Yorushika | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Japan |
Genres | |
Years active | 2017 | –present
Labels | |
Members | N-buna Suis |
Website | yorushika |
Yorushika (ヨルシカ) is a Japanese rock duo founded in 2017 represented by Universal Music Japan. The group is composed of N-buna, a vocaloid music producer, and Suis, a female vocalist. They are known for their juxtaposition of "passionate" and "upbeat" production and instrumentation fused with heavier lyrical content, which often explore ideas such as love and human emotion and draw from works of literature including Masuji Ibuse and Jules Verne.[1][2] The name "Yorushika" is taken from a lyric in their song "Kumo to Yūrei" (雲と幽霊): "Yoru shika mō nemurezu ni" (夜しかもう眠れずに, meaning "I can only sleep at night").[3] The eye-designed logo mark is a motif of two moons facing each other and also serves as a clock hand, portraying the time "from 6:00 to night".[4]
The duo is extremely secretive, never publicly revealing their faces together.[5]
Prior to the formation of Yorushika, N-buna already had a sizeable following on Niconico, a Japanese video hosting website, first releasing vocaloid music on the platform in 2012. His 2013 song "Tōmei Elegy" (透明エレジー) reached first on the platform's daily vocaloid ranking.[6] Additionally, he has produced two albums through U&R Records, a subsidiary of Niconico's owner Dwango.[7][8]
According to an interview with Natalie, N-buna and Suis met through a common acquaintance; Suis was a longtime fan of N-buna's vocaloid work. Suis first appeared as a guest vocalist during N-buna's two solo concerts in Tokyo.[3][9] N-buna reached out to Suis to form Yorushika as part of N-buna's effort to find a "more human" voice to use in his music, as opposed to vocaloid.[1] Since then, the two have released three extended plays and three full albums, all of which charted on both the Oricon Albums Chart and the Billboard Japan Hot 100 Albums Chart. Yorushika's popularity grew explosively, with critics noting that the lyrics seemed to strike a chord with younger audiences.[1] Additionally, the song "Tada Kimi ni Hare" (ただ君に晴れ) also became popular in video app TikTok.[10]
As of November 2019, their faces and detailed profiles have not been disclosed as they want their audiences to listen to their music without "preconceptions". They have hosted live performances before, but the etiquette of concerts in Japan is a strict no-image policy until told otherwise. [11]
In 2020, they provided the theme song "Ghost in a Flower" (花に亡霊, Hana ni Bōrei) and ending song "Usotsuki" (嘘月) for the animated film A Whisker Away.[12]
In 2021, Suis provided the ending theme "Shonen Jidai" (少年時代) to the Japanese version of the Disney film Luca.[13]
In 2022, they provided the theme song "Sayuumou" (左右盲) and "Chinokate" (チノカテ) for the Japanese TV drama "Renovation like Magic" (魔法のリノベ, Mahō no rinobe).[14]
In 2023, they provided the song "Setting Sun" (斜陽, Shayou), the opening theme song for the first season of the anime series The Dangers in My Heart.
In 2024, Yorushika provided the song "Sunny" (晴る, Haru),[15] the second opening theme song for the anime series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.
Title | Album Details | Chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
JPN[16] | JPN Hot Album |
TWN East Asia Album | ||
Dakara Boku wa Ongaku wo Yameta (だから僕は音楽を辞めた) |
|
5 | 5[17] | — |
Elma (エルマ) |
|
3 | 2[18] | — |
Plagiarism (盗作) |
|
2 | 1[19] | 3[20] |
Magic Lantern (幻燈) |
|
— | 5[21] | — |
Title | EP details | Chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
Oricon Weekly Albums Chart[16] |
Billboard Japan Hot 100 | ||
Natsukusa ga Jyama wo Suru (夏草が邪魔をする) |
|
32 | 35[22] |
Makeinu ni Encore wa Iranai (負け犬にアンコールはいらない) |
|
5 | 6[23] |
Creation (創作) |
|
4 | 4 |
Year | Ceremony | Award | Nominated Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | 34th Japan Gold Disc Award[25] | Best 5 New Artists | Won | |
2020 MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Japanese Act | Nominated | ||
2021 | 13th CD Shop Awards[26] | Finalist Award | Tosaku (盗作) | Won |
Space Shower Music Awards[27] | Best Pop Artist | Nominated |
Title | Year | Director |
---|---|---|
"Fireworks Beneath My Shoes" | 2017 | Second Origami |
"Say It." | Ootori | |
"Semi-Transparent Boy" | 2018 | Minakata Laboratory |
"Hitchcock" | Ootori | |
"Just a Sunny Day for You" | Popurika | |
"The Clouds and the Ghost" | ||
"Blur" | ||
"Parade" | 2019 | Ootori |
"That's Why I Gave Up on Music" | Popurika and Magotsuki | |
"A Hole Opened Up in My Heart" | Kawasaki Kenji | |
"Rain with Cappuccino" | Popurika | |
"Nautilus" | Kohta Morie | |
"Night Journey" | 2020 | Hiroshi Kamebuchi |
"Ghost in a Flower" | Popurika | |
"Prostitution" | Takuya Katsumi | |
"Thoughtcrime" | Rabbit MACHINE | |
"Plagiarism" | Tetsuya Nagato | |
"Eat the Wind" | Kyotaro Hayashi | |
"Spring Thief" | 2021 | Kohta Morie |
"Matasaburo" | Takuya Katsumi | |
"Howl at the Moon" | Ryu Kato | |
"Bremen" | 2022 | Rabbit MACHINE |
Left-Right Confusion" | Kohta Morie | |
"Fruits of the Earth" | Ryo Ichikawa | |
"Telepath" | 2023 | Rabbit MACHINE |
"Algernon" | Takuro Oishi | |
"Miyakoochi" | Atsuyo Kanamori | |
"Setting Sun" | Yutaro Kubo | |
"Moonbath" | Yutaro Kubo |