MONKEY MAJIK
Monkey Majik (typeset as MONKEY MAJIK) is a Japanese-Canadian pop rock band formed in 2000 in Sendai. The band currently consists of Canadian brothers, Maynard Plant and Blaise Plant, each acting as lead vocalists and guitarists, as well as two Japanese members: tax on drums, and DICK on bass. Monkey Majik is currently signed to Binyl Records, a subsidiary of Avex Records, and are managed by Edwards Entertainment Group.
Due to the natural blend of both Eastern and Western pop rock
influences, Monkey Majik has often been referred to as a "hybrid band".
Much of the band's music has been cross-promoted via television
programs, commercials, and movies. They have also been chosen as
“Goodwill Ambassadors” for the 80th anniversary of Japanese-Canadian relations.
The band rose to mainstream success after the 2006 success of their singles, "Fly", and "Around the World", off of the album Thank You, eventually reaching the top Oricon charts and collaborating with major Japanese sensations such as m-flo and SEAMO.
As of 2012, they have released seven studio albums, four EP's, three
physical live albums, three digital live albums, and three compilation
albums, and have certified five singles through the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
Since the debut of Monkey Majik, Maynard and Blaise have both
simultaneously worked solo ventures into the music industry to much
acclaim: Maynard with blanc. and Blaise with The Alphabet Project, of which they have each released two studio albums thus far.
They received much acclaim across Japan after their assisting hands-on with clean-up and rescue during the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which was later documented and broadcast by MTV Japan
on a TV special surrounding their work. Since then, Monkey Majik has
gained the attention of American rapper and musical entrepeneur, will.i.am, during his world travels sponsored by Intel.
Blaise and Will.i.am performed a special version of the Monkey Majik
song, "Watching You", live in Sendai during a private event, during
which performance, Will.i.am incorporated a freestyle rap.
As "Goodwill Ambassadors", the band often visits and tours throughout
Canada, having performed a special acoustic session in Toronto under
this title on February 19, 2012., Blaise has also performed special acoustic live sessions at the Ottawa Japanese "natsu matsuri", or summer festival.
The band, even after mainstream success, is still based in Sendai,
located roughly 350 km from Tokyo. This is contrary to the majority of
musicians in Japan, who often move to Tokyo after mainstream success
History
Formation (2000 - 2002)
Monkey Majik was formed by Maynard Plant,
Tom Pritchard, Chad Ivany, and Misao Urushikaka as a way to pass the
times with friends in Ottawa, Canada, before Maynard's move to Japan to
become an Assistant Language teacher (ALT) in 1997. They were named by
Pritchard, an English drummer, in tribute to the song "Monkey Magic" performed by Godiego (later recorded and performed by the band as a tribute single, Monkey Majik x Monkey Magic, in 2007), which was the theme song to Saiyūki, which was dubbed into English for broadcast in Great Britain as Monkey. The former drummer had watched the series as a child growing up in Britain and was a fan of the show and its theme song.
During his work as an ALT, Maynard learned Japanese quickly through
memorizing and studying the words of Japanese songs. Shortly thereafter,
he decided to invite his younger brother, Blaise Plant,
a Canadian singer-songwriter, to join the band. Before their official
debut, Pritchard and Ivany decided to leave the band, while Jan Kuypers
was brought on to take his place as percussionist.
Debut - TIRED, SPADE, and eastview (2002 - 2005)
With a line-up consisting of Urushikaka, Kuypers, and the Plant
brothers, MONKEY MAJIK released 1000 copies of their first EP,
‘’TIRED’’, through Tower Records in Sendai in a personally-financed
venture. TIRED became the best-selling release at Tower Records
for six consecutive weeks, cuing Monkey Majik to record their first
full-length album.
The result of their work on a full-length debut album was SPADE,
formally released through Tower Records in 2004. After impressive sales
numbers, staying at the number 1 position on Tower’s sales charts for
13 weeks straight, the album was released nation-wide in 2004. Shortly
thereafter, Kuyper and Urushikaka both left the group, and were replaced
by current band members, ex-dental technician and salaryman, drummer
tax (Takuya Kikuchi) and rising Sendai bassist, DICK (Hideki Mori), of Soul Addiction'-based local fame.
In 2005, their second full-length studio album, Eastview (typeset as eastview), depicting a life in Japan from a westerner’s view, was released. Eastview
bowed out of its initial sales run with an impressive 14,000 units sold
for an independent record—more than double the amount of SPADE. The group was then picked up by avex in the latter half of that same year, propped up for a mainstream debut
Mainstream success - Thank You, Sora wa Maru de.., and Time (2006 - 2010)
In 2006, Monkey Majik’s first major label album, Thank You was
released, with two leading singles paving the way to success: “Fly”
(typeset as “fly”), and smash hit “Around the World”. The album hit gold
standards with 97,000 albums sold during its initial run. “Around the
World” reached No. 4 on the Oricon charts and became the theme song to
the Japanese television drama, Seiyūki, or Journey to the West. It sold a total of 164,299 copies in Japan, becoming the 62nd most-purchased single of 2006 in the country.
