music Japan Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brilliant Green Defstar Records artists Warner Music Group artists Japanese alternative rock groups Japanese pop rock music groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups from Kyoto Prefecture