Acidman Ooki Nobuo Satou Masatoshi Urayama Ichigo Vocals, Guitar Bass Drums Profile Despite being veterans of the major label scene in Japan, Acidman is one of the many bands still thought to be straddling the line between the underground and the big time. Though they are often misfiled as simply a punk or post-alternative band, Acidman covers much more musical territory such labels suggest. The trio epitomizes playing to the fullest, giving their music suprising depth. Satou's bass formed the core of this band during its early days, as it would frequently carry the melody and contribute greatly to Acidman's three-dimensional sound. The bassslines are paired wth multi-talented Ooki's (whose paintings grace the covers of several Acidman releases) vocals, which reach impassionate levels rivaling The Back Horn's Yamada Masashi. He's not confined to one style, also excelling with a wistful crooning featured especially prominently on the band's last album, and world. Ooki's guitar plays a crucial role in filling out Acidman's sound and has been wrestling the spotlight away from Satou's bass as his style develops. Lastly, Urayama's drumming cranks out more than just a steady beat; his rhythmic blitzkrieg (especially from Loop onwards) adds an extra layer of complexity to an already dense soundscape. Pieced together, the three create a highly musical and finessed output topping that of four or five member bands, at the same time maintaining a very basic appeal to wide audiences. Acidman initially formed in 1997 with four members at a military academy in Saitama. The band continued as the members attended university together in Shimokitazawa, issuing two demos in 1998. The original vocalist Shiibashi Takeshi departed in 1999, leaving guitarist Ooki to take over vocals and assume leadership of Acidman. The band continued playing live, while Ooki passed exams to obtain a pharmacist's license in case Acidman never hit it big. The following year Acidman's debut single Sekitou was released on independent Nomadic Records, reaching number three on the indie charts in 2001. It was followed by the mini-album Sankazora in February 2002, which debuted on the Oricon indie charts at 29. Shortly thereafter Acidman launched their first tour and signed to Toshiba-EMI. Allegro, Zouka ga Warau and a reissued Sekitou appeared as singles before the October release of their major debut Sou. The album was a creative success, and with its combination of driving and laidback songs and even fully instrumental tracks, Sou set the a new standard for Acidman. The album was also a commercial success, debuting at number nine on the Oricon, and won Acidman the Japan Gold Disk award in 2003 for New Artist of the Year. Following the breakout success of Sou proved to be the band's first real test. Acidman carried a back catalogue of close to a half-dozen songs into the Sou sessions, and without such a luxury the follow-up album Loop required more than a year to record. Because of the difficulties the members were tempted to add a fourth member, but remained steadfast in their resolve to keep Acidman a trio. With Loop complete, the members gained much confidence from finishing the recording process, saying they felt like a changed band. Like Sou, Loop was released to critical and commercial success, hailed by some as an important record in modern Japanese rock. Following the finale of the Loop tour in late 2003, Acidman returned to the studios in December with a new set of goals. The members agreed on wanting to write catchier melodies. The next single Suisha, released in March 2004 with the outstanding instrumental B-side "SAI(inst.ver.)" showcased the band's continuing development and changing priorities. Studio work hit a snag though as Ooki, who normally wrote the main melody lines, battled writer's block and left the songwriting duties to Satou and Urayama. However, partly due to recent world events Ooki had a burst of inspiration with his lyrical compositions, and chose the upcoming album's theme to be his personal philosophy of universal equality among all things. The next single, equal e.p., appeared in August 2004, with the album equal following the next month. With its moving yet imaginative tracks, equal may prove to be the magnum opus of Acidman's young career. All members reported immense satisfaction with the finished album, saying all of their ideas and goals for equal were reached. 