Sol-fa (album)

For other uses, see Sol-fa (disambiguation).
Sol-fa
Studio album by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
Released October 20, 2004
October 18, 2005 United States
Genre Indie rock, alternative rock, Post-hardcore
Length 46:39
Label Ki/oon/Tofu
KSCL-737
Producer Asian Kung-fu Generation
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION chronology
Kimi Tsunagi Five M
(2003)		 Sol-fa
(2004)		 Fanclub
(2006)
Singles from Sol-fa
  1. "Siren"
    Released: April 4, 2004
  2. "Loop & Loop"
    Released: May 19, 2004
  3. "Rewrite"
    Released: August 4, 2004
  4. "Kimi no Machi Made"
    Released: September 23, 2004

Sol-fa (ソルファ Sorufa) is the second full-length studio album by Japanese rock band, ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, released on October 20, 2004.

Reception

With the LP, AKG fully realized and honed the upbeat tempo but hard-edged and emotionally charged sound first expressed within Hōkai Amplifier. The urgency of the songs were complemented by the balanced nature of the overall album, creating their most mature release as of late. Gotō credited this outcome as the result of sharing his songwriting duties more evenly with bandmates than ever before.[1] The album was equally praised for its high production quality, which thoroughly nullified the language barrier that frequently impeded non–Japanese speaking audiences.[2]

Upon its debut, the album topped the Oricon charts for two weeks straight and produced four singles, with sales reaching over 600,000 copies by its third week.[1] Its success can be partially traced to two tracks that the band produced, "Rewrite" and "Haruka Kanata," were featured in the opening themes of the highly popular anime series Fullmetal Alchemist and Naruto respectively. In 2016, the song Re:Re: was used as the opening for the anime Boku Dake ga Inai Machi. With the LP, AKG also finally succeeded in outreaching to international audiences, a goal they had attempted in earlier English indie releases but were met by little response . The album peaked at number three on the World Chart while "Rewrite" went on to win Best Anime Theme Song at the 2007 American Anime Awards.[3][4] Following its domestic release, fans from around the world petitioned for Sol-fa to be distributed outside Japan. The support for Ajikan eventually resulted in Tofu Records striking a contract to release Sol-fa in the United States on October 18, 2005.[2]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Masafumi Gotō except:

No.TitleLength
1."Shindōkaku" (振動覚 Shindōkaku Resonance)2:27
2."Rewrite" (リライト Riraito)3:47
3."Kimi no Machi Made" (君の街まで To Your Town)3:36
4."My World" (マイ・ワールド Mai Wārudo)4:03
5."Yoru no Mukō" (夜の向こう Yoru no Mukō The Next Night)3:12
6."Last Scene" (ラストシーン Rasutoshīn)4:01
7."Siren" (サイレン Sairen)5:28
8."Re:Re:"  3:48
9."Nijūyoji" (24時 Midnight)3:31
10."Mayonaka to Mahiru no Yume" (真夜中と真昼の夢 Midnight and Daydreams)4:21
11."Kaigan Dōri" (海岸通り Kaigan Dōri Waterfront)4:40
12."Loop & Loop" (ループ&ループ Rūpu & Rūpu)3:45
Bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
13."Haruka Kanata (Live)"  4:02
14."Shindo-Kaku (Live)"  2:27

B-sides

Song Length B-side of
"Siren#" 6:15 "Siren"
"Entrance" (Live) 4:12 "Loop & Loop"
"Rashinban" (Live) 2:37
"Yūgure no Aka" 4:17 "Rewrite"
"Hold Me Tight" 4:06 "Kimi no Machi Made"

Personnel
  • Rieko Ohkura – production coordination
  • Fumihito Yokono – drum technician
  • Kenichi Nakamura – engineering
  • Toru Takayama – engineering, mixing
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Stewart Whitmore – editing
  • Yusuke Nakamura – art direction

Chart positions

Album

Year Chart Peak positions
2004 Oricon 1
World Chart 3[5]

Singles

Year Song Peak positions
Oricon
2004 "Siren" 2
"Loop & Loop" 8
"Rewrite" 4
"Kimi no Machi Made" 3

References

  1. 1 2 Caffrey, Rori (2004-11-11). "Asian Kung-Fu Generation Finally Kicks In". The Daily Yomiuri. The Yomiuri Shimbun. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
  2. 1 2 Kao, Larry (2005-11-03). "Talkin Bout My (Asian Kung-Fu) Generation". Asian Pacific Arts. UCLA Asia Institute. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
  3. ↑ American Anime Awards official website
  4. ↑ Pegasus News Wire (2007-03-06). "FUNimation's FullMetal Alchemist Wins Five Awards At the Inaugural American Anime Awards". Pegasus News. PanLocal Media, LLC. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  5. ↑ "Asian Kung-fu Generation – Sol-fa". αCharts.us. October 2004. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
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