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 Wale ...

band formed in 2000. While their music can be mostly categorized as

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

, their music usually consists of an eclectic mix of genres, including

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

Name origin

Before the band made their formal debut they were originally known as , in homage to the textile company which former band drummer, Takayuki Watanabe's, father owned. Just before moving to Tokyo and reforming the band, the spelling was changed to .Smith, D. ''Keikaku'': Fujifabric
Retrieved August 24, 2007

History

Formation and indie period (2000-2004)

Originally a

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. N ...

consisting of several

junior high school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes ...

friends, Fujifabric was founded by Masahiko Shimura and Takayuki Watanabe. After graduating from high school, the

Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi is a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,782 in 19,806 households and a population density of 400 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Fujiyoshida lies at the norther ...

natives began to take their musical interests more seriously and moved to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, and recruited Sachiko Tadokoro, Yūichi Katō and Akira Hagiwara for the band. The first Fujifabric performance was in October 2001 at Club Eggsite (now known as Shibuya Eggman). After playing several successful club gigs, Fujifabric was signed to Song-Crux. Before the release of their debut

mini-album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...

, ''

À la carte À, à ( a-grave) is a letter of the Catalan, Emilian-Romagnol, French, Italian, Maltese, Occitan, Portuguese, Sardinian, Scottish Gaelic, Vietnamese, and Welsh languages consisting of the letter A of the ISO basic Latin alphabet and a ...

'' guitarist Akira Hagiwara and bassist Yūichi Katō left the band, and keyboardist Sachiko Tadokoro soon followed, leaving Shimura and Watanabe. Daisuke Kanazawa and Shinichi Katō were recruited into the band and in June 2003 the band released their second mini-album '' À la mode''.

Major albums and hiatus (2004-2010)

The band soon caught the attention of several major

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

s and a bidding war over the band ensued; finally in 2004 Fujifabric was signed to

Toshiba-EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. Wh ...

and Sōichirō Yamauchi was brought into the band as lead guitarist. In January 2004 original founding member Takayuki Watanabe left the band due to creative differences; consequently Fusafumi Adachi joined and took over as drummer. In February 2004 Fujifabric completed the "À la.." trilogy and released their first major release, EP ''

À la molto is a Japanese rock band formed in 2000. While their music can be mostly categorized as alternative rock or power pop, their music usually consists of an eclectic mix of genres, including jazz, disco and progressive rock. Name origin Before the ...

''. Fujifabric released their first full (and

self-titled An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

) studio album on November 10, 2004. ''Fujifabric'' peaked at No. 17 on Japan's

Oricon Chart , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in N ...

. In 2005 the band released three more singles including the popular "

Ginga Ginga may refer to: Japanese TV * Ginga (middleware), a Japanese-Brazilian digital TV middleware Series * '' Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin'' (known in English as ''Silver Fang''), a Japanese manga/anime series from the 1980s * ''Ultraman Ginga'', a Ja ...

" and "

Akaneiro no Yūhi is the Japanese word for the color of dye from the Madder ''Rubia'' is the type genus of the Rubiaceae family of flowering plants, which also contains ''Coffea'' (coffee). It contains around 80 species of perennial scrambling or climbing her ...

", the latter which featured the song "Shinkirō" and was used as the ending theme in the film ''

Scrap Heaven ''Scrap Heaven'' () is a 2005 thriller/ drama film, directed by Sang-il Lee. The movie was theatrically released to Japan in the year 2005. It was later released to the stores of North America in the year 2007. Plot A pharmacist, police officer, ...

''. In November 2005, Fujifabric released their second full album ''

Fab Fox ''Fab Fox'' is the second studio album by Fujifabric, released in 2005 on the Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal ...

'' which went on to peak at No. 8 on the Oricon charts, selling 13,152 units in its first week. After a two-year hiatus, Fujifabric released the single " Aoi Tori", which peaked at No. 9 on the Oricon Chart and was the ending theme of the film ''

Nightmare Detective is a 2006 Japanese horror film directed by Shinya Tsukamoto and released by Movie-Eye Entertainment Inc, starring Ryuhei Matsuda and Hitomi. Masanobu Andō and Ren Osugi play supporting roles, and Tsukamoto himself plays the unnamed villain. The ...

''. The band's subsequent single " Surfer King", featured Masahiko Kitahara, Nargo, and Gamo of

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra , commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene. At the time, the band's sound was unlike t ...

, and marked Fujifabric's first collaboration. The tracks were included on Fujifabric's third studio album, ''

Teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated wi ...

''. The album came out on January 3, 2008, and peaked at No. 11. Their second most recent single, entitled "Sugar!!" was used as the theme music for J-Sports'

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

broadcasts for the 2010 season. On December 24, 2009, vocalist Masahiko Shimura died due to unknown causes. His final album as lead vocalist, titled ''

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

'', was released on July 28, 2010.

