Wikipedia

Cero (band)

Cero (Japanese pronunciation: [seꜜɾo]) are a Japanese pop band from Tokyo. The band was formed by singer, guitarist, and flautist Shōhei Takagi, keyboardist Yū Arauchi, and drummer Tomoyuki Yanagi in 2004. They were joined by guitarist Tsubasa Hashimoto in 2006 and musician Keiichi Suzuki became their producer in 2008. They released their debut album, World Record, in 2011, after which Yanagi departed the band. As a group of three, the band has released four studio albums; the most successful, Poly Life Multi Soul (2018), reached fourth place on the Oricon Albums Chart. The band has received two finalist awards at the CD Shop Awards and were named Best Alternative Artist at the 2016 Space Shower Music Awards.

Cero
OriginTokyo, Japan
GenresJ-pop[1]
Years active2004 (2004)–present
LabelsKakubarhythm
Members
  • Shōhei Takagi
  • Yū Arauchi
  • Tsubasa Hashimoto
Past members
  • Tomoyuki Yanagi

History

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An abbreviation for Contemporary Exotica Rock Orchestra, Cero was formed in Tokyo by singer, guitarist, and flautist Shōhei Takagi, keyboardist Yū Arauchi, and drummer Tomoyuki Yanagi in 2004.[2] They were joined by guitarist Tsubasa Hashimoto in 2006, and record producer and musician Keiichi Suzuki would begin to produce for the band in 2008 after developing an interest in their sound. They subsequently particpated on the Commmons-released compilation album Strange Song Book: Tribute to Haruomi Hosono 2 (2008). In 2011, the band signed to indie label Kakubarhythm to release their debut studio album, World Record.[1][3] It explores genres such as J-rap and dub pop for an avant garde and exotic-like sound,[4][5] and peaked at number 170 on Oricon's Albums Chart.[6] Following the album's release, Yanagi departed the band to focus on his work as an illustrator.[7]

As a group of three, they released their next album My Lost City in 2012, which rose to 33rd on Oricon's chart.[6][8] The band's third album, Obscure Ride (2015), won a finalist award at the 2016 CD Shop Awards.[9] It was their first album to break into the top ten, charting on both Oricon's chart and Billboard Japan's Hot Albums.[6][10] The CD singles "Yellow Magus" and the double A-sided "Orphans" / "Yōsari" had been released in preparation for the album; both reached the top 30 of the Oricon Singles Chart and charted around 50 on Billboard Japan's Hot 100.[6][11] The same year as Obscure Ride, Takagi joined the FM802 program Music Freaks as a DJ on behalf of Cero alongside Blue Encount [ja] singer and guitarist Shunichi Tanabe.[12] The band won Best Alternative Artist at the 2016 Space Shower Music Awards.[13]

The band followed Obscure Ride with Poly Life Multi Soul in 2018, earning a second finalist accolade at the CD Shop Awards.[14] Their most comercially successful album to date, it reached number four on Oricon's chart and eight on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums.[6][10] They contributed music for the anime television series Carole & Tuesday in 2019.[15] With the 2020s, all members of the band released solo albums: Takagi released Triptych (2020) under the solo project Shohei Takagi Parallela Botanica,[16] Arauchi released Śisei (2021),[17] and Hashimoto started the project Diorama Scene and released Awai (2022).[18] The band's fifth and most recent album, E O (2023), peaked at number 27 on Oricon's chart.[6]

Members

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Current members
  • Shōhei Takagi – vocals, guitar, flute (2004–present)
  • Yū Arauchi – keyboard, chorus vocals (2004–present)
  • Tsubasa Hashimoto – guitar, clarinet, chorus vocals (2006–present)
Former members
  • Tomoyuki Yanagi – drums (2004–2011)

Discography

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Studio albums

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List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales[19]
JPN
[6] 		JPN
Comb
[20] 		JPN
Hot
[10]
World Record
  • Released: January 26, 2011
  • Label: Kakubarhythm
 170 — —
  • JPN: 1,121
My Lost City
  • Released: October 24, 2012
  • Label: Kakubarhythm
 33 — —[a]
  • JPN: 4,545
Obscure Ride
  • Released: May 27, 2015
  • Label: Kakubarhythm
 8 — 7
  • JPN: 13,744
Poly Life Multi Soul
  • Released: May 16, 2018
  • Label: Kakubarhythm
 4 — 8
  • JPN: 15,256
E O
  • Released: May 24, 2023
  • Label: Kakubarhythm
 27 41 31
  • JPN: 3,620

Video albums

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List of video albums
Title Album details
Obscures: Live at Zepp Tokyo & Obscure Ride Tour Document
  • Released: February 24, 2016
  • Label: Kakubarhythm
  • Formats: DVD
Outdoors
  • Released: December 7, 2016
  • Label: Kakubarhythm
  • Formats: Blu-ray, DVD
Poly Life Multi Soul Tour: Live at Zepp DiverCity Tokyo
  • Released: January 23, 2019
  • Label: Kakubarhythm
  • Formats: Blu-ray, DVD

