Morfonica

Last updated

Morfonica
Morfonica BanG Dream art.jpg
Promotional art from the band's reveal, from left to right: Rui, Nanami, Mashiro, Tsukushi, and Tōko
Background information
OriginJapan
Genres Pop rock, symphonic rock
Years active2020–present
Labels Bushiroad Music
Spinoff of BanG Dream!
Members

Morfonica is a Japanese all-female rock band that is part of Bushiroad's media franchise BanG Dream! . Formed in 2020, the group's members portray fictional characters in the project's anime series and mobile game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! in addition to performing their characters' respective instruments in live concerts.

Contents

The band consists of Amane Shindō (vocals), Hina Suguta (guitar), Yūka Nishio (bass), Mika (drums), and Ayasa (violin). In the game, Morfonica is represented by five first-year students at the prestigious Tsukinomori Girls' Academy: Mashiro Kurata (Shindō), Tōko Kirigaya (Suguta), Nanami Hiromachi (Nishio), Tsukushi Futaba (Mika), and Rui Yashio (Ayasa).

Of the nine bands in BanG Dream!, Morfonica is one of six whose members perform their own music during live shows.

History

Morfonica's formation was announced on 1 March 2020 during the franchise's live stream BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! @HHW CiRCLE Live Broadcasting Pre-3rd Anniversary Special. The band is the seventh in the franchise and the fourth that performs in live concerts after Poppin'Party, Roselia, and Raise A Suilen. [1] Morfonica is the only group in the project with a violinist, which was conceived by BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! developer Craft Egg to differentiate them from the others. [2]

During the stream, a music video for their song "Daylight" was broadcast; the video was animated by the BanG Dream! anime's studio Sanzigen. [3] A live-action music video and an introduction clip starring the voice actresses were released four days later. [4] The Morfonica-centric weekly YouTube show Morfonical, hosted by the band's members, began airing on 24 March. [5]

On 13 May, Morfonica was named Tower Records' recommended artist of May 2020. "Daylight" was released as their debut single two weeks later on 27 May. [6] The single sold over 15,000 copies in its first week, and peaked at second on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. [7] In June, the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Cover Collection Vol. 4, a series of cover songs by Morfonica and other bands in the franchise, topped Oricon's Weekly Albums Chart with 2,231 sales in the opening week. [8]

The band's first concert, Special Live: Summerly Tone at the BanG Dream! 8th Live Summer Outdoors 3 Days alongside Poppin'Party and Pastel Palettes' Ami Maeshima with Raise A Suilen, took place on 23 August at Fuji-Q Highland Conifer Forest. Morfonica was the first of the three acts to perform, playing five songs. [9] Cantabile, Morfonica's maiden standalone performance, came on 7 October at Tokyo Garden Theater. [10] The live featured 12 songs, including the two from the "Daylight" single and four cover versions of popular anime theme music. [11]

Morfonica's second single "Bloom Bloom", which was revealed during Cantabile, was released on 13 January 2021. [11] The group held a "Friendship Live" concert with Poppin'Party, known as Astral Harmony, on 23 February at Yokohama Arena. [12] The band's second standalone show, titled Andante, took place on 21 May at Zepp Haneda. Morfonica also performed alongside Raise A Suilen at the BanG Dream! 9th Live, subtitled Mythology, on 4–5 September at Fuji-Q Highland Conifer Forest. [13] A sequel to Mythology was held 18 June 2022. [14]

"Harmony Day", the band's third single, came out on 6 October 2021. [15] One of the single's tracks, "Fateful..." was used as the second ending theme music for the anime Cardfight!! Vanguard overDress . [16] Later in the month, Morfonica began a two-stop concert tour, titled Amabile, at Zepp Osaka Bayside on 28 October and Zepp Haneda on 5 November. [17]

In 2022, Morfonica partnered with Jun'ichi Satō of the band Fhána for a song composed by Satō titled "The Circle of Butterflies". The collaboration also included Morfonica covers of Fhána's songs "Rhapsody of Blue Sky" and "Divine Intervention". [18] [19] The band's fourth single "fly with the night" was released on 30 March. [20] They held the Resonance show at Tokyo Dome City Hall on 24 April; Nishio did not take part after testing positive for COVID-19, and backing tracks of her bass and vocals were used in her place. [21]

