The Yellow Monkey

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The Yellow Monkey
The Yellow Monkey at the Tokyo International Film Festival on October 25, 2017. Clockwise, from top left: Kazuya Yoshii, Hideaki Kikuchi, Eiji Kikuchi, Yoichi Hirose
Background information
Also known asYemon
OriginTokyo, Japan
Genres
Years active1988–2004, 2016–present
LabelsTriad/Nippon Columbia,
BMG Funhouse/Ariola Japan,
Atlantic/Warner Music Japan
MembersKazuya Yoshii
Hideaki Kikuchi
Yoichi Hirose
Eiji Kikuchi
Websitetheyellowmonkeysuper.jp

The Yellow Monkey, sometimes abbreviated as Yemon (Japanese: イエモン, Hepburn: Iemon), is a Japanese rock band originally active from 1988 to 2001, before officially disbanding in 2004. They announced their reformation in 2016.

The band's name was derived from the ethnic slur that Japanese people look like monkeys,[2] and that Asian people are said to be "yellow" in skin color. The Yellow Monkey is considered an important Japanese rock group, having achieved major success selling 10 million records,[3] including 6.2 million singles.[4] The group has had three consecutive number one albums, 18 top ten singles and in 2003 were ranked number 81 on HMV Japan's list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts.[2] Outside Japan the band is best known for their song "Tactics", one of the many ending themes of the Rurouni Kenshin anime.

History

1988–1994: The Beginning

The group has its roots in 1988, formed by Kazuya Yoshii when his previous band Urgh Police disbanded. He, originally playing bass, switched to guitar when he recruited Yoichi Hirose (ex-Murbas), Eiji Kikuchi (ex-Killer May) and several other members and they began to play in the live houses of Tokyo. When the vocalist left, Yoshii took over that position and recruited Eiji's brother Hideaki as guitarist.

The Yellow Monkey started to play in the underground circuit, being well known for not only their latent songwriting quality, but also because of their live performances, which would soon become the main characteristics of the group. A December 28, 1989 show at Shibuya La Mama is regarded as the first with these four members.[2] The fans of the band grew vertiginously, preparing the band for their first studio work.

In 1991, the band finally launched their first album, Bunched Birth, which had seven original songs. It was an independently released album with raw sonority, with many influences from hard rock, and containing well-shaped but peculiar lyrics (all of them written by Yoshii). The work was very well received by the public, opening the doors for their major label debut album, The Night Snails and Plastic Boogie, of 1992 on Triad/Nippon Columbia. The new album brought eleven songs more elaborate than the first work. The band had a considerable increase in popularity, which added to single "Romantist Taste" and to the ballad "Pearl Light of Revolution", that already gave samples of the potential of Kazuya in composing powerful ballads.

In 1993, the band launched their second major album, Experience Movie. The songs had a better production and care with the sonority. The songs of the album were very strong and with high emotional text.[citation needed] The band also started to be admired for their live performances, due to the band's charisma and Kazuya's extreme performances. However, the band had not yet become a large public success in Japan.

In 1994, they released the album Jaguar Hard Pain, a conceptual album which tells the saga of Jaguar, a World War II soldier who dies in combat and comes back to life trying to find his love, Mary. This was the last album from the first period of the band, when their songs did not have as much popular sound appeal.

1995–2000: The Success

By the year 1995, The Yellow Monkey had already become successful in Japan, playing their first show at the Nippon Budokan on April 11. They released the album Smile, which was another critical and public success, and the band released the single "Love Communication". Other songs that became classics of the band are "Nagekunari Waga Yoru no Fantasy", "Nettaiya", the powerful ballad "Hard Rain" and "Venus no Hana". The tour for this album in Japan booked more than 40 major shows.

When it seemed that the band would rest, at the end of that same year, they released the album Four Seasons, which was recorded in London. The album reached No. 1 on the Oricon charts. The album had more-accessible songs, and reached a warm reception by the fans. There were also fans of anime because the song "Tactics" was used as the first ending theme of the Rurouni Kenshin anime, becoming their most successful single up until that point. Many other classics were already identified, such as "Taiyō ga Moeteiru", the good rock-and-roll track "I Love You Baby" and songs such as "Father", "Tsuioku no Mermaid" and "Tsuki no Uta". Despite the thundering success of the record, the Yellow Monkey continued being a cult band, since the lyrics and live performances remained consistent. On May 5, 1996, The Yellow Monkey performed in London with The Spiders from Mars.

