TRF (band)
Encyclopedia
TRF is a Japanese pop
/dance
group. Its members are rapper DJ Koo, lead vocalist Yu-ki, and dancers Chiharu, Etsu, and Sam.
, each selling over a million copies under the Avex record label
. In 1995, their song "Overnight Sensation: Jidai wa Anata ni Yudaneteru" received a Japan Record Award
.
The following year, the band changed their name to an all-capital "TRF" with their single "Hey! Ladies & Gentlemen".
Yu-ki has also done voice acting
for a children's animation movie Elmer's Adventure: My Father's Dragon
, for which she sang the opening theme song as well. She has also performed the opening song to the 2006 Tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Kabuto
as well as several variants to it.
Chiharu has worked on the choreography
for J-Pop singer Shizuka Kudō
, and has appeared in a drama
as herself.
Sam was married to popstar and TK protege Amuro Namie in 1997, who was three months pregnant with his child at the time, but the couple were divorced in 2002, due to irreconcilable differences.
The song "Lights and Any More" has been used as opening theme of the anime Wangan Midnight
, and their song Silence Whispers has been used as the second ending theme for the anime Black Jack 21.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
group. Its members are rapper DJ Koo, lead vocalist Yu-ki, and dancers Chiharu, Etsu, and Sam.
History
The band debuted as "trf" in the year 1993. During the period of 1994 to 1995, the band released 5 singles produced by Tetsuya KomuroTetsuya Komuro
, also known as TK, is a Japanese keyboardist, guitarist, singer, songwriter and music producer born on November 27, 1958 in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. He is recognized as being the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced dance music to the Japanese mainstream...
, each selling over a million copies under the Avex record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. In 1995, their song "Overnight Sensation: Jidai wa Anata ni Yudaneteru" received a Japan Record Award
Japan Record Award
for outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association, is major music awards show held annually in Japan.- Categories :The Japan Record Award are four awards which are not restricted by genre....
.
The following year, the band changed their name to an all-capital "TRF" with their single "Hey! Ladies & Gentlemen".
Yu-ki has also done voice acting
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
for a children's animation movie Elmer's Adventure: My Father's Dragon
Elmer's Adventure: My Father's Dragon
is an anime film based on the children's books by Ruth Stiles Gannett.-Cast:*Elmer Elevator: Yu-ki*Boris the dragon: Megumi Hayashibara*Cat: Jōji Yanami*Male Gorilla: Daisuke Gōri*Nearsighted Rat: Masako Nozawa*Lion: Katsuhisa Namase*Lioness: Sumiko Sakamoto...
, for which she sang the opening theme song as well. She has also performed the opening song to the 2006 Tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Kabuto
Kamen Rider Kabuto
is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the sixteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. The series was broadcast on TV Asahi. The first episode aired on January 29, 2006, and...
as well as several variants to it.
Chiharu has worked on the choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
for J-Pop singer Shizuka Kudō
Shizuka Kudo
is a Japanese singer and pop idol born in Hamura, Tokyo. She debuted as member no. 38 of the Onyanko Club in May 1986 and went on to a successful solo career with 11 no.1 hits.-Biography:...
, and has appeared in a drama
Japanese television drama
, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...
as herself.
Sam was married to popstar and TK protege Amuro Namie in 1997, who was three months pregnant with his child at the time, but the couple were divorced in 2002, due to irreconcilable differences.
The song "Lights and Any More" has been used as opening theme of the anime Wangan Midnight
Wangan Midnight
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Michiharu Kusunoki and serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits since 1990, later in Kodansha's Young Magazine. In 1999, it won the Kodansha Manga Award for general manga....
, and their song Silence Whispers has been used as the second ending theme for the anime Black Jack 21.
