Mika Bomb
Encyclopedia
Mika Bomb is a London
-based, Japan
ese pop-punk band.
Lead singer Mika Handa arrived in London in 1998, with the goal of playing in a punk band. Recruitment for the band began with the arrival in London of the guitarist Agi (Long Kuan), who now sings in the electronic duo, Long Kuan Jiu Duan. Agi is also known to have tried to re-use Mika Bomb songs in China for profit due to their shaky copyright laws. Another Mika (Mika Kanayama) on bass introduced an element of musicality to the bass department while a North London
boy, Ergi, provided the drums.
In 2000, they signed with the Beastie Boys
' label Grand Royal
. Mika Bomb performed in the West Country
plugging their singles "Super Sexy Razor Happy Girls" and "Heart Attack". They fused Motown, New York punk, 1950s garage rock
and Japanese pop to form a distinctive, distortion
-heavy pop sound.
2001 saw the release of their debut album The Fake Fake Sound of Mikabomb on the Damaged Goods
label after Grand Royal went bust.
Through their career they have played with At the Drive-In
, The Donnas
, Snuff
, Bis
, The Datsuns
, The D4
, Ten Benson
and Rosita
.
In 2005, they released their second album, Hellcats, which featured a cover of Holly Golightly
's "Won't Go Out", with Mika and Holly herself performing a duet on lead vocals.
On 10 December 2005, drummer Ergi fell ill and was rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed as having septicaemia
. He survived a week-long, near-fatal coma
, but had both his legs amputated below the knee. There were several fundraising events in 2006 to help Ergi cope with the changes in his life, the highlight being a benefit gig at The Garage, Highbury Corner, Islington
, London on 15 May 2006.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese pop-punk band.
Lead singer Mika Handa arrived in London in 1998, with the goal of playing in a punk band. Recruitment for the band began with the arrival in London of the guitarist Agi (Long Kuan), who now sings in the electronic duo, Long Kuan Jiu Duan. Agi is also known to have tried to re-use Mika Bomb songs in China for profit due to their shaky copyright laws. Another Mika (Mika Kanayama) on bass introduced an element of musicality to the bass department while a North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
boy, Ergi, provided the drums.
In 2000, they signed with the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
' label Grand Royal
Grand Royal
Grand Royal was the Los Angeles, California based vanity record label set up in 1992 by the Beastie Boys in conjunction with Capitol Records after the group left Def Jam Recordings....
. Mika Bomb performed in the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
plugging their singles "Super Sexy Razor Happy Girls" and "Heart Attack". They fused Motown, New York punk, 1950s garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
and Japanese pop to form a distinctive, distortion
Distortion
A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice...
-heavy pop sound.
2001 saw the release of their debut album The Fake Fake Sound of Mikabomb on the Damaged Goods
Damaged Goods (record label)
Damaged Goods is a British independent record label and online shop.- History :Damaged Goods started in 1988 from a living room in east London.Ian Damaged called it DamagedGoods. The first release was a re-issue of the 1977 single by Slaughter and the Dogs, "Where Have All the Bootboys Gone?"...
label after Grand Royal went bust.
Through their career they have played with At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In was an American rock band from El Paso, Texas, considered part of the post-hardcore genre and active from 1993 to 2001. They were known for their extremely energetic stage shows which hearkened back to the 1980s hardcore scene...
, The Donnas
The Donnas
The Donnas are an American all-female rock band from Palo Alto, California. They draw inspiration from The Ramones, The Runaways, AC/DC, Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Kiss. Rolling Stone has stated that "the Donnas offer a guileless take on adolescent alienation; they traffic in kicks, not...
, Snuff
Snuff
Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It is an example of smokeless tobacco. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century...
, Bis
BIS
Bis is a prefix or suffix designating the second instance of a thing, thus preceding ter.Bis can also refer to:* Bis , a Scottish pop band* Bis , a high-teens' magazine published by Kobunsha of Japan...
, The Datsuns
The Datsuns
The Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, formed in 2000. To date they have released four albums and several singles, most of which have charted in New Zealand and/or the United Kingdom...
, The D4
The D4
The D4 was a rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. Their music was released by Hollywood Records in the U.S., Flying Nun Records in New Zealand and by Infectious Records in the UK....
, Ten Benson
Ten Benson
Ten Benson are a rock band from London, United Kingdom formed in 1997. Their early releases saw them described as "psychedelic hillbillies", but they later moved on to a heavy metal sound.-History:...
and Rosita
Rosita (band)
Rosita was a band formed by Marie Du Santiago and Emmy-Kate Montrose, formerly one-half of the much-championed Kenickie in the immediate aftermath of Kenickie's split in October 1998...
.
In 2005, they released their second album, Hellcats, which featured a cover of Holly Golightly
Holly Golightly
Holly Golightly is a British singer-songwriter. Her mother christened her after the protagonist in Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. Her musical style ranges from garage rock to R&B.-Musical career:...
's "Won't Go Out", with Mika and Holly herself performing a duet on lead vocals.
On 10 December 2005, drummer Ergi fell ill and was rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed as having septicaemia
Sepsis
Sepsis is a potentially deadly medical condition that is characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state and the presence of a known or suspected infection. The body may develop this inflammatory response by the immune system to microbes in the blood, urine, lungs, skin, or other tissues...
. He survived a week-long, near-fatal coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
, but had both his legs amputated below the knee. There were several fundraising events in 2006 to help Ergi cope with the changes in his life, the highlight being a benefit gig at The Garage, Highbury Corner, Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, London on 15 May 2006.
Band members
The current line-up is:- Mika Handa - lead singer
- Anko (Ann Sung-an Lee) - the teleFender TelecasterThe Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
girl, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Mel Roxy - the SGGibson SGAt the launch of the SG in 1961, Gibson offered four variants of the SG; the SG Junior , the SG Special, the SG Standard, and the top-of-the-line SG Custom. However, Gibson's current core variants as of 2010 are the SG Standard and the SG Special...
girl, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Wataru Idol - bassBass (instrument)Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
- Ergi Ahmed - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
External links
- Mika Bomb's page on Damaged Goods' website
- PLAYLOUDER | Yellow, I Love You Feature article on Hellcats by Daniel Robson, including a history of the band and an interview with Mika Handa.