After two back-to-back record releases, the band decided to take a break for one year. The decision was aided by Kazuya's stress from the constant and exhausting work of the two previous albums. The compilation album Triad Years Act 1 was released and was certified by the RIAJ for sales of a million copies.[5] They also changed record labels to BMG Funhouse/Ariola Japan and put on a special show, Mekara Uroko 7, at the end of the year. It was a concert for the oldest fans of the band, in which they had played older songs from before the Smile album. Many of these old fans considered those songs to be mainstream and pop in excess. An unforgettable part of this concert was the moment where they played "Pearl Light of Revolution" with an orchestral arrangement. This according to Kazuya, was one of the best moments in his career.

In 1997, The Yellow Monkey came back with the album that is considered their magnum opus, Sicks. This album brought a different sonority compared to the two previous works. It was a mix of their current sound combined with that of their first albums. Bringing more complex and mature songs, Sicks, was an amazing critical success and repeated the sales of the previous album. The main characteristic of the record is the concern of the band with the arrangements, which becomes more evident already in the first track, "Rainbow Man". The only single of the album was "Rakuen", which was successful and is still one of their best known songs.[citation needed] Despite being a concise album, whose songs are all equivalent in quality, there are three songs that made the album legendary. The first one is the already cited "Rakuen", with a strong chorus. The second is the ballad "Jinsei no Owari (for Grandmother)", considered by many as the best ballad by The Yellow Monkey. The third song is the long eight-minute epic, "Tengoku Ryokou", again considered among the best songs of the group.

The band released the commercially successful album Punch Drunkard in 1998, although not to the extent of their previous album it was named one of the top albums from 1989-1998 in a 2004 issue of the music magazine Band Yarouze.[6] The songs "Kyuukon", "Burn", and "Love Love Show" easily became hits. Although containing accessible songs, such as the ones cited in this article, the album used the song-writing method of the previous album, Sicks. The success of the album made it possible for the band to begin a great tour with 113 live concerts, the most of their career.[7] They also did a small tour in the United Kingdom.

After the exhausting succession of concerts and tours, the group took a one-year break. Coming back in 2000, the Yellow Monkey released their last studio album, 8. They released many singles such as "Seinaru Umi to Sunshine", "Pearl", "Barairo no Hibi" and "Shock Hearts", all of them achieving great success. The album is considered the most occidental of the band, which was common for all Japanese bands at that time. Despite the success of the album, the group did not stage many concerts that year, already showing that the end was coming.

2001–2004: The End and post-activities

On January 8, 2001 the group held their last concert at the Tokyo Dome, beginning a hiatus for an indefinite amount of time and released their last single "Primal." at the end of the month, which was produced by Tony Visconti.[8] The compilation album Golden Years Singles 1996–2001 followed in June. The members released many solo albums, with Kazuya reaching more success and adopting the stage name of Yoshii Lovinson, which he abandoned some years later. Hirose also obtained relative success with his band, Heesey with Dudes. Annie teamed up with Anchang (Sex Machineguns) and Natchin (Siam Shade) to form the trio Big Bites.[9] Hideaki formed the loose musical collaboration project brainchild's.[10]

In 2004, the band released a large compilation Mother of All the Best, which included three discs with some singles, all b-sides, some demo-version songs and live performances. The Yellow Monkey officially announced their disbandment on July 7, 2004.[11]

A two-disc tribute album titled This is For You ~ The Yellow Monkey Tribute Album was released on December 9, 2009, featuring artists such as Mucc, Fujifabric, 9mm Parabellum Bullet, Morgan Fisher and Kreva. Their song "Jam" was covered by Chemical Pictures on the album Crush! 2 -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-, which was released on November 23, 2011.[12]

In 2012, a remix of their first single was released in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their major label debut. Mastered by Ted Jensen, "Romantist Taste 2012" was released on October 10.[13]

A documentary film of their 113 date tour from April 1998 to March 1999 was released in theaters nationwide in 2013, titled Pandora: The Yellow Monkey Punch Drunkard Tour The Movie.[7][14] It includes an interview with all four members together, the first time since the band broke up.[14]

