Rice (band)

rice are a Japanese band formed by ex-Raphael members Yuki and Hiro. Like Raphael, a lot of rice's music is based around the rock genre although instead of guitar the cello is a much more prominent instrument in their work.

The band, although not as visual as they used to be in Raphael, still keep a very distinct fashion from that of a lot of other bands.

Band members

Yuki Sakurai: Lead vocalist, main lyricist, main composer and bass guitarist (occasionally).
Kazuhiro "Hiro" Murata: Backing vocalist, percussionist

Although technically not members of the band, many session instrumentalists have contributed both to album recordings and live shows including Hiroshi Egami (guitar), Fumiaki Nishiyama (bass), Toshihiko Nagayama (cello) and Ayumi Hashimoto (cello).

Something that is common on a lot of rice releases is the inclusion of the same song, "Air", on a number of releases. "Air" is a song with no lyrics, but is comprised of a vocal melody, a cello melody and a percussion accompaniment. It appears on every album and single they have released, re-recorded each time, with the exception of "はるか" (Haruka), "刑事ヒロンボ" (Keizi Hironbo) and "There is…".

Discography

Albums

• ラブレイン (Loverain) (2002-07-24)
• ラメ (Rame) (2004-11-01)
• Trial 0406 (2007-01-31)

Singles

• アンゲルディエ (Angerudie) (2001-07-25)
• 鐡 (Kurogane) (2001-10-31)
• はるか (Haruka) (2002-10-23)
• f～フォルテ～ (f~forte~) (2005-03-08)
• 芽生 (Mei) (2005-05-05)
• 刑事ヒロンボ (Keizi Hironbo) (2004-12-28)
• There is... (2006)

Promotional CD

• 兎に角（ウサギニツノ） (Tonikaku (Usagi ni tsuno)) (2003-07-16)
• FCイベント“春の好き間”参加記念 (FC Event “Haru no Tsuki Aida” Sanka Kinen) (2004-07)
• 2005年カレンダーおまけ (2005 Toshi karenda-omake) (2004-12-28)
• 2006年カレンダーおまけ (2006 Toshi karenda-omake) (2005-12-28)
• 2007年カレンダーおまけ (2007 Toshi karenda-omake) (2006-12-27)

Video

• 辻 (Tsuji) (2004-12-28)

DVD

• ricelive [0/∞ Lv:9] rice vs 刑事ヒロンボ (Keizi Hironbo) ～respect it cool sounds evolution～ (2005-09-07)

External Links

• Official Site (Japanese)