Friends (Japanese band)
Japanese rock band
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Friends (フレンズ) is a Japanese rock band from Tokyo which is signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan.[1] It began activities in 2015 after members Hirose Hirose and Emi Okamoto made a collaboration; they would later be joined by bassist Ryōhei Nagashima, guitarist Tarō Miura, and drummer Rui Sekiguchi; Hirose would later leave the band in 2021. The band's music has been featured in movies, TV dramas, and anime series such as Hori-san to Miyamura-kun.
Friends フレンズ | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | Rock, J-Pop |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Label | Sony Music Entertainment Japan |
| Members |
|
| Past members | Hirose Hirose (keyboard, vocals) |
| Website | friends-jpn |
History
The band's activities began in 2015 when Hirose Hirose, a member of the band Nicoten, decided to hold a live performance to celebrate his 25th birthday. He wanted to form a band with a female lead vocalist for the occasion, and decided to collaborate with musician Emi Okamoto, who at the time was a member of the band The Love Ningen and someone whom he had collaborated with previously.[2][3] Needing a bassist, Hirose invited a friend, Ryōhei Nagashima of the band The Telephones, to join the band; Nagashima in turn invited Louie Sakaguchi to serve as the band's drummer. The band debuted on June 8, 2015, as a highlight of Hirose's birthday live.[2] The band's name came after Okamoto saw a bar named Philippine Pub Friends and sent photos of it to the other band members, who decided that the word Friends would make a good band name.[3] In 2016, Tarō Miura, formerly of the band Holidays of Seventeen, joined Friends.[2]
Many of the band's early releases were only released at their live performances or by mail order, although their first mini-album Show-Time sold over 3,000 copies.[2] Their first full album Baby Tanjō! (ベビー誕生!) was released on April 5, 2017.[4] Their next release was the mini-album Petit Town (プチタウン) on November 22, 2017.[4] This was followed by the extended play Bedside Music (ベッドサイドミュージック) on March 21, 2018.[4] They released their second album Conparch! (コン・パーチ!) on August 1, 2018.[4]
The band released the single "Tanoshimou/I o You" (楽しもう/iをyou) on June 26, 2019; "Tanoshimou" was used as the theme song to the film Bento Harassment, while "I o You" was used as the ending theme to the television drama What Did You Eat Yesterday?.[4]
In December 2020, it was announced that Hirose would suspend activities with the band and would not appear in their upcoming performances;[5] he would ultimately leave the band in April 2021 after his contract was canceled over unspecified issues.[6] The band released the single "Yakusoku" (約束) on March 17, 2021;[4] the title song was used as the ending theme to the anime television series Horimiya.[7] They released their third album Solar on August 4, 2021.[4]
Members
Current members
- Emi Okamoto (おかもと えみ, Okamoto Emi; born November 10, 1990)[8]
- Okamoto serves as the band's lead vocalist. She is also active as a solo musician.[9]
- Ryōhei Nagashima (長島 涼平, Nagashima Ryōhei; born May 18, 1984)[10]
- Nagashima serves as the band's leader and bassist. He also serves as bassist of the rock band The Telephones.[10] He was chosen to be the leader after a game of Uno.[11]
- Tarō Miura (三浦 太郎, Miura Tarō)
- Miura serves as the band's guitarist, replacing an earlier temporary member.[2]
- Louie Sakaguchi (関口 塁, Sakaguchi Rui)
- Sakaguchi, formerly of the band The Mirraz, serves as the band's drummer.[2]