Yorushika

Yorushika
Yorushika's logo
Background information
OriginJapan
Genres
Years active2017 (2017)–present
Labels
MembersN-buna
Suis
Websiteyorushika.com

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 or holding many concerts. To date, Yorushika has only held three concerts, one in July 2017, one in August 2019, and another in January 2021.[5]

History

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]

Members

  • n-buna (pronounced nabuna) – music, arrangement
  • suis (pronounced su-i) – vocals

Discography

Albums

Title Album Details Chart positions
JPN[15] JPN
Hot Album 		TWN
East Asia Album
Dakara Boku wa Ongaku wo Yameta (だから僕は音楽を辞めた)
  • Released: April 10, 2019
  • Label: U&R Records
 5 5[16] —
Elma (エルマ)
  • Released: August 28, 2019
  • Label: Universal Music Japan
 3 2[17] —
Plagiarism (盗作)
  • Released: July 29, 2020
  • Label: Universal Music Japan
 2 1[18] 3[19]
Magic Lantern (幻燈)
  • Released: April 5, 2023
  • Label: Polydor Records
 — 5[20] —

Extended plays

Title EP details Chart positions
Oricon Weekly
Albums Chart[15] 		Billboard Japan
Hot 100
Natsukusa ga Jyama wo Suru (夏草が邪魔をする)
  • Released: June 28, 2017
  • Label: U&R Records
 32 35[21]
Makeinu ni Encore wa Iranai (負け犬にアンコールはいらない)
  • Released: May 9, 2018
  • Label: U&R Records
 5 6[22]
Creation (創作)
  • Released: January 27, 2021
  • Label: Universal Music Japan[23]
 4 4

Accolades

Year Ceremony Award Nominated Work Result
2020 34th Japan Gold Disc Award[24] Best 5 New Artists Won
2020 MTV Europe Music Awards Best Japanese Act Nominated
2021 13th CD Shop Awards[25] Finalist Award Tosaku (盗作) Won
Space Shower Music Awards[26] BEST POP ARTIST Nominated

Videography

Music videos

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

References

  1. ^ a b c 天野史彬 (August 28, 2019). "ヨルシカインタビュー 自分を滅却し、芸術に人生を捧げた2人の決断". Cinra.net (in Japanese). Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  2. ^ St. Michel, Patrick (April 12, 2019). "Yorushika offers a subversive meditation on artistic passion on "That's Why I Gave Up On Music"". OTAQUEST. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  3. ^ a b 風間大洋. "ヨルシカ". Natalie (in Japanese). Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  4. ^ Inc, Natasha. "ヨルシカ「夏草が邪魔をする」インタビュー｜気鋭ボカロP・n-bunaが新たに挑む"バンド"という表現手段 (2/3) - 音楽ナタリー 特集・インタビュー". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-02-09. {cite web}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ "ヨルシカ、10月に東名阪にて2年ぶりとなるワンマン・ライヴ開催決定". Skream (in Japanese). August 8, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  6. ^ "人気若手ボカロP、ナブナが初のフル アルバムをリリース". okmusic (in Japanese). May 12, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  7. ^ "人気若手ボカロP"ナブナ"、初の全国流通盤となる新作アルバムの発売決定！". UtaTen (in Japanese). May 13, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  8. ^ "「ウミユリ海底譚」で知られるn-buna、童話をモチーフにしたフルアルバム発表". Natalie (in Japanese). April 26, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  9. ^ "n-bunaがバンド編成で初ライブ「1人だと思ってたけど支えられてた」". Natalie (in Japanese). August 17, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  10. ^ "TikTokで使用されている人気の楽曲の原曲はこちら！(邦楽編)". Tower Records Japan (in Japanese). November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  11. ^ "ヨルシカの顔出しはライブ待ち。ちなみにサポートメンバーは超人気バンドの元ドラマー！ | レコメンロック". www.rockband-recommended.tokyo (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  12. ^ "A Whisker Away Anime Film's Video Reveals Yorushika Ending Song". Anime News Network. June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  13. ^ "Yoshika suis reveals the reason why he doesn't show up. 'The joy of living that I felt by breathing into the work". Richhippos. 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  14. ^ "ドラマ『魔法のリノベ』主題歌「チノカテ」、8月29日デジタルリリース決定！". ヨルシカ (in Japanese). 2022-08-22. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  15. ^ a b "ヨルシカ". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  16. ^ "Hot Albums 2019/04/22 付け". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  17. ^ "Hot Albums 2019/09/09 付け". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  18. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums | Charts". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  19. ^ "Taiwan G-music Chart". g-music. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  20. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums | Charts". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  21. ^ "Hot Albums 2017/07/10 付け". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  22. ^ "Hot Albums 2018/05/21 付け". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  23. ^ "【12/9追記】ヨルシカEP『創作』2021年1月27日発売決定". ヨルシカ (in Japanese). 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  24. ^ "The 34th Japan Gold Disc Award". golddisc.jp. Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  25. ^ "The 13th CD Shop Awards 2021 Announces Its Nominees for 2020". 8 January 2021.
  26. ^ "Space Shower MVA nominees".

External links