2005 brought on another cycle of singles terminating in the December album release of and world. The heavier a-sides, with the exception of "Kisetsu no Tou," essentially belied the content on their latest studio recording. Acidman's fourth studio album was significantly toned down in comparison to its three predecessors. The band had mostly forgone their hard rock roots to try a softer direction with much of the album's thirteen tracks. After taking a slightly longer break from their usual rigorous release schedule, Acidman released two singles towards the end of 2006. Their latest full-length green chord appeared in February 2007, and continued with similar stylistic tones as and world. When asked about Acidman's goals, Ooki responds that he wants his music to resonate with listeners and give them pause to reflect even if only for an instant. He also cites frustration with modern rock, stating that though it's often criticized as weak, musicians don't respond by trying harder. Acidman's members look to silence these criticisms. Says Ooki, "That's our mission." - James Route (published 2004.12.13, updated 2007.02.07) Links Artist homepage Toshiba-EMI Samples Keikaku Content Review - equal Review - Aru Shoumei Review - Loop Review - and world Review - Green Chord Review - Life Discography list Albums TOCT-24830 Sou TOCT-25084 Loop TOCT-25454 equal TOCT-25867 and world TOCT-26184 green chord Singles ATL-0001 Sekitou TOCT-4441 Zouka ga Warau TOCT-4422 Allegro TOCT-4422 Sekitou TOCT-4466 Slow View TOCT-4522 Repeat TOCT-4704 Suisha TOCT-4654 equal e.p. TOCT-4866 Aru Shoumei TOCT-4928 Kisetsu no Tou TOCT-4933 world symphony TOCT-40033 Slow Rain TOCT-40058 Rhythm no Yoru EPs ATL-0002 Sankazora Compilations TOCT-4704 Our Last Day - Casshern Official Album AVCW-12387 Mosh Pit on Disney DVDs TOBF-5205 scene of sou TOBF-5234 scene of loop TOBF-5328 scene of equal TOBF-5484 and world tour Final 20060409		green chord (Album) Released: 2007.02.07 (TOCT-26184) Label: Toshiba-EMI Tracklist 1. green chord (introduction) 2. Returning 3. Ride the wave 4. Slow Rain 5. REAL DISTANCE 6. So Far 7. Rhythm no Yoru 8. AM:2:00 (inst.) 9. Dawn Chorus (inst.) 10. Sennen Hokou 11. Kenmei no Mei 12. calm 13. toward Rhythm no Yoru (Single) Released: 2006.11.15 (TOCT-40058) Label: Toshiba-EMI Tracklist 1. Rhythm no Yoru 2. Dawn Chorus (inst.) 3. Simple Story (second line) Slow Rain (Single) Released: 2006.09.06 (TOCT-40033) Label: Toshiba-EMI Tracklist 1. Slow Rain 2. Isotope (second line) 3. Walking Dada (inst.) and world tour Final 20060409 (DVD) Released: 2006.07.19 (TOBF-5484) Label: Toshiba-EMI Tracklist 1. Introduction (Remixed By Super Samir) 2. world symphony 3. id 4. River 5. swayed 6. Nami, Shiroku 7. Sekitou 8. Platanus 9. Natsu no Yoin 10. water room(inst.) 11. Sol(inst.) 12. Kisetsu no Tou 13. Repeat 14. stay on land 15. Ginga no Machi 16. Isotope 17. FREAK OUT 18. Aru Shoumei 19. and world 20. Zouka ga Warau(EN1) 21. Hibikari(EN2) 22. Mawaru Meguru sono Kaku he(EN3) and world (Album) Released: 2005.12.07 (TOCT-25867) Label: Toshiba-EMI Tracklist 1. introduction 2. world symphony 3. id 4. River 5. Kisetsu no Tou 6. SOL(inst.) 7. Ginga no Machi 8. Natsu no Yoin 9. Platanus 10. water room(inst.) 11. stay on land 12. Aru Shoumei 13. and world world symphony (Single) Released: 2005.11.09 (TOCT-4933) Label: Toshiba-EMI Tracklist 1. world symphony 2. turn around (second line) Kisetsu no Tou (Single) Released: 2005.10.19 (TOCT-4928) Label: Toshiba-EMI Tracklist 1. Kisetsu no Tou 2. spaced out (second line) Aru Shoumei (Single) Released: 2005.05.18 (TOCT-4866) Label: Toshiba-EMI Tracklist 1. Aru Shoumei 2. human traffic 3. SOL 1 2 3 4 » Organise Select type All Album Single EP Compilation Demo DVD Order by release date title type back to profiles
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