Singles
- "Going 2 Dance, Open Your Mind" (25 February 1993)
- "EZ Do Dance" (21 June 1993)
- "Ai ga Mou Sukoshi Hoshiyo" (21 November 1993)
- "Silver and Gold dance" (21 November 1993)
- "Samui Yoru Dakara..." (16 December 1993)
- "Survival Dance 'no no cry more'" (25 May 1994)
- "Boy Meets Girl" (22 June 1994)
- "Crazy Gonna Crazy" (1 January 1995)
- "Masquerade / Winter Grooves" (1 February 1995)
- "Overnight Sensation" (8 March 1995)
- "Brand New Tomorrow" (25 October 1995)
- "Happening Here / Teens" (11 December 1995)
- "Love & Peace Forever" (21 March 1996)
- "Hey! Ladies & Gentlemen" (12 June 1996)
- "Brave Story" (24 July 1996)
- "Silent Night" (6 November 1996)
- "Legend of Wind" (11 December 1996)
- "Dragons' Dance" (25 June 1997)
- "Unite! The Night!" (18 February 1998)
- "Frame" (25 March 1998)
- "Try or Cry" (29 April 1998)
- "Be Free" (23 September 1998)
- "Embrace / Slug and Soul" (5 November 1998)
- "Joy" (3 February 1999)
- "Wired" (21 April 1999)
- "He Lives in You" (25 August 1999)
- "Burst Drive Mix" (23 March 2000)
- "Burst Drive Mix -2nd mix-" (31 May 2000)
- "Burst Drive Mix -3rd mix-" (26 July 2000)
- "Da! Da! Da!UFO Babyis a shōjo comedy manga by Mika Kawamura, serialized by Kodansha in Nakayoshi from February 1998 to March 2002 and collected in nine bound volumes. The series was adapted as a 78-episode anime television series, produced by NHK and animated by J.C.Staff, which was broadcast between March 2000 and...
SEB Presents Boy Meets Girl with TRF" (23 August 2000) - "Burst Drive Mix -4th mix-" (20 September 2000)
- "Burst Drive mix -5th mix-" (22 November 2000)
- "Where to Begin" (18 January 2006) Oricon Weekly Chart Position No.18, 1 week
- "Silence Whispers" (30 August 2006)
- "We are all Bloomin" (29 November 2006)
- "Innovation" (October 17, 2007)
- "Live Your Days" (April 23, 2008)
- "Memorial Snow/Closure" (January 21, 2009)
12-inch vinyls
- 'Open Your Mind' (Released in USA only, Radikal Records, 1993) known as TRF Rave Factory
Albums
- trf "This is the Truth" (25 February 1993)
- Hyper Techno Mix (21 May 1993)
- EZ Do Dance / trf (21 July 1993)
- World Groove (9 February 1994)
- trf Hyper Mix (27 April 1994)
- Billionaire (27 July 1994)
- Dance to Positive (27 March 1995)
- Hyper Mix 4 (21 June 1995)
- Brand New Tomorrow (11 December 1995)
- The Live (21 February 1996)
- Works -The best of TRF- (1 January 1998)
- Unite (20 May 1998)
- Loop # 1999 (19 May 1999)
- Burst drive mix -Album- (27 December 2000)
- Lif-e-Motions (15 February 2006)
- TRF 15th Anniversary Best Memories (7 February 2007)
- Gravity (11 February 2009)
DVD
- TRF Tour 1999 (29 March 2000)
- World Groove (29 March 2000)
- trf Tour '94 Billionaire - Boy Meets Girls (29 March 2000)
- Ultimate Films 1994-1995 (29 March 2000)
- trf Tour '95 dAnce to positive Overnight Sensation (29 March 2000)
- Brand New Tomorrow in Tokyo Dome -Presentation for 1996- (29 March 2000)
- TRF Live in Yokohama Arena (29 March 2000)
- TRF Tour '98 Live in Unite! (29 March 2000)
- Video Clips (11 December 2002)
- Works -The Best of TRF- (28 January 2004) - An audio DVD
- Complete Best Live from 15th Anniversary Tour -Memories- 2007 (23 April 2008)
Video
- World Groove (26 September 1994)
- trf Tour '94 Billionaire - Boy Meets Girls (16 December 1994)
- Ultimate Films 1994-1995 (21 June 1995)
- trf Tour '95 dance to positive Overnight Sensation (22 November 1995)
- Brand New Tomorrow in Tokyo Dome -Presentation for 1996- (21 February 1996)
- TRF Live in Yokohama Arena (30 April 1997)
- TRF Tour '98 Live in Unite! (17 September 1998)
- Rave 2001 Dancer Selection vol.1 (30 June 1999)
- TRF Tour 1999 (15 December 1999)