Sol-fa (album)

Sol-fa (ソルファ, Sorufa) is the second studio album by Japanese rock band, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, released on October 20, 2004.

Sol-fa
Studio album by
Asian Kung-Fu Generation
ReleasedOctober 20, 2004 (JP)
October 18, 2005 (US)
GenreIndie rock, alternative rock, post-hardcore
Length46:39
LabelKioon/Tofu
ProducerAsian Kung-fu Generation
Asian Kung-Fu Generation chronology
Kimi Tsunagi Five M
(2003)		 Sol-fa
(2004)		 Fanclub
(2006)
Singles from Sol-fa
  1. "Siren"
    Released: April 4, 2004
  2. "Loop & Loop"
    Released: May 19, 2004
  3. "Rewrite"
    Released: August 4, 2004
  4. "Kimi no Machi Made"
    Released: September 23, 2004

Reception

With the LP, AKG fully realized and honed the upbeat tempo but hard-edged and emotionally charged sound first expressed within Hōkai Amplifier. The urgency of the songs were complemented by the balanced nature of the overall album, creating their most mature release as of late. Gotō credited this outcome as the result of sharing his songwriting duties more evenly with bandmates than ever before.[1] The album was equally praised for its high production quality, which thoroughly nullified the language barrier that frequently impeded non–Japanese speaking audiences.[2]

Upon its debut, the album topped the Oricon charts for two weeks straight and produced four singles, with sales reaching over 600,000 copies by its third week.[1] Its success can be partially traced to two tracks that the band produced, "Rewrite" and "Haruka Kanata," were featured in the opening themes of the highly popular anime series Fullmetal Alchemist and Naruto respectively. In 2016, the 2016 version of Re:Re: was used as the opening for the anime Boku Dake ga Inai Machi. With the LP, AKG also finally succeeded in outreaching to international audiences, a goal they had attempted in earlier English indie releases but were met by little response . The album peaked at number three on the World Chart while "Rewrite" went on to win Best Anime Theme Song at the 2007 American Anime Awards.[3][4] Following its domestic release, fans from around the world petitioned for Sol-fa to be distributed outside Japan. The support for Ajikan eventually resulted in Tofu Records striking a contract to release Sol-fa in the United States on October 18, 2005.[2]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Masafumi Gotoh; all music is composed by Masafumi Gotoh, except "Siren" and "Re:Re:" by Gotoh and Takahiro Yamada.

No.TitleLength
1."Shindōkaku" (振動覚 Resonance)2:27
2."Rewrite" (リライト Riraito)3:47
3."Kimi no Machi Made" (君の街まで To Your Town)3:36
4."My World" (マイ・ワールド Mai Wārudo)4:03
5."Yoru no Mukō" (夜の向こう The Next Night)3:12
6."Last Scene" (ラストシーン Rasutoshīn)4:01
7."Siren" (サイレン Sairen)5:28
8."Re:Re:"3:48
9."Nijūyoji" (24時 Midnight)3:31
10."Mayonaka to Mahiru no Yume" (真夜中と真昼の夢 Midnight and Daydreams)4:21
11."Kaigan Dōri" (海岸通り Waterfront)4:40
12."Loop & Loop" (ループ&ループ Rūpu & Rūpu)3:45
Bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
13."Haruka Kanata (Live)"4:02
14."Shindo-Kaku (Live)"2:27

B-sides
Song Length B-side of
"Siren#" 6:15 "Siren"
"Entrance" (Live) 4:12 "Loop & Loop"
"Rashinban" (Live) 2:37
"Yūgure no Aka" 4:17 "Rewrite"
"Hold Me Tight" 4:06 "Kimi no Machi Made"

Sol-fa 2016
Sol-fa 2016
Studio album by
Asian Kung-Fu Generation
ReleasedNovember 30, 2016
GenreIndie rock, alternative rock
Length49:32
LabelKioon
ProducerAsian Kung-fu Generation
Asian Kung-Fu Generation chronology
Wonder Future
(2015)		 Sol-fa 2016
(2016)		 Hometown
(2018)
Singles from Sol-fa 2016
  1. "Re:Re:"
    Released: March 16, 2016

In 2016, Asian Kung-fu Generation re-recorded Sol-fa and released on November 30, 2016. Re:Re: was released as lead single on March 16, 2016.

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Shindōkaku" (振動覚 Resonance)2:27
2."Rewrite" (リライト Riraito)4:39
3."Loop & Loop" (ループ&ループ Rūpu & Rūpu)3:37
4."Kimi no Machi Made" (君の街まで To Your Town)3:40
5."My World" (マイ・ワールド Mai Wārudo)4:03
6."Yoru no Mukō" (夜の向こう The Next Night)3:13
7."Last Scene" (ラストシーン Rasutoshīn)3:55
8."Siren" (サイレン Sairen)5:25
9."Re:Re:"5:26
10."Nijūyoji" (24時 Midnight)3:34
11."Mayonaka to Mahiru no Yume" (真夜中と真昼の夢 Midnight and Daydreams)4:26
12."Kaigan Dōri" (海岸通り Waterfront)5:01
Total length:49:32

Personnel
  • Masafumi Gotoh – lead vocals, guitar
  • Kensuke Kita – lead guitar, background vocals
  • Takahiro Yamada – bass, background vocals
  • Kiyoshi Ijichi – drums
  • Asian Kung-Fu Generation – producer
  • Michihiko Nakayama – executive producer
  • Rieko Ohkura – production coordination
  • Fumihito Yokono – drum technician
  • Kenichi Nakamura – engineering
  • Toru Takayama – engineering, mixing
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Stewart Whitmore – editing
  • Yusuke Nakamura – art direction

Chart positions

Sol-fa

Album
Year Chart Peak positions
2004 Oricon 1
World Chart 3[5]

Singles
Year Song Peak positions
Oricon
2004 "Siren" 2
"Loop & Loop" 8
"Rewrite" 4
"Kimi no Machi Made" 3

Sol-fa 2016

Album
Year Chart Peak positions
2016 Oricon 4
Japan Hot Album[6] 3

Singles
Year Song Peak positions
Oricon
2016 "Re:Re:" 9
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References
  1. Caffrey, Rori (2004-11-11). "Asian Kung-Fu Generation Finally Kicks In". The Daily Yomiuri. The Yomiuri Shimbun. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
  2. Kao, Larry (2005-11-03). "Talkin Bout My (Asian Kung-Fu) Generation". Asian Pacific Arts. UCLA Asia Institute. Archived from the original on 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
  3. American Anime Awards official website Archived 2007-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Pegasus News Wire (2007-03-06). "FUNimation's FullMetal Alchemist Wins Five Awards At the Inaugural American Anime Awards". Pegasus News. PanLocal Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  5. "Asian Kung-fu Generation – Sol-fa". αCharts.us. October 2004. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  6. "Japan Hot Album Chart December 12, 2016" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
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