2016–present: The Reformation

Rumors began circulating about the band reforming after the appearance of a mysterious website with a picture of a cocoon and a timer counting down to January 8, 2016. Various clues on the page led to the notion of the band reuniting, including GPS coordinates of the venue where they held their first concert. It was confirmed on January 8 that The Yellow Monkey would reform for a twenty-date arena tour, beginning with their first concert in fifteen years on May 11 at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium.[3][15] Their first new song, "Alright", debuted on the radio on February 10.[16] "Alright" is included as the B-side on their first single since reuniting, "Suna no Tō", which was released on October 19, 2016.[17] The year saw them perform 42 concerts to over 360,000 people.[18]

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of their major label debut, the self-cover album The Yellow Monkey is Here. New Best was released on May 21, 2017. It features new recordings of the first sixteen songs from 2013's Yemon -Fan's Best Selection-, the track list of which was voted on by fans. A special edition of the album includes a second CD of the new song "Roseana".[18] The Yellow Monkey recorded a cover of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" released exclusively on Amazon.co.jp. It was first released digitally on September 13, 2017, with a made-to-order 7-inch record coupled with a live recording of the same song released on January 8, 2018.[19] A song called "Stars" was released digitally on October 27, 2017.[20] "Horizon", the theme song of the film Ototoki, was released digitally on November 29 as the final part of three consecutive monthly releases.[21] On December 9 and 10, The Yellow Monkey performed at the Tokyo Dome for the first time in 17 years.[22]

They were nominated for Best Group Artist at the 2018 Space Shower Music Video Awards.[23] In October 2018, it was announced that the band had signed with Atlantic/Warner Music Japan.[24] The Yellow Monkey's catalog was made available on digital services worldwide on November 9. That same day, the new song "Tentomushi" was released.[25] The digital song "I Don't Know" was released on January 25, 2019.[26] Their tenth studio album and first in 19 years, 9999 (pronounced Four Nine), was released on April 17 and supported by a lengthy nationwide arena tour from April to September.[27] On August 6, the band performed a surprise concert at Shibuya La Mama, where they played their first gig almost 30 years earlier, limited to 250 people.[28] In celebration of their 30th anniversary, they released an expanded version of 9999 and will perform four dome concerts between December 28, 2019 and April 5, 2020.[29][30]