Members

In-universe band

In the anime and game, Morfonica is a band of first-year high school students at the prestigious Tsukinomori Girls' Academy. [3] The group is formed by Mashiro Kurata, a new student who struggles to fit in with her more accomplished peers, after attending a concert by Poppin'Party and the other major bands. [26] Morfonica is a portmanteau of "morpho", in reference to their goals of changing themselves for the better (a metamorphosis), and "symphonic", alluding to their use of a violin. [27]

Morfonica's characters first appeared in Girls Band Party! in the main story's second season in 2019, [28] and were formally added as a group during the third-year anniversary on 15 March 2020 and later worldwide in 2021. [29] The band makes its anime debut in the 2020 spin-off series BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Pico: Ohmori . [30] A two-episode original anime focusing on the band titled Morfonication premiered in July 2022. [31] [32]

Discography

As of 28 September 2022, Morfonica has 13 original songs. [33]

Singles

YearTitleCoupling trackRelease datePeak Oricon chart positionNotesRef
2020"Daylight" (Daylight -デイライト- 」)"Prelude to Gold" (金色へのプレリュード, Konjiki e no Prelude)27 May2 [34]
2021"Bloom Bloom (ブルームブルーム)"flame of hope"13 January6 [35]
"Harmony Day" (ハーモニー・デイ)"Sonorous", "Fateful..."6 October8 [15]
2022"fly with the Night""Secret Dawn"30 March7 [20]
"Yorube no Sunny, Sunny" (寄る辺のSunny, Sunny)"One Step at a Time"14 September23Limited edition release includes Morfonication soundtrack [36] [37]

Albums

YearTitleRelease datePeak Oricon chart positionNotesRef
2020BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Cover Collection Vol. 4 (バンドリ! ガールズバンドパーティ! カバーコレクション Vol.4)27 May 1 Joined by Poppin'Party, Afterglow, Pastel Palettes, Roselia, Hello, Happy World!, and Raise A Suilen [38]
Garupa Vocaloid Cover Collection (ガルパ ボカロカバーコレクション)16 December4 [39]
2021BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Cover Collection Vol. 5 (バンドリ! ガールズバンドパーティ! カバーコレクションVol.5)24 February6 [40]
"BanG Dream! FILM LIVE 2nd Stage" Special Songs25 August13 [41]
BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Cover Collection Vol. 6 (バンドリ! ガールズバンドパーティ! カバーコレクションVol.6)10 November4 [42]
2022BanG Dream! Dreamer's Best16 March6Fan vote-determined compilation album with Morfonica's "Daylight", "flame of hope", and "Bloom Bloom" included [43]
BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Cover Collection Vol. 7 (バンドリ! ガールズバンドパーティ! カバーコレクションVol.7)14 December13Joined by Poppin'Party, Afterglow, Pastel Palettes, Roselia, Hello, Happy World!, and Raise A Suilen [44]
2023Quintet15 March9 [45]

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Amane Shindō is a Japanese voice actress currently affiliated with HiBiKi Cast. She has voiced characters in the anime series Bermuda Triangle: Colorful Pastrale, Rebirth, and BanG Dream!, where she is also a member of the band Morfonica, serving as the vocalist and portraying the in-universe character Mashiro Kurata.

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Haruka Nishio, better known by her stage name Yūka Nishio is a Japanese musician, singer, voice actress and DJ from Kanagawa Prefecture who is affiliated with Hibiki. She was formerly active as a solo musician under the name Haruca, releasing the single "Eien no Kotae" in 2017. She is known for her roles as Nanami Hiromachi in BanG Dream!, where she also serves as the bassist of the band Morfonica, and as Rinku Aimoto, the protagonist of the multimedia franchise D4DJ.

Hina Suguta is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Hyōgo Prefecture who is affiliated with the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society. She is known for voicing Marin Kitagawa in My Dress-Up Darling. She is also a member of the band Morfonica, a part of the multimedia franchise BanG Dream!; she voices Tōko Kirigaya in the same franchise.

Natsume is a Japanese drummer and voice actress. She is a member of the bands Shazna and Raise A Suilen, the latter as part of the BanG Dream! franchise, for which she voices the character Masuki "Masking" Satō.

Ayasa Shimamura, known professionally by the mononym Ayasa, is a Japanese rock violinist and voice actress. She is the violinist for the band Morfonica of the BanG Dream! multimedia franchise, which includes portraying the character Rui Yashio. In addition, she posts YouTube videos where she plays violin covers of anime songs while wearing cosplay and has released several albums with the record label Dreamusic.

References

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