Sumika (band)

Sumika (stylized as sumika) is a Japanese rock band from Kawasaki, Kanagawa which is affiliated with Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The band formed as an indie rock band in 2013, before being signed to a major label in 2018. The band is also known as Sumika [camp session] during live performances, which are known for including performances by non-musicians such as filmmakers, photographers, painters, sculptors, architects, potters, and poets.[1] The band's music has also been featured in the anime series Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku and the anime film I Want to Eat Your Pancreas.

Sumika (band)
Also known as	sumika [camp session]
Origin	Kawasaki, Kanagawa
Genres	Rock
Years active	2013–present
Labels	Muffin Discs (2014–2017) Sony Music Entertainment Japan (2018–present)
Website	www.sumika-official.com
Members	Kenta Kataoka Junnosuke Kuroda Tomoyuki Arai Takayuki Ogawa

History

Sumika was formed in Kawasaki, Kanagawa in May 2013.[2] The group's name is derived from the Japanese word sumika (すみか, residence), and refers to the desire of its members to consider the band as their "house" or their "room".[3] The original members were Kenta Kataoka, Junnosuke Kuroda, and Tomoyuki Arai.[3] Takayuki Ogawa, who had previously performed with the group as a guest member, joined the group full-time in 2015.[4]

Sumika debuted in 2013 with the release of their first mini-album Shinsekai Orichalcum (新世界オリハルコン) in October of that year.[5] Their second mini-album I Co Y was released in November 2014 and peaked at number 59 on the Oricon weekly charts.[6] Their third mini-album Vital Apartment was released in June 2015 and peaked at number 32 on the Oricon weekly charts.[7] In 2016, they released the single "Lovers/Dengon Uta" (Lovers/「伝言歌」), the mini-album Answer Parade (アンサーパレード), and the extended play "Sally".[8][9][10] In 2017, they released their first full-length album Familia, which peaked at number 5 on the Oricon weekly charts and charted for 41 weeks.[11]

Sumika became affiliated with Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 2018.[12] That same year, they released the extended play "Fiction"; the title track was used as the opening theme to the anime television series Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku.[13] This was followed by the release of the single "Fanfare/Shunkashuutou" (ファンファーレ / 春夏秋冬) in August;[14] The release's two songs were used in the anime film I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, and the band's members also made voice acting appearances in the film.[15]

Members

• Kenta Kataoka (片岡 健太, Kataoka Kenta) — lead vocals, guitarist[2]
• Junnosuke Kuroda (黒田 隼之介, Kurosa Junnosuke) — guitarist, chorus vocals[2]
• Tomoyuki Arai (荒井 智之, Arai Tomoyuki) — drummer[2]
• Takayuki Ogawa (小川 貴之, Ogawa Takayuki) — keyboardist, chorus vocals[2]

Discography

Independent releases

Singles

Title	Peak Oricon position[16]
"Dress farm #1" Release date: June 6, 2014[17]	—
"Dress farm #2" Release date: June 27, 2014[18]	—
"Lovers/Dengon Uta" (Lovers/「伝言歌」) Release date: March 19, 2016[8]	15
"Sally e.p." Release date: December 7, 2016[10]	12
"Dress farm #3" Release date: May 18, 2017[19]	—

Albums

Title	Peak Oricon position[20]
Shinsekai Orichalcum (新世界オリハルコン) Release date: October 16, 2013[5]	—
I co Y Release date: November 12, 2014[6]	59
Vital Apartment Release date: June 10, 2015[7]	32
Answer Parade (アンサーパレード) Release date: May 25, 2016[9]	12
Familia Release date: July 12, 2017[11]	5
Chime Release date: March 13, 2019[21]	5

Major releases

Singles

Title	Peak Oricon position[16]
"Fiction e.p" Release date: April 25, 2018[13]	3
"Fanfare/Shunkashuutou" (ファンファーレ / 春夏秋冬) Release date: August 29, 2018[22]	4
"Equal/Traveling" Release date: June 12, 2019[23]	7
"Negai / Higher Ground" Release date: December 11, 2019[24]	6
"Harmonize e.p" Release date: March 04, 2020[25]	5

DVDs

Title	Peak Oricon position[16]
sumika live tour Starting Caravan 2018.07.01 at Nippon Budokan Release date: October 24, 2018	4
Music Video Tree Vol.1 & Vol.2 Release date: July 31,2019	4

References

1. "sumika | プロフィール" (in Japanese). HMV Japan. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
2. "BIOGRAPHY". Sumika official website (in Japanese). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
3. "【HMVインタビュー】sumika 初全国流通作品「I co Y」リリース！" (in Japanese). HMV Japan. November 10, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
4. "sumika、新メンバーの加入を発表＆4月に自主企画開催決定" (in Japanese). Rockin'on.com. February 12, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
5. "1st Mini Album「新世界オリハルコン」特設サイト" (in Japanese). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
6. "I co Y" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
7. "Vital Apartment" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
8. "Lovers/「伝言歌」" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
9. "アンサーパレード" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
10. "SALLY e.p." (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
11. "Familia" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
12. "ソニーミュージックのイチオシ新人アーティストが一堂に会するコンベンションイベント、DATSら9組が出演" (in Japanese). Musicman-net. October 26, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
13. "Fiction e.p." Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
14. "ファンファーレ/春夏秋冬(初回生産限定盤)" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
15. "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas Anime Film Casts sumika Band Members". Anime News Network. August 22, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
16. "sumikaのシングル作品" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
17. "Dress farm #1". Bandcamp. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
18. "Dress farm #2". Bandcamp. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
19. "Dress Farm #3" (in Japanese). Diffusy. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
20. "sumikaのアルバム作品". Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
21. "Chime | sumika". Oricon News (in Japanese). Retrieved March 20, 2019.
22. "ファンファーレ/春夏秋冬" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
23. "イコール/Travering" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
24. "願い/ハイヤーグラウンド" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
25. "Harmonize e.p" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 20, 2020.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Sumika at Anime News Network's encyclopedia