The following year in 2007, Monkey Majik were propped up to become
true Japanese icons with the release of their fourth studio album, Sora wa Maru de..,
featuring a slickly-produced pop-rock which they are now most-known for
in best-selling tracks "Picture Perfect" and "Sotsugyou, Soshite Mirai
e", featuring popular hip-hop artists m-flo and SEAMO, respectively. On top of all of this, Sora wa Maru de..’s
titular track quickly became a double-platinum download track. During
this time, Monkey Majik also took part in m-flo's 2007 promotional tour
for their album, COSMICOLOR, at Yokohama Arena,
performing a live version of the official m-flo mix of "Picture
Perfect", entitled "Picture Perfect Love", which was a hit summer single
In 2008, the band followed up to their highly successful album with Time, featuring the hit single, "Tada, Arigatou". Featuring an evolved sound with more electrical bass and guitar, Time did not quite hit the same sales numbers as with Sora wa Maru de..,
but it went gold, selling 116,000 units nation-wide during its initial
sales push. Later, in 2009, the band members were ushered in as
Canadian-Japanese Kizuna, or Goodwill, Ambassadors in honor of the 80th
Anniversary of Friendship between Canada and Japan, and had the honor of
joining Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko, Stephen Harper, and Laureen Teskey at the Lester B. Pearson Building in Ottawa.
Finally, in 2010, the band released their second compilation album, MONKEY MAJIK Best ~10 Years & Forever~,
to commemorate their 10th anniversary. One of the few new songs off of
the album, "FOREVER", gained national respect through its music video,
in which mentally inhibited children were given the chance to sing the
song themselves. An independent single, "Aishiteru", also rose to
popularity during this time, reaching No. 12 on the Oricon charts, and
reaching No. 7 on Japan’s Billboard Hot 100
westview, the Tōhoku earthquake, and Somewhere Out There (2010 - present)
In 2010, Monkey Majik produced and released their sixth studio album, "Westview"
(typeset as westview), a spiritual counterpart to "Eastview" reflecting
the views of a Japanese in western society. The majority of the album
was produced in Greece, where the band also had all promo pictures for
the album taken. The lead single, "Sunshine",[7] was used as the opening theme of Shonen Jump's anime adapatation of its popular manga, Nurarihyon no Mago.
In 2011, during the recording process of their seventh studio album,
the Tōhoku earthquakes and tsunamis made their first, history-making
strike, devastating Sendai, where the band still took residence. In
response to this disaster, Maynard, Blaise, tax, and DICK regrouped, and
then went to help their people with clean-up, restoration, and rescue.
Their kind actions were documented by MTV Japan
and later broadcast as a part of the band's "Send愛" ("Send Ai, Send
Love") movement. Later, a concert was held in Sendai under the Send愛
label, benefiting those affected by the Tōhoku disasters, featuring
Monkey Majik, and opening acts Gagle, SOUL ADDICTION, and Rake.[8]
This marked the first time that Gagle and Monkey Majik's collaborative
single, "Soreizen", was performed live. All proceeds were sent live to
Tōhoku charity organizations.
On February 19, the band, as Kizuna ambassadors, held a special live acoustic session in Toronto at Kobayashi Hall.
The creative choices that went into producing their seventh album
evolved greatly during this time, eventually producing a darker, more
slickly-crafted final work, in the form of Somewhere Out There, released on March 7, 2012. Both the leading singles from off of the album, Headlight and HERO,
inspired by the Tōhoku disasters, each hold some sort of deeper meaning
than what is usually seen out of Monkey Majik's albums.[9] On March 26, 2012, the band's official MTV Unplugged concert aired on television for the first time.
During his time as a "director of creative innovation", traveling the
world and recording twelve tracks representative of each country he
visited, will.i.am
stopped in Sendai, where he met Blaise. The two were pressured by fans
into performing an impromptu acoustic session featuring the Monkey Majik
song, "Watching You", mixed with one of the rapper and music
entrepreneur's own freestyles, thus solidifying a link between the band
and the United States music industry.
A second set of Send愛 concerts are currently scheduled to be held by the end of 2012.[10]
Monkey Majik is currently working on an English BEST compilation
album, featuring several English adaptations of songs voted for
inclusion by the fans, after much fan response over Maynard and Blaise's
Twitter accounts, currently set for a November 7, 2012 release date.
