On Your Mark is a song by the Japanese

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

duo Chage & Aska. The song was released in 1994 as part of the single ''Heart''. It became a million selling hit single upon its release and has been performed in concert by the duo. The song has been included on a variety of their albums. Originally written with Japanese lyrics an English language adaptation was created and released under the title ''Castles in the Air''. It was notably performed by Chage and Aska during their recorded

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

session, the first such session by an act from Asia. In 1995 a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was created by

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

wrote and directed the animated short film as a side-project after having

writer's block Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...

with ''

Princess Mononoke is a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Dentsu. The film stars the voices of Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida ...

''. The short film, with the title '' Ghibli Experimental Theater On Your Mark'' was played in concert in June 1995 and had a theatrical release in July together with ''

Whisper of the Heart is a 1995 Japanese Anime, animated romantic drama film directed by Yoshifumi Kondō and written by Hayao Miyazaki based on the #Background, 1989 manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon T ...

''.

Song

''On Your Mark'' is an original song created and released by the Japanese duo Chage and Aska. The music and lyrics were written by Aska. The original lyrics were written in Japanese. The title is based on the sports term , a phrase used for the duo's 15th anniversary releases in 1994 and other promotional materials since then. The lyrics of the song were inspired by the lifestyle of the Japanese bubble economy. On August 3, 1994