Memorial concert, label change, and new vocalist (2010-present)

Despite the death of their lead singer, the band continued with the remaining three members. In 2010, the band switched labels from EMI Music Japan to Sony Music Associated Records. The three remaining members performed a memorial concert in August 2010, Fujifabric Presents Fuji Fuji Fuji Q, which featured many friends of the band substituting as lead vocalist including Quruli,

Kishidan is a Japanese rock band. They have a retro image, wearing Japanese school uniforms in the style of bōsōzoku. The lead singer, Sho Ayanokoji (often styled as "Show Ayanocozey"), was DJ Ozma, until he retired in December 2008. Kishidan annou ...

, Puffy, Tamio Okuda,

Polysics is a Japanese techno/ electronic band from Tokyo, who dubs its unique style as "technicolor pogo punk". It was named after a brand of synthesizer, the Korg Polysix. The band started in 1997, but got their big break in 1998 at a concert in Toky ...

, and more. The DVD and Blu-ray from this concert was released on July 20, 2011. In August 2011, they announced that their sixth album, titled ''

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

'', would be released September 21 with lead guitarist Sōichirō Yamauchi as the new vocalist. The lead track from their twelfth single, , released on May 15, 2012, was the opening song for the anime '' Tsuritama''. The limited edition of this single includes a live DVD featuring the current lineup of Fujifabric performing tracks from ''Star''. Their latest album, ''

Voyager Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications * LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics * NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation * Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...

'', was released on March 6, 2013. One of the singles promoting the album, "Small World", was used as the 4th opening to the anime '' Space Brothers''. In 2014 they released two songs that were featured in anime: "Life" for the second season of '' Silver Spoon'' and "Blue" for the anime ''

Blue Spring Ride is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Io Sakisaka. It began serialization in the February 2011 issue of Shueisha's ''Bessatsu Margaret'' and ended in February 2015. ''Ao Haru Ride'' received several adaptations during its ...

''. On 3rd of July 2024, the band announced that they would go on an indefinite hiatus from February 2025.

Members

Current

joined the band in January 2003, replacing the former

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

. joined the band at the same time as Kanazawa, in January 2003. He is the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

of the band. joined Fujifabric in January 2004 as

lead guitarist 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 featured ...

, and took over lead vocals following Shimura's death.

Former

was the only remaining original member of Fujifabric, he was the

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

lead vocalist 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 t ...

, and

rhythm guitarist In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar 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 ...

of the group. He died on December 24, 2009, of an unknown ailment. joined Fujifabric in January 2004 as a

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

. He was an employee of Ringo Shiina's individual office ''kuronekodow'' before joining. He left the band on March 27, 2006, and is now front man for his band "Marvelous."

Support

- drummer for Kenichi Asai's JUDE and unkie - drummer for

Tokyo Jihen , also known as Tokyo Incidents, is a Japanese rock band formed by Ringo Sheena, after leaving her solo career. The band's debut single "Gunjō Biyori" was released in September 2004, and they ended activities in February 2012. The band sold 2.3 ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

Fujifabric is a Japanese rock band formed in 2000. While their music can be mostly categorized as alternative rock or power pop, their music usually consists of an eclectic mix of genres, including jazz, disco and progressive rock. Name origin Before the ...

'' (2004) * ''

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2008) * ''

Chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

'' (2009) * ''

'' (2010) * ''

'' (2011) * ''

'' (2013) * ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' (2014) * '' Stand!!'' (2016) * '' F'' (2019) * '' I Love You'' (2021)

Mini albums

* ''

'' (2002) * '' À la mode'' (2003) * ''

'' (2004)

Compilations

* '' Singles 2004-2009'' (2010)

Singles

* " Sakura no Kisetsu" (2004) * "Kagerō" (2004) * " Akakiiro no Kinmokusei" (2004) * "

" (2005) * " Niji" (2005) * "

" (2005) * " Yaon Live Vol. 1" (2006, digital download) * " Yaon Live Vol. 2" (2006, digital download) * " Aoi Tori" (2007) * " Surfer King" (2007) * "

Passion Fruit ''Passiflora edulis'', commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to the region of southern Brazil through Paraguay to northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its ...

" (2007) * " Wakamono no Subete" (2007) * " Sugar!!" (2009) * " Tsuredure Monochrome / Ryūsenkei" (2012) * " Light Flight" (2012) * " Small World" (2013) * "

LIFE Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

" (2014) * " Blue/WIRED" (2014) * "

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...

" (2016) * " Super!!" (2016) * " Golden Time" (2019) * " Rakuen (Fujifabric single)" (2021)

References

External links

Fujifabric Official website

Fujifabric
at

EMI Music Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. Wh ...

Fujifabric
at

Capitol Music Capitol Music Group is an American front-line umbrella label operating as a unit of Interscope Capitol Labels Group, itself a division of Universal Music Group. Inherited from UMG's acquisition of EMI's catalog in 2013, it oversees the handling of ...

{{Authority control Japanese power pop groups Japanese alternative rock groups Japanese indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2000 Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Musical groups from Yamanashi Prefecture