They are also aiming to release a new single album, featuring three new
songs. One of the songs is slated to be a Christmas single
Band members
- Maynard Plant (2000-sekarang) [lahir 6 Agustus 1975 dari Ottawa , Ontario , Kanada]: Vokal dan gitar. Monkey Majik Pendiri. Lulus dari Universitas Queen . Fasih berbahasa Inggris, Perancis, dan Jepang, juga mampu berbicara dalam dialek nanbu (なん ぶ べ ん). Meskipun tinggal di Kanada, Maynard menulis lagu sebagai hobi, tetapi hanya dilakukan secara pribadi. Ketika Pritchard dan Ivany keluar dari band, Maynard memutuskan untuk mengajak adiknya untuk bergabung dengan band. Dia memiliki hal tinggi untuk Godiego , band yang lagu "Monkey Magic" menjadi inspirasi untuk nama band, dan bahkan pergi sejauh untuk merujuk kepada mereka sebagai "dewa". Musisi Jepang lainnya yang ia menyebutkan dalam hal tinggi termasuk UA , Oda Kazumaza , dan Spitz . Maynard solo project blanc, yang dimulai sejauh kembali sebagai 2003., Telah memperoleh pengakuan di seluruh Asia. blanc. 's kolaborasi dengan seniman lainnya freeTEMPO dan bawah tanah Jepang telah memberinya pengakuan tertentu di Korea dan Cina. Dan ayahnya Blaise juga musisi profesional yang telah bermain dengan Paul Anka . Di bawah blanc. judul, Maynard telah merilis dua full-length album, tahun 2008 Dunia Baru , dan 2009 s kanvas
- Blaise Plant (2003-sekarang) [lahir 18 Maret 1980 dari Ottawa , Ontario , Kanada]: Vokal dan gitar. Adik Maynard muda bernama lengkap Joseph Anthony Blaise Plant. Fasih berbahasa Inggris, Perancis, dan Jepang. Dimainkan pada tim hoki es lokal di Sendai . Dia aktif sebagai penulis lagu penyanyi sejak ia masih di SMA tampil di klub. Sementara di Kanada ia belajar di The University of Lethbridge dan musisi solo, sementara juga mengejar karir akting. Blaise melanjutkan band dengan Maynard tahun 2001 dimana mereka merilis EP pertama mereka Lelah. Pada tahun 2007 ia mulai label sendiri, PRODUCTIONS lamunan, dan mulai resminya blog . Pada tanggal 3 Maret 2008, ia meluncurkan proyek solonya "Proyek Abjad" di mana setiap lagu dirilis hit Nomor 1 di chart Unduh Syncl. Bernyanyi dalam bahasa Inggris, Jepang, dan Perancis, "The Alphabet Project" telah membangun reputasi di Kanada, Amerika Serikat, Eropa, dan Asia. Blaise merilis album solo pertamanya, " Music Lukisan ", pada tahun 2010, dan tindak lanjut nya," Motion Picture "(mengeset sebagai" GAMBAR GERAK "), pada awal 2012 untuk banyak pujian
- Takuya Kikuchi,菊池拓哉 [2004-sekarang] [lahir 31 Agustus 1975 dari Sendai , Miyagi , Jepang]: drum. pajak turut dalam sebagian besar lagu. Dia bekerja sebagai teknisi gigi selama lima tahun, setelah itu ia beralih ke menjadi salaryman . Dia diperkenalkan ke Maynard dan Blaise melalui seorang teman. Sebelum menjadi full-time drummer Monkey Majik yang pengalamannya drum hanya terdiri dari dua tahun yang dihabiskan drum selama SMP.
- DICK (2004-sekarang) [lahir 10 Maret 1978 dari Sapporo , Hokkaido , Jepang]: bass. Sebelumnya telah menjadi bagian dari sebuah band funk jiwa disebut Addiction Jiwa di bawah nama Hideki Dick Mori. Juga adalah anggota dari sebuah band jazz bernama Kitchen Swasta. 3 anggota diundang DICK, yang telah menjadi bassis terkenal di Sendai , ke sebuah bar di Kokubun Cho "Distrik Partai Sendai" dan memaksanya untuk minum sampai ia setuju untuk bergabung Monkey Majik. Bergabung dengan band untuk beralih dengan Urushizaka dengan merilis album kedua band indie "eastview"
ALBUM
2003: Spade
2005: Eastview
2006: Thank You
2007: Sora wa Marude.. (空はまるで.., "The Sky Is Just Like..")
2008: Time
2011: Westview
2012: Somewhere Out There
