New Cinema Tokage
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Defunct | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Japan |
| Products | Rock music |
| Owner | Giza Studio (label) |
New Cinema Tokage (New Cinema 蜥蜴) was a Japanese rock group affiliated with the Giza Studio label, active from 1997 until 2002. Their management was handled by the agency Ading.
Members
- Motoari Funaki (舩木基有) – lead vocalist and lyricist
- Yuuichiro Iwai (岩井勇一郎) – guitarist and composer
- Keisuke Kurumatani (車谷啓介) – drummer and lyricist
- Hideki Kawagoe (川越英樹) – bassist (1998–2000)
- Hiroyuki Wakita (脇田啓行) – bassist (2000–2002)
Biography
The band originated in 1997 when Motoari and Yuuichiro collaborated on a demo recording. Keisuke joined the lineup in the summer of 1998, and the trio adopted the name New Cinema Tokage, a title inspired by the Italian film Cinema Paradiso. Their debut came in October 1998 as the inaugural artist on Giza Studio’s indie label with the single 360°. Their first indie album, Smashing the bad!, was released in January 1999.
In February 1999, they teamed up with Sweet Velvet and Grass Arcade for the single Smashing the Good Smashing the Bad, which was issued in two editions. This track was selected as an image song for the PlayStation Portable title Monster Rancher 2. The band’s second single, Candy Life, peaked at number 49 on the Oricon Weekly charts, representing their highest charting achievement. Released concurrently with Rumania Montevideo’s debut, it enhanced their profile.
Their third single, "Believe myself" (July 1999), was used as the seventh ending theme for the anime series The Kindaichi Case Files. In September of that year, they launched their first major studio album titled Rail and embarked on their initial solo live tour.
Between April and May 2000, New Cinema Tokage held a nationwide tour. After Hideki Kawagoe left the group, Hiroyuki Wakita took over bass duties in June 2000. Later that year, Keisuke and Yuuichiro became regular guests on television programs So-Hot and HP Kyoto. The band's official fan club, named Hooligan, was founded in February 2001.
In May 2001, they released their second and last studio album Many Elements alongside the single "Free Bird". Both "Free Bird" and "Breath on me" (August 2001) were featured as opening themes for the anime series Project ARMS. "Breath on me" was their final single to appear on Oricon charts. The track "Love Generation" was included in Giza Studio’s compilation album Giza Studio Masterpiece Blend 2001. Their last single, "Run", came out in February 2002 before the band officially disbanded in August of that year.
Following their breakup, Yuuichiro and Keisuke joined Giza Studio’s pop-rock ensemble U-ka Saegusa in dB, active from 2003 to 2010. This band covered three tracks originally by New Cinema Tokage across singles released between 2004 and 2005.
Since 2012, Keisuke has been involved with the instrumental group Sensation. Yuuichiro resurfaced in 2019 as a support guitarist for Sard Underground, working alongside Keisuke. Hideki became part of the rock band ELF under Tent House label in 2004. Meanwhile, Motoari pursued a solo venture called Koora and maintained a brief blog on Livedoor during 2005.
Indie singles
| Release Date | Title | Catalog Number | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1999/10/20 | 360° | IKR-001 |
| 2nd | 1999/11/20 | PUMPKIN HEAD | IKR-002 |
| 3rd | 1999/03/10 | Smashing the good! Smashing the bad! | IKR-006 |
Singles
| Release Date | Song Title | Chart Position | Catalog Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1999/2/14 | Smashing the good! Smashing the bad! | 92 | GZDA-1001 |
| 2nd | 1999/4/14 | Candy Life | 49 | GZCA-1004 |
| 3rd | 1999/7/7 | Believe myself | 50 | GZDA-1009 |
| 4th | 1999/9/1 | Ghost Mind | 96 | GZCA-1012 |
| 5th | 2000/3/23 | Messenger | X | GZDA-1014 |
| 6th | 2000/10/18 | Mystery world | X | GZCA-1048 |
| 7th | 2001/1/24 | Lovely Generation: goes&fights | X | GZCA-1058 |
| 8th | 2001/3/21 | Green Love | X | GZCA-1065 |
| 9th | 2001/5/16 | Free Bird | 64 | GZCA-1074 |
| 10th | 2001/8/29 | Breathe On Me | 84 | GZCA-2008 |
| 11th | 2002/2/20 | Run | X | GZCA-2032 |
Studio albums
| Release Date | Album Title | Chart Peak | Catalog Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1999/10/16 | Rail | 56 | GZCA-1013 |
| 2nd | 2001/5/16 | Many Elements | X | GZCA-1073 |
Indies albums
|- ! !Release Date !Album Title !Catalog Number |-
|1st |1999/1/27 |Smashing the bad! |ICR-1 |}
Other appearances
|- !scope="col"| Track Title !scope="col"| Year Released !scope="col"| Performer(s) !scope="col"| Compilation / Single Name |-
! scope="row" | "Lovely Generation: Goes&fights" | 2001 | V.A. (Various Artists) | Giza Studio Masterpiece Blend 2001 |-
|}
Magazine features
Appearances in Music Freak Magazine include:
- Vol.51 February 1999
- Vol.52 March 1999
- Vol.53 March 1999
- Vol.56 July 1999
- Vol.57 August 1999
- Vol.58 September 1999
- Vol.59 October 1999
- Vol.60 November 1999
- Vol.61 December 1999
- Vol.62 January 2000
- Vol.64 March 2000
- Vol.65 April 2000
- Vol.70 September 2000
- Vol.71 October 2000
- Vol.72 November 2000
- Vol.73 December 2000
- Vol.74 January 2001
- Vol.76 March 2001
- Vol.78 May 2001
- Vol.80 July 2001
- Vol.81 August 2001
- Vol.83 October 2001
- Vol.86 October 2001
- Vol.87 October 2001
Features in J-Rock Magazine were published during:
- February 1999
- March 1999
- April 1999
- June 1999
- August 1999
- October 1999
- November 1999
- December 1999
- March 2000
- April 2000
Coverage in Digital Creators DGCR includes:
- Volume 3
- Volume 6
- Volume 7
- Volume 8
- Volume 10
- Volume 13
Appearances in J-Groove Magazine occurred in:
- December 2000 Vol.2
- February 2001 Vol.4
- May 2001 Vol.7
- June 2001 Vol.8
- October 2001 Vol.12
- April 2002 Vol.18
External links
- Official website [1]
- Official Being site (Japanese) [2]
- Oricon profile (Japanese) [3]
- Musing artist page (Japanese) [4]
- Keisuke Kurumatani biography on Sensation official site [5]
Authority
MusicBrainz entry [6]