Anamanaguchi

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Anamanaguchi
File:Anamanaguchi.jpg
Anamanaguchi at U Street Music Hall in Washington, D.C. in 2015.
Background information
Origin New York, New York, United States
Genres electronic, pop, rock
Instruments tracker software, NES, Game Boy, personal computer, synthesizer, guitar, bass guitar, drum kit, vocals
Years active 2004–present
Associated acts 8bitpeoples, Knife City, George & Jonathan
Website www.anamanaguchi.com
Members Peter Berkman
James DeVito
Luke Silas
Ary Warnaar
Past members Spencer Casey
Charlie Hankin
George Michael Brower

Anamanaguchi is an American electronic band from New York City.[1] The band has four members: lead songwriters and guitarists Peter Berkman & Ary Warnaar, bassist James DeVito, and drummer Luke Silas.[2]

Anamanaguchi combines digital electronic sounds such as those seen in Chiptune and Bitpop with traditional band instrumentation. As with other chiptune artists, they have created music using video game hardware from the mid- to late 1980s: namely an NES and a Game Boy. Berkman has stated that their music is not solely influenced by video game music and that much of it is inspired by "[s]imple pop stuff, like Weezer and the Beach Boys,"[3] as well as Janet Jackson.[4]

Berkman also cites J-pop and Japanese producer Yasutaka Nakata as a notable influence.[5] "... for Berkman, the influence of Shibuya-kei style pop from Japan, particularly artists like Cornelius and Yasutaka Nakata (Perfume, Capsule) is particularly important."[6] "The influence of J-pop, as well as "French electro," should be more evident on the band's forthcoming album, according to Berkman."[6]

Berkman stated that his top three influences in order would be "Tim and Eric and that absurd comedy, Japanese music and video games." [6]"Ultimately, Berkman's interest in Japanese pop culture is at the root of his interest in video games."[6]

The origin of the band's name is unclear. In one interview, Berkman said the name "Anamanaguchi" came about from a member in one of his former bands pronouncing gibberish in the style of Jabba the Hutt.[7] On several other occasions, the band has explained that their name came about after the members worked as interns at Armani (Berkman and DeVito), Prada (Warnaar), and Gucci (Silas) while studying fashion at Parsons School of Design (though three of the four majored in Music Technology at New York University). People began calling them the "Armani-Prada-Gucci boys," which eventually was elided into "Anamanaguchi."[8]

Career

2006-2009: Power Supply & Dawn Metropolis

The band formed in Chappaqua, NY where Peter Berkman & James DeVito were classmates.[9] Through events such as Pulsewave NYC they formed a relationship with the netlabel 8bitpeoples and subsequently released their debut the Power Supply EP in August 2006. Peter Berkman met Ary Warnaar at New York University where they were studying Music Technology. In 2009, Ary Warnaar and Luke Silas joined the band for the release of their following EP, Dawn Metropolis. The album was released with an accompanying website that included animated videos for each of the songs, done in collaboration with artists David Mauro and Paris Treantafeles.

A song from Dawn Metropolis titled "Jetpack Blues, Sunset Hues" is the current theme to Chris Hardwick's The Nerdist Podcast.[10] On November 26, 2013, Anamanaguchi appeared as guests on the very podcast itself.[11]

File:Anamanaguchi Group Bell House 2009.JPG
(left to right) James DeVito, Peter Berkman and Ary Warnaar in Brooklyn, New York, in 2009.

2010-2012: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World & Summer Singles

In 2010, Anamanaguchi was approached by Ubisoft to compose music for the video game adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game.[12] The soundtrack for the game was released on Amazon and iTunes by ABKCO Records on August 24, 2010.[13] The soundtrack debuted at No. 3 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart (aka Soundscan's New Artist Chart).[14]

In the summer of 2010, Anamanaguchi began releasing a series of singles for free download on their website. These singles were released with animated gif cover art (featuring collaborations with artists such as Paul Robertson (animator) and Ryder Ripps) and were printed as limited 7" vinyl with lenticular artwork to mimic the animated images.

2013-present: Endless Fantasy & [USA]

On May 3, 2013, Anamanaguchi launched a Kickstarter project for their album Endless Fantasy. In just 11 hours, their funding goal of $50,000 was reached. At the end of its run, the project was backed by 7,253 people who contributed to raising a grand total of $277,399,[15] making it the second most-successful music project to be funded on Kickstarter at the time, behind that of singer Amanda Palmer.[16] Numerous projects such as custom Nintendo cartridges designed to run on the original hardware, a "School of Chiptune", radiant acrylic USB drives, music videos for the songs Japan Air, U n Me, Akira as well as potential others, and a game jam among them were promised by the band, but as of December 2015, have not yet been delivered upon, with their last Kickstarter update being provided in January 2014. This has caused many backers to openly lament a lack of communication from the group. The USB drives were eventually sent out, but not produced with acrylic.[17]

Anamanaguchi was featured on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on June 17, 2013, where they played their song "Endless Fantasy" from the album of the same name.

On June 19, 2014, they released a single titled "Pop It" featuring a then-unknown singer whose face was hidden from view.[18] The song was a stylistic departure for the group in that it did not feature any chiptune elements nor traditional band instrumentation, with a lead vocal. Entertainment Weekly described the song as having "glitchy electronic flourishes and relentlessly bubble gummy vibe" citing comparisons to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.[18] In September, the song was featured in a Target TV advertisement, and in the summer of 2015 featured in a Taco Bell commercial for iced beverages. On November 24, 2014, the singer's name "Meesh彡☆" and face were revealed to the public.[19]

On November 21, 2014, Anamanaguchi revealed they are working on a new album entitled [USA], set to release sometime in 2015.[20] The band says that the album will not be a chiptune album.[21] This album was later delayed for an undisclosed amount of time.[22]

Music Videos

Meow

Anamanaguchi collaborated on their first music video for the song "Meow" with Daniel Gray Longino and Eric Notarnicola from Absolutely Productions. The video takes place in an arcade where the various members of the group join different social cliques. The video features a cameo from 4chan founder, moot.