Members

Discography

Studio albums
  • Bunched Birth (July 21, 1991)
  • The Night Snails and Plastic Boogie (June 21, 1992), Oricon Albums Chart Peak Position: No. 79[31]
  • Experience Movie (March 1, 1993) No. 80[31]
  • Jaguar Hard Pain 1944〜1994 (March 1, 1994) No. 28[31]
  • Smile (February 1, 1995) No. 4[31]
  • Four Seasons (November 1, 1995) No. 1[31]
  • Sicks (January 22, 1997) No. 1[31]
  • Punch Drunkard (March 4, 1998) No. 1[31]
  • 8 (July 26, 2000) No. 2[31]
  • 9999 (April 17, 2019) No. 2[31]
Compilation albums
  • Triad Years Act 1 The Very Best of The Yellow Monkey (December 7, 1996) No. 2[31]
  • Triad Years Act 2 The Very Best of The Yellow Monkey (April 19, 1997) No. 2[31]
  • The Yellow Monkey Single Collection (February 10, 1998) No. 10[31]
  • Triad Years Act I & II The Very Best of The Yellow Monkey (March 1, 2001) No. 25[31]
  • Golden Years Singles 1996-2001 (June 13, 2001) No. 2[31]
  • The Yellow Monkey Mother of All The Best (December 8, 2004) No. 5[31]
  • Yemon -Fan's Best Selection- (イエモン -FAN'S BEST SELECTION-, July 31, 2013) No. 2[31]
Other albums
  • Triad Complete Box (December 10, 1997, box set) No. 14[31]
  • So Alive (May 26, 1999, live album) No. 4[31]
  • This is For You ~ The Yellow Monkey Tribute Album (December 9, 2009, tribute album)
  • Complete Sicks (January 22, 2010) No. 6[31]
  • The Yellow Monkey is Here. New Best (May 21, 2017, self-cover album) No. 1[31]
Singles
  • "Romantist Taste" (Mat 21, 1992)
  • "Avant-garde de Ikō yo " (アバンギャルドで行こうよ, March 1, 1993), Oricon Singles Chart Peak Position: No. 49[32]
  • "Sad Asian Boy" (悲しきASIAN BOY, February 21, 1994) No. 97[32]
  • "Nettaiya" (熱帯夜, July 21, 1994) No. 59[32]
  • "Love Communication" (January 21, 1995) No. 29[32]
  • "Nagekunari Waga Yoru no Fantasy" (嘆くなり我が夜のFantasy, March 1, 1995) No. 34[32]
  • "Tsuioku no Mermaid" (追憶のマーメイド, July 21, 1995) No. 19[32]
  • "Taiyō ga Moeteiru" (太陽が燃えている, September 30, 1995) No. 9[32]
  • "Jam/Tactics" (February 29, 1996) No. 6[32]
  • "Spark" (July 10, 1996) No. 3[32]
  • "Rakuen" (楽園, November 25, 1996) No. 3[32]
  • "Love Love Show" (April 19, 1997) No. 4[32]
  • "Burn" (July 24, 1997) No. 2[32]
  • "Kyūkon" (球根, February 4, 1998) No. 1[32]
  • "Hanareru na " (離れるな, June 3, 1998) No. 15[32]
  • "Sugar Fix" (August 21, 1998) No. 5[32]
  • "My Winding Road" (October 21, 1998) No. 5[32]
  • "So Young" (March 3, 1999) No. 5[32]
  • "Barairo no Hibi" (バラ色の日々, December 8, 1999) No. 4[32]
  • "Seinaru Umi to Sunshine" (聖なる海とサンシャイン, January 26, 2000) No. 9[32]
  • "Shock Hearts" (April 5, 2000) No. 3[32]
  • "Pearl" (パール, July 12, 2000) No. 6[32]
  • "Brilliant World" (November 1, 2000) No. 5[32]
  • "Primal." (プライマル。, January 31, 2001) No. 3[32]
  • "Romantist Taste 2012" (October 10, 2012) No. 5[32]
  • "Suna no Tō" (砂の塔, October 19, 2016) No. 2[32]
Other singles
  • "Alright" (February 12, 2017, fan club only)
  • "Roseana" (ロザーナ, March 17, 2017, fan club only)
  • "Ziggy Stardust" (September 13, 2017, Amazon.co.jp only)
  • "Stars" (October 27, 2017)
  • "Horizon" (November 29, 2017)
  • "Tentomushi" (天道虫, Tentōmushi, "Ladybug", November 9, 2018)
  • "I Don't Know" (January 25, 2019)
  • "Dandan" (October 30, 2019)
Home videos
  • Life Time - Screen ~Tsuioku no Ginmaku~ (life Time・SCREEN〜追憶の銀幕〜, September 1, 1993)
  • Cherry Blossom Revolution -Live at Budokan- (July 21, 1995)
  • Clips Video Collection 1992〜1996 (March 30, 1996)
  • True Mind Tour '95-'96 For Season: In Motion (October 21, 1996)
  • Blue Film (November 1, 1997)
  • Red Tape (December 3, 1997)
  • Purple Disc (December 17, 1997)
  • Mekara Uroko - 7 (メカラ ウロコ・7, October 21, 1998)
  • Clips 2 Video Collection 1996〜1998 (November 18, 1998)
  • Punch Drunkard Tour 1998/99 Final 3.10 Yokohama Arena (PUNCH DRUNKARD TOUR 1998/99 FINAL 3.10 横浜アリーナ, June 23, 1999)
  • Jaguar Hard Pain Live '94 (December 10, 1999)
  • Spring Tour (December 9, 2000), Oricon DVDs Chart Peak Position: No. 25[33]
  • Clips 3 Video Collection 1999〜2001 (March 14, 2001) No. 11[33]
  • The Yellow Monkey Clip Box (December 8, 2004) No. 9[33]
  • The Yellow Monkey Live Box (December 8, 2004) No. 15[33]
  • The Yellow Monkey Live at Tokyo Dome (December 28, 2004) No. 13[33]
  • Empire Live The Yellow Monkey (ライブ帝国 THE YELLOW MONKEY, December 23, 2005) No. 82[33]
  • Mekara Uroko - Live DVD-Box (メカラ ウロコ・LIVE DVD-BOX, December 9, 2009) No. 10[33]
  • True Mind "Naked" - Tour '96 "For Season" at Nippon Budokan (TRUE MIND “NAKED” -TOUR '96 “FOR SEASON” at 日本武道館-, October 21, 2012) No. 161[33]
  • True Mind "Naked" - Tour '96 For Season "Proof of the Wild" at NHK Hall (TRUE MIND “NAKED” -TOUR '96 FOR SEASON “野性の証明” at NHKホール-, October 21, 2012) No. 241[33]
  • True Mind "Naked" (October 21, 2012) No. 4[33]
  • Red Tape "Naked" (December 3, 2012) No. 5[33]
  • Pandora: The Yellow Monkey Punch Drunkard Tour The Movie (パンドラ　ザ・イエロー・モンキー　PUNCH DRUNKARD TOUR THE MOVIE, December 4, 2013) No. 7,[33] Oricon Blu-rays Chart Peak Position: No. 102[34]
  • The Yellow Monkey Super Japan Tour 2016 -Saitama Super Arena 2016.7.10- (October 19, 2016) No. 1,[33] No. 1[34]
  • The Yellow Monkey Live Box (March 21, 2018) No. 13[33]
  • Ototoki (オトトキ, March 28, 2018) No. 40,[33] No. 3 (deluxe), 143 (regular)[34]
  • The Yellow Monkey Super Big Egg 2017 (August 2, 2019) No. 3,[33] No. 4[34]