Singles

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List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak positions Sales[22] Album
JPN
[6] 		JPN
Hot
[11]
"21-seiki no Hideri no Miyako ni Ame ga Furu" (21世紀の日照りの都に雨が降る) 2010 — — World Record
"Musashino Cruise Exotica" (武蔵野クルーズエキゾチカ) 2011 — — Non-album singles
"Good Life" —
"Yellow Magus" 2013 29 54
  • JPN: 4,755
 Obscure Ride
"Orphans" 2014 23 48
  • JPN: 4,119
"Yōsari" (夜去) —
"Summer Soul" 2015 — —[b]
"Machi no Shirase" (街の報せ) 2016 37 58
  • JPN: 4,066
 Non-album single
"Waters" 2018 — — Poly Life Multi Soul
"Poly Life Multi Soul" 2019 — —
"Fdf" 2020 — — E O
"Nemesis" 2021 — —
"Cupola" 2022 — —
"Fuha" — —

Other charted songs

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List of other charted songs as lead artist
Title Year Peak positions Album
JPN
Hot
[11]
"Sakana no Hone-tori no Hane" (魚の骨鳥の羽根) 2018 33 Poly Life Multi Soul

Notes

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  1. ^ My Lost City was released prior to the establishment of the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart. Upon release, it reached number 27 on the Top Albums Sales ranking.[21]
  2. ^ "Summer Soul" did not chart on the Hot 100, but reached number 29 on the Billboard Japan Adult Contemporary Airplay chart.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Cero". CDJournal [ja] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 14, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  2. ^ Heather Phares. "Cero Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  3. ^ "Ceroのプロフィール" [Profile of Cero]. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  4. ^ "Cero - World Record". CDJournal [ja] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  5. ^ "World Record". Rolling Stone Japan (in Japanese). February 10, 2011. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Ceroの作品" [Works by Cero] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on June 2, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
    Citations regarding chart positions outside the top 50:
  7. ^ "Ceroのドラマー柳智之がバンド脱退、絵描きに専念" [Cero Drummer Tomoyuki Tanagi Announces Departure to Focus on Illustration Work]. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). May 12, 2011. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  8. ^ "Cero、2ndアルバム『My Lost City』を10/24にリリース" [Cero to Release Second Album My Lost City on October 24]. Rockin'On Japan (in Japanese). August 30, 2012. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "第8回CDショップ大賞2016" [8th CD Shop Awards 2016] (in Japanese). CD Shop Awards. 2016. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c "Cero Chart History (Hot Albums)". Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "Cero Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard Japan. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  12. ^ "FM802「Music Freaks」の新DJはCero高城晶平とブルエン田邊駿一に! 1年間番組DJをつとめる" [Cero's Shōhei Takagi and Blue Encount's Shunichi Tanabe to DJ for FM802 Music Freaks]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). August 15, 2015. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  13. ^ "スペシャ「Music Awards」でドリカム2冠、Bumpは投票1位に" [Dreams Come True Takes Two Awards at Space Shower Music Awards, and Bump Wins First Place in Voting]. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). February 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  14. ^ "第11回CDショップ大賞2019" [11th CD Shop Awards 2019] (in Japanese). CD Shop Awards. 2019. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Dennison, Kara (April 26, 2019). "Carole & Tuesday Announces More Musicians, Golden Week Special". Crunchyroll News. Archived from the original on June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  16. ^ "Cero高城晶平ソロプロジェクト、1stアルバム「Triptych」をアナログ化" [Cero's Shōhei Takagi to Release Analog Version to Debut Album of Solo Project]. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). November 20, 2020. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  17. ^ "cero・荒内佑、初のソロAL『Śisei』8月リリース決定 千葉広樹、角銅真実、Julia Shortreedら参加" [Yū Arauchi from Cero to Release First Solo Album in August, to Feature Hiroki Chiba, Manami Kakudo, and Julia Shortreed]. Spincoaster (in Japanese). July 7, 2022. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  18. ^ "cero橋本翼ソロプロジェクト・ジオラマシーンの「あわい」が完全版になった" [Awai by Cero Tsubasa Hasimoto's Solo Project Diorama Scene Becomes Complete Version]. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). September 30, 2022. Archived from the original on October 16, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  19. ^ Citations regarding sales numbers to albums by Cero:
  20. ^ "Ceroの合算アルバム売上TOP1作品" [Cero's Top 1 Album by Combined Sales] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on June 2, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  21. ^ "Cero Chart History (Top Albums Sales)". Billboard Japan. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  22. ^ Citations regarding sales numbers to singles by Cero:
  23. ^ "Billboard Japan Adult Contemporary - 2015/05/20". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). May 20, 2015. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
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