Formed in February 1995 and hailing from Kyoto, The Brilliant Green is one of Japan's premier alternative powerpop trios. Stylistically, they are quite different from other Japanese bands, incorporating a very thick western influence in their sound that ranges from British postpunk to American alternative rock. These influences also appear in their vocals, with about half of their songs sung mostly in English. The Brilliant Green's trump card has always been their ability to juxtapose Tommy's dreamy vocals with tasteful, well-honed riffs. When the band decides to really rock out, there are few outfits in Japan that can match their mix of pure power and pop sensibilities. Informed by the likes of the Sundays, Stone Roses, Beatles, Oasis, and Ride, the Brilliant Green knows how to both craft a hook and express it sonically - gifts that set them apart from the masses. Their brand of playful rock even earned them a place in Time Magazine's 10 Best Bands on Planet Earth , along with the likes of Radiohead, U2 and Sigor Ros. They are perhaps one of the best things happening in Japanese popular music today.
Buri Guri (as it is often shortened too), was formed by bassist Shunsaku Okuda and guitarist Ryo Matsui, after discovering singer Tomoko Kawase at a live set at a local bar. She was quickly invited to joining the fledging band. It wasn't until the Spring of 1998, that the band signed a contract with Sony Music Japan, however. After releasing a limited edition free promo single, the band released their debut maxi single 'Bye Bye Mr. Mug' in September. After slightly disappointing sales, they followed with the better selling 'Goodbye and Goodluck'.
It was their third single 'There will be love there ~ aino aru basho ~', released on May 13th 1998, that gave the band their big break. With the aid of becoming the theme song to the popular TV drama 'Love Again', and being their first single sung in Japanese, the song went to number 1 on the Orican charts, selling over two million copies. Another chart-topper 'tsumatai hana' followed.
On the back of two hit singles, the band released their debut album 'The Brilliant Green' on September 19th. The album sold one million copies in only two days, easily making them the best selling "newcomer" of 1998. Buri Guri went on tour in November with 7 dates across the major cities. 'The will be live there' was sold out within 3 minutes of the tickets going on sale.
Signs of a new album came with the release of the single 'sono speed de' in January 1999, another ..1 and the theme song for the drama 'Over Time'. This was followed by 'nagai tameiki no youni' in March and a second national tour, 'The will be live there vol.2', in April. A third single, 'aino aino hoshi' was released in August. September 8 saw the release of their second album, 'Terra 2001'. The success of the album spawned a further two singles, 'Call My Name (Japanese Version)', and 'Bye! My Boy!', bringing the total number of singles from the album to five". Over the months of November through January, the band had their largest tour yet with 20 dates over 19 cities. From this tour, a live video DVD was released in April, titled 'Super Terra 2000'.
After disappointing sales of 'Call My Name' and 'Bye! My Boy!', the May release of 'Hello Another Way - sorezore no basho -', brought the spot light back. Even bigger was their November release, 'angel song - eve no kane - ', which reached number 3 on the Oricon charts. On the back of these singles, the band released 'Los Angeles', their third album, on New Years Day 2001, along with 'Los Angeles Clips2', a 2nd DVD of promotional videos. The album was a change for the band, with darker, rawer sounds drenched in distortion and reverb. It was also their first album to be sung almost entirely in Japanese. The album reached number 2 on the charts, but ultimately failed to sell as well as their first two albums. After a small club tour following the albums release, the band disappeared.
During the break, Tomoko launched a solo project 'Tommy February 6', with her first single 'Everyday at the Bus Stop' released on the 25th of July. Unlike buri guri's rock background, Tommy harkens back to 80's pop, ala Duran Duran, with large doses of American cheerleaders and 'Sweet Valley High'. Although Tommy Feb 6 was originally only intended to be a small project, it became much more popular than either Tommy or Sony predicted. As such, Tommy continued, releasing the singles 'Kiss One More Time', and 'Bloomin'!', before releasing her debut, self titled album on appropriately February 6 2002. During this time, Tomoko also became a voice actress for the anime 'Piroppo', starring Sony's aibo dogs. (she voiced the character 'Pikki').
Tommy February 6 finished on March 31st 2002, and the next day, The Brilliant Green came back with an acoustic concert shown on Space Shower TV. 'Forever To Me ~owari naki kana shimi~' was released April 24th, followed by 'Rainy days never stays', and 'I'm So Sorry Baby'. The band released their fourth album on December 4th. The album returned the band to their routes, eschewing much of the evolution of Los Angeles. It did see the band experimenting more though, with the inclusion of a drum machine and backbeats on some tracks. The album was supported again by a small club and university tour.
Tomoko then resurrected Tommy February 6, releasing 'je ta'ime je ta'ime', 'Love is forever' and 'Magic In Your Eyes', as well as branching off again, with 'Tommy Heavenly 6', a distortion fueled pop-rock anti-february, with the single 'Wait till I can dream', before releasing her second album 'Tommy Airline'. During this period, Tommy and Shunsaku announced their marriage on November 22, 2003, following a relationship which grew during their time in the band. Ryo at the same time announced his earlier marriage to A-San, a jewelry designer.
Tommy has been busy with new february6 and heavenly6 materials, while Ryo has debuted his own London-based post rock project in the form of Meister. Although its band members are now focused on solo projects, The Brilliant Green and their management have expressed no intention of breaking up and will continue to make great music for everybody. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, the band just recorded a new single titled 'Stand by me' to be released Summer 2007 as the ending theme for NTV's new drama "Tantei Gakkuen Q". Stay tuned!!!