References

  1. ^ a b "THE YELLOW MONKEY大復活！今あらためて知る、彼らの3つの魅力". M-ON! Music (in Japanese). 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  2. ^ a b c "Top 100 Japanese pops Artists - No.81". HMV Group (in Japanese). Retrieved 2012-08-30.
  3. ^ a b "THE YELLOW MONKEY、15年ぶりに集結。5月から全国アリーナツアー開催". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  4. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、解散以来初の４人のコメントを公開". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  5. ^ "RIAJ CERTIFIED MILLION SELLER ALBUMS". ocn.ne.jp. Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  6. ^ "Top 44 Albums from 1989 - 1998". jame-world.com. 2004-05-09. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  7. ^ a b "THE YELLOW MONKEY Reveals Documentary Video". Barks.jp. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  8. ^ "内的苦悩と新次元に到達するための試み". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2001-01-19. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  9. ^ "BIG BITES、これぞまさしくロック界の日本代表"侍ジャパン"". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  10. ^ "元イエモン菊地英昭率いるbrainchild'sが東阪公演決定". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  11. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEYの解散発表でファンの反応は？". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2004-08-03. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  12. ^ "Aoi, Moran, and more to release '90s Visual Kei cover album". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  13. ^ "イエモン20年前のデビュー曲が装い新たにシングル化". Natalie (in Japanese). Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  14. ^ a b "THE YELLOW MONKEY: "Pandora" theatrical version trailer". Barks.jp. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  15. ^ "イエモン、"サル年"に15年ぶり復活　5月からアリーナツアー20公演". Oricon. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  16. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、待望の新曲は「ALRIGHT」。2月10日にラジオで一斉解禁". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  17. ^ "New Single from THE YELLOW MONKEY". jame-world.com. 2016-09-10. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  18. ^ a b "THE YELLOW MONKEY、新曲「ロザーナ」ティザー映像＋新録ベスト＋東京ドーム公演日程発表". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2017-03-17. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
  19. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、3ヶ月連続で楽曲配信決定。第一弾は「ZIGGY STARDUST」". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
  20. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、結成記念日に福岡ヤフオク!ドームにて＜メカラ ウロコ＞＋3ヶ月連続配信第二弾は新曲「Stars」". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  21. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、映画『オトトキ』舞台挨拶に登場。主題歌「Horizon」は11月29日に配信リリース!!". Entertainment Station (in Japanese). 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  22. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、17年ぶり東京ドーム公演をBSスカパー！で生中継". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  23. ^ "スペシャ「MUSIC AWARDS」10部門ノミネート発表、パシフィコで授賞式も". Natalie (in Japanese). 2017-12-27. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  24. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEYがAtlantic/Warner Music Japanとタッグを組むことを発表！！". EMTG Music (in Japanese). 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  25. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、台湾のネオンに照らされる妖艶な「天道虫」MV". Natalie (in Japanese). 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  26. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、新曲「I don't know」配信リリース決定". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  27. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、19年ぶり9枚目のオリジナルAL『9999』発売決定". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  28. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、La.mamaでプライベートギグ「またちょくちょくやりたいね、これは」". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  29. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、『9999+1』ジャケット公開＋衣装＆写真展が決定". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  30. ^ "THE YELLOW MONKEY、「DANDAN」配信リリース。ジャケットには"猿"が登場". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  31. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "THE YELLOW MONKEYのアルバム売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "THE YELLOW MONKEYのシングル売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "THE YELLOW MONKEYのDVD売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  34. ^ a b c d "THE YELLOW MONKEYのBlu-ray売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-08-13.

External links

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