Aira Mitsuki
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese electronica
artist, produced by Terukado Ōnishi. She debuted in August 2007 with "Colorful Tokyo Sounds No. 9" and released her debut album, Copy
on September 3, 2008.
. Mitsuki performed at an MTV
-sponsored event for the film on July 25.
Her first album, Copy
, was released on September 3, 2008. It was released in two different versions: a 12-track album and a 16-track album. The albums differ in that track 8 on the 12 regular edition album is the original version of "High Bash", while the Yakenohara version appears on the extended edition, and the songs "Star Fruits Surf Rider", "Rock'n Roll Is Dead", and "Romantic Rope" are included in the extended version. Additionally, those who purchased the album through Tower Records
also received an exclusive track, "Yakenohara Megamix", while those who bought the album through HMV
received the track "L0ne1yBoy L0ne1yGirl" as a bonus track.
Track 1 of the album, titled "Galaxy Boy", was used as the ending song to Aichi Television's programme Bonita!Bonita!! It was also used to promote the Dream car club of Tamoei Yakushiji. The album reached a peak daily position of number 31 on the Oricon chart, and a peak weekly position of number 48 and sold 3,163 copies.
Mitsuki's first major single was written as a tribute to China for the 2008 Olympics and released on March 5, 2008. Her second major (and fourth overall) single, "Robot Honey", was released on October 29, 2008 and followed by "Valentine Step" and "Sayonara Technopolis" in February 2009. She released her seventh single, "Barbie Barbie" on May 20, and a low-key compilation CD, "Aira's Science CD" on June 17, 2009.
Aira released her second studio album, titled Plastic, on July 22, 2009 and her third album, ???
on November 17, 2010.
-produced acts Capsule and Perfume
. Aira has stated that she is a fan of Nakata's work and cites the Pizzicato Five
, Kahimi Karie
, Yuki
, Justice
, Cornelius
, and Daft Punk
as influences on her MySpace
page.
Aira's music usually carries themes of science fiction
or pop culture with ambient sound effects, heavy use of vocoder
and lyrics exploring concepts such as space
, robot
s and technology
. "Galaxy Boy", for example, is space-themed and written about a "prototypical galaxy boy" while "Sayonara Technopolis" and its B-sides are written about issues such as human apathy
, global warming
, and propose moving to the Moon.
Aira has experimented with different genres of music; much of Copy
had a dance sound while "Valentine Step" has strong Latin influences and "Sayonara Technopolis" was marketed as "electro meets big beat". She has also recorded several ballad
s and a heavy techno cover of Lenny Kravitz
's "Rock and Roll Is Dead
". She has, however, remained consistent in that she uses voice filters and synthesisers.
Aira's videos make use of animation
and CGI
, with typically fashion-forward costumes. She has professed to being a fan of video games such as Pokémon
and has stated in interviews that she is inspired by science fiction and technology. She also bought a plot of land on the Moon
for the release of "Sayonara Technopolis".
Aira's compilation EP, Aira's Science CD, contains two tracks, "Science Music" and "Senjō no Merry Christmas" which feature the thereminvox, played by Masami Takeuchi. The CD also contains a cover of Kahimi Karie
's "Mike Alway's Diary" and a remix by I Am Robot and Proud
, as well as versions of "Science Music" and "Senjō no Merry Christmas" sans theremin.
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
artist, produced by Terukado Ōnishi. She debuted in August 2007 with "Colorful Tokyo Sounds No. 9" and released her debut album, Copy
Copy (album)
C.O.P.Y， , is the debut album by the Japanese electronic artist Mitsuki Aira. It was released on September 8, 2008 as a CD, in two editions, both containing the singles "Colorful Tokyo Sounds No. 9", "China Discotica" and "Darling Wondering Staring"...
on September 3, 2008.
Musical background and releases
Aira was chosen as the winner of Mega Trance 2007 from 6,325 applicants. She released her debut single, "Colorful Tokyo Sounds No. 9", on August 8 of the same year. A song from the single was selected as the official theme for the Transformers Café, based on the Transformers film, in RoppongiRoppongi
is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous as home to the rich Roppongi Hills area and an active night club scene. Many foreign embassies are located in Roppongi, and the night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike...
. Mitsuki performed at an MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
-sponsored event for the film on July 25.
Her first album, Copy
Copy (album)
C.O.P.Y， , is the debut album by the Japanese electronic artist Mitsuki Aira. It was released on September 8, 2008 as a CD, in two editions, both containing the singles "Colorful Tokyo Sounds No. 9", "China Discotica" and "Darling Wondering Staring"...
, was released on September 3, 2008. It was released in two different versions: a 12-track album and a 16-track album. The albums differ in that track 8 on the 12 regular edition album is the original version of "High Bash", while the Yakenohara version appears on the extended edition, and the songs "Star Fruits Surf Rider", "Rock'n Roll Is Dead", and "Romantic Rope" are included in the extended version. Additionally, those who purchased the album through Tower Records
Tower Records
Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....
also received an exclusive track, "Yakenohara Megamix", while those who bought the album through HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
received the track "L0ne1yBoy L0ne1yGirl" as a bonus track.
Track 1 of the album, titled "Galaxy Boy", was used as the ending song to Aichi Television's programme Bonita!Bonita!! It was also used to promote the Dream car club of Tamoei Yakushiji. The album reached a peak daily position of number 31 on the Oricon chart, and a peak weekly position of number 48 and sold 3,163 copies.
Mitsuki's first major single was written as a tribute to China for the 2008 Olympics and released on March 5, 2008. Her second major (and fourth overall) single, "Robot Honey", was released on October 29, 2008 and followed by "Valentine Step" and "Sayonara Technopolis" in February 2009. She released her seventh single, "Barbie Barbie" on May 20, and a low-key compilation CD, "Aira's Science CD" on June 17, 2009.
Aira released her second studio album, titled Plastic, on July 22, 2009 and her third album, ???
Three Questions
-CD only / Normal edition:-DVD:# Aishi Aisarete Ikiru no sa # Aishi Aisarete Ikiru no sa # Why Two? # Why Two? -Charts:-Sales and certifications:-Release history:-External links:*...
on November 17, 2010.
Musical style and influences
Aira's musical style has been compared to the popular Yasutaka NakataYasutaka Nakata
is a Japanese songwriter, music producer and DJ. He formed the group Capsule in 1997 with vocalist Toshiko Koshijima and himself as composer/producer when both were 17. They formally debuted as capsule in 2001....
-produced acts Capsule and Perfume
Perfume (group)
Perfume is a Japanese all-girl trio from Hiroshima, Japan, consisting of Ayano Ōmoto, Yuka Kashino, and Ayaka Nishiwaki. They debuted locally in 2001 and made their transition to a major label in 2005, focusing more on electropop...
. Aira has stated that she is a fan of Nakata's work and cites the Pizzicato Five
Pizzicato Five
Pizzicato Five was a Japanese pop group best known to audiences in the West in their later incarnation as a duo of Maki Nomiya and Yasuharu Konishi...
, Kahimi Karie
Kahimi Karie
Kahimi sings in English, French, and Japanese with whisper-like vocals.-Albums:* 1997 - Larme de crocodile * July 15, 1998 - K.K.K.K.K. * May 24, 2000 - Tilt...
, Yuki
Yuki Isoya
is a Japanese musician who performs under the name Yuki . She debuted in the music industry in 1991 as the lead vocalist for the rock band Judy and Mary, and as a solo artist in 2002...
, Justice
Justice (French band)
Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay . The duo is one of the most successful groups on Ed Banger Records and is managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter...
, Cornelius
Cornelius (musician)
Cornelius is a Japanese recording artist and producer.-Career:Oyamada's first claim to fame was as a member of the pop duo Flipper's Guitar, one of the key groups of the Tokyo Shibuya-kei scene...
, and Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
as influences on her MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page.
Aira's music usually carries themes of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
or pop culture with ambient sound effects, heavy use of vocoder
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
and lyrics exploring concepts such as space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
, robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. "Galaxy Boy", for example, is space-themed and written about a "prototypical galaxy boy" while "Sayonara Technopolis" and its B-sides are written about issues such as human apathy
Apathy
Apathy is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of interest in or concern about emotional, social, spiritual, philosophical or physical life.They may lack a sense of purpose or meaning in...
, global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, and propose moving to the Moon.
Aira has experimented with different genres of music; much of Copy
Copy (album)
C.O.P.Y， , is the debut album by the Japanese electronic artist Mitsuki Aira. It was released on September 8, 2008 as a CD, in two editions, both containing the singles "Colorful Tokyo Sounds No. 9", "China Discotica" and "Darling Wondering Staring"...
had a dance sound while "Valentine Step" has strong Latin influences and "Sayonara Technopolis" was marketed as "electro meets big beat". She has also recorded several ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s and a heavy techno cover of Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
's "Rock and Roll Is Dead
Rock and Roll Is Dead
"Rock and Roll Is Dead" is the first single released from the 1995 Lenny Kravitz album Circus.-Song information:"Rock and Roll Is Dead" is an uptempo rock song....
". She has, however, remained consistent in that she uses voice filters and synthesisers.
Aira's videos make use of animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
and CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
, with typically fashion-forward costumes. She has professed to being a fan of video games such as Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
and has stated in interviews that she is inspired by science fiction and technology. She also bought a plot of land on the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
for the release of "Sayonara Technopolis".
Aira's compilation EP, Aira's Science CD, contains two tracks, "Science Music" and "Senjō no Merry Christmas" which feature the thereminvox, played by Masami Takeuchi. The CD also contains a cover of Kahimi Karie
Kahimi Karie
Kahimi sings in English, French, and Japanese with whisper-like vocals.-Albums:* 1997 - Larme de crocodile * July 15, 1998 - K.K.K.K.K. * May 24, 2000 - Tilt...
's "Mike Alway's Diary" and a remix by I Am Robot and Proud
I am Robot and Proud
Shaw-Han Liem, better known by the alias I am Robot and Proud, is a Canadian indie electronic artist from Toronto, Ontario. He has released albums under the labels Darla and & Records.-History:...
, as well as versions of "Science Music" and "Senjō no Merry Christmas" sans theremin.
Non-major singles
- [2007.08.08]
Major singles
- [2008.03.05]
- [2008.10.29]
- [2009.01.21]
- [2009.05.20] Barbie BarbieBarbie BarbieBarbie Barbie, stylised as BARBiE BARBiE, is the seventh single by the Japanese electronica artist Mitsuki Aira. It was released May 20, 2009....
Studio albums
- [2008.09.08] CopyCopy (album)C.O.P.Y， , is the debut album by the Japanese electronic artist Mitsuki Aira. It was released on September 8, 2008 as a CD, in two editions, both containing the singles "Colorful Tokyo Sounds No. 9", "China Discotica" and "Darling Wondering Staring"...
(5,010 copies sold, peak #48 in OriconOricon, 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. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
Weekly charts) - [2009.07.22] Plastic (4,195 copies sold, peak #33 in Oricon Weekly charts)
- [2010.11.17] ??? (Three Questions) (2,758 copies sold, peak #45 in Oricon Weekly charts)
Mini-albums
- [2010.06.02] 6 Force6 Force6 Force is the first mini album of electronica singer-lyricist Mitsuki Aira. It was released on June 2, 2010 in Japan by D-topia Entertainment, and is her last release under the label. It reached #11 on the Oricon Daily charts and #34 on the Oricon Weekly charts, where it charted for two weeks,...
(3,391 copies sold, peak #34 on Oricon Weekly charts)
Other singles
- [2007.xx.xx] Everytime We Touch
- [2007.xx.xx] Heavenly Star
- [2008.05.07] Darling Wondering Staring / Star Fruits Surf Rider
- [2009.01.21] Valentine Step
- [2009.06.17] Aira no Kagaku CD (Airaの科学CD; Aira's Science CD)
- [2010.01.31] Out edit. vol.1
- [2011.04.20] Hound Dog (featuring Terukado)
Digital downloads
- [2008.10.29] Knee-high Girl (ニーハイガール)
- [2009.07.01] Bad Trip (feat. Terukado)
- [2009.11.04] Plastic Live From Tokyo
- [2010.04.21] Heat My Love
- [2010.05.05] Level 5
- [2010.10.13] Aishi Aisarete Ikiru no Sa
- [2010.10.20] Why Two?Why Two?"Why Two?" is a song by Japanese electronica artist and lyricist Mitsuki Aira. It is one of the lead singles from her third studio album, ???...
DVDs
- [2009.05.20] Aira Mitsuki Special Live "090319" in LiquidRoom
- [2011.04.20] ??? LiVE IN LIQUIDROOM (DVD+CD)
Compilations
- [2007.08.08] Mega Trance 08 (#2 Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 [DJ U☆Hey? & Red Clavia Remix])
- [2008.07.16] Beautiful Techno (#2 China Discotica (Substance Remix))
- [2008.12.17] Teardrop (#5 Senjou no Merry Christmas, #8 Mike Alway'S Diary)
- [2009.11.11] for Winter Music Lovers Techno Pop Xmas (#2 Senjou no Merry Christmas)