Endless Fantasy

Using funds raised from their Kickstarter, Anamanaguchi produced a music video for the title track of the album Endless Fantasy. The video features a girl (played by Charlotte Wimberly) sending a slice of pizza up to space with a weather balloon.

Footage of the pizza in space was taken with a GoPro camera as it was sent into the air. A GPS device was also attached to the apparatus in order to locate its whereabouts, although Berkman said in an interview with Grantland that the device never worked, so they "just started driving in the general direction that the balloon was headed." The band was able to retrieve their footage after they received notice from Warwick, NY police that they had obtained a "suspicious package" that linked back to them. They were told that the pizza had landed in the backyard of a family who then notified the police on suspicion that it may be a bomb.[23]

Pop It

Anamanaguchi released a music video for their single "Pop It" in November 2014 to their YouTube channel. The video features singer Meesh彡☆, with whom they previously collaborated on the song "Japan Air" for Endless Fantasy.[24] Her face is hidden behind a balloon for the entirety of the video.

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[25]		 US
Dance
[26]		 Heatseekers
[27]
Dawn Metropolis — — —
Endless Fantasy 102 2 1
"—" denotes items which failed to chart.

EPs

Singles

Year Title Album
2010 "Airbrushed" Summer Singles
"My Skateboard Will Go On"
"Aurora (Meet me in the Stars)"
"Airbrushed" (RAC remix)
"Mess"
2011 "My Skateboard Will Go On" Split w/ Starscream
2013 "Meow" Endless Fantasy
"Endless Fantasy"
2014 "Prom Night"[28]
"Pop It (feat. meesh彡☆)" non-album single

Live bootlegs

  • Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY, USA (2011)
  • Daytrotter Session (2011)
  • Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, USA (2011)

Compilation albums

Soundtracks

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[25]		 US
Dance
[26]		 Heatseekers
[27]
Bit.Trip Runner ("Blackout City" and "Mermaid") — — —
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game (Original Videogame Soundtrack) 180 7 3
Retronauts Theme — — —
"—" denotes items which failed to chart.

Covers

Artist Track Year Notes
Weezer "You Gave Your Love to Me Softly" 2005 Uploaded to 8 Bit Collective
My Bloody Valentine "When You Sleep"
Wavves "So Bored" 2009
The Beatles "I Will" Made for the 8BitOperator's WANNA HLD YR HANDHELD Beatles tribute album
Weezer "Holiday" Made for the Weezer - The 8-Bit Album Weezer tribute album
Tugboat "Penpal" 2010 Released as a B-Side to the Airbrushed single
Britney Spears "Till the World Ends" 2011 All three of these covers were part of a single medley track
Katy Perry "Hot n Cold"
Miley Cyrus "Party in the USA"
M83 "Don't Save Us From the Flames" Included on the Daytrotter Studio 7/21/2011 album
Ryuichi Sakamoto "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" 2015 From the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

Remixes

Year Track Original Artist Album
2010 "Rainbow in the Dark" Das Racist My Skateboard Will Go On
2011 "Too Dramatic" Ra Ra Riot N/A
2012 "Sisterly" Fang Island Sisterly
2013 "Coming Home (feat. Neverstore)" Futurecop! Coming Home (Remixes)
"Overexposed" Matt and Kim Lighting Remixes
2014 "Kill Your Radio" HEARTSREVOLUTION N/A
"Sad Machine" Porter Robinson Worlds (Limited Edition Box Set)
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" Cyndi Lauper She's So Unusual: REMiXED
"Pretty Green" Spinee Pretty Green
2015 "Feel The Lightning" Dan Deacon N/A

References

  1. ↑ Anamanaguchi Home Page as of October 10, 2011
  2. ↑ Berkman, Peter, James DeVito, and Ary Warnaar. "Anamanaguchi Avoid the Perils of Cheap Nostalgia." Interview by Vijith Assar. The Village Voice. 4 August 2009. Web. 13 August 2009.
  3. ↑ Berkman, Peter. "8-bit punks Anamanaguchi beyond the side-scrollers." Interview by David Wolinsky. A.V. Club. 18 July 2011. Web. 18 July 2012.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Berkman, Peter. "Song Exploder Ep. 18" Interview by Hrishikesh Hirway. Web. 2 Sep 2014
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2011/04/sound_current_anamanaguchi.php
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Twitter / Anamanaguchi: WE ARE DOING THE MUSIC FOR. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-16.
  13. ↑ Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game (Original Videogame Soundtrack): Anamanaguchi: MP3 Downloads. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-16.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 http://music-mix.ew.com/2014/06/20/anamanaguchi-releases-a-mysterious-but-catchy-new-single/
  19. ↑ https://twitter.com/anamanaguchi/status/536942941806526465
  20. ↑ https://twitter.com/anamanaguchi/status/535890981602992129
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ https://twitter.com/anamanaguchi/status/670489045370281984
  23. ↑ http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/anamanaguchis-space-pizza-video-was-nearly-foiled-by-the-bomb-squad/
  24. ↑ https://twitter.com/anamanaguchi/status/334419485157105664
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "US-albums" defined multiple times with different content
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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