Yaen
| Company type | Pop music group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | April 29, 1998 |
| Founder | Takaaki Ishibashi, Noritake Kinashi, production staff from The Tunnels' Thanks to Everyone |
| Defunct | May 13, 2001 |
| Headquarters | Tokyo , Japan |
| Products | Studio albums, singles, live concert videos |
Number of employees | 11 (members) |
| Parent | Avex Trax |
Yaen (野猿, meaning "Wild Monkey") was a Japanese pop ensemble created by Takaaki Ishibashi and Noritake Kinashi, the comedic pair known as The Tunnels, together with nine production staff members from their variety program The Tunnels' Thanks to Everyone. From 1998 through 2001, Yaen launched three studio albums, eleven singles, and four live concert videos, all of which secured positions within the top ten on the Oricon music charts.
History
Yaen was conceived by producers Akimoto Yasushi and Tsugutoshi Gotō, who had been crafting parody songs for The Tunnels since the 1980s. The group’s initial public appearance was a parody rendition of a KinKi Kids track on the show Utaban. Shortly thereafter, they signed with Avex Trax and officially debuted as a bona fide pop unit on April 29, 1998. The band’s name was inspired by , a famous love hotel located in Tokyo.
Despite their unusual inception, Yaen experienced significant commercial achievements: all their output—including three albums, eleven singles, and four concert DVDs—reached Oricon’s top ten rankings. Their album sales totaled three million copies. Additionally, they performed consecutively at the prestigious Kōhaku Uta Gassen event for two years. Choreography for several singles was provided by members of TRF. On February 8, 2001, Yaen announced their decision to disband so that members could resume their primary careers. Their farewell performance was held on May 13, 2001, at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium. Following disbandment, some members continued to contribute to The Tunnels' Thanks to Everyone and made occasional public appearances.
In 2009, Yaen reunited for a special televised show commemorating The Tunnels' 21st anniversary. A decade after disbanding, on March 9, 2011, their complete discography was made available digitally via Recochoku. Later, on September 17, 2019, Taka established a new pop group named , alongside Terurin and Kanchan.
Members
Original responsibilities on The Tunnels' Thanks to Everyone are indicated in parentheses.
- Taka (Takaaki Ishibashi), vocals (host)
- Nori (Noritake Kinashi), vocals (host)
- Terurin (Teruchika Hirayama), vocals (acrylic decorations)
- Kan (Norihito Kannami), vocals (costumes)
- Naru Naru (Kazuhiro Narui), dancer (large props)
- Jerry (Ikuomi Iizuka), dancer (special effects)
- Baca (Takashi Ohhara), dancer (large props)
- Shu (Takahisa Amino), dancer (props)
- Hossy (Michiaki Hoshino), dancer (driver)
- Gote (Kazumichi Handa), dancer (photographer)
- Takaku (Seiji Takaku), dancer (camera crane)
Former members:
- CA (Chika Arai) (voiceover)
- Yoshiroucchi (Yoshiro Asano) (writer)
- Takashi Kanbara (director)
- Yan (Kazuya Ota) (director)
Studio albums
- Staff Roll (Released March 10, 1999)
- Evolution (Released March 1, 2000)
- Tesshū (Released March 14, 2001)
Singles
- "" (April 29, 1998)
- "" (September 17, 1998)
- "" (December 16, 1998)
- "" (February 24, 1999)
- "" (August 4, 1999)
- "" (November 10, 1999)
- "" (February 2, 2000)
- "" (May 31, 2000)
- "" (October 12, 2000)
- "" (January 24, 2001)
- "" (February 28, 2001)
Tour and concert recordings
- Yaen Concert In Yokohama Arena 1999 (released July 7, 1999)
- Yaen 2000GTR Budokan Limited Inter Cooler Daihappyokai (available from July 19, 2000)
- Yaen Video Clips and History: The Greatest Hits (issued May 3, 2001)
- Kanzen Tesshu 4-jikan Densetsu (published July 25, 2001)
External links
- Archived official website (no longer active; accessed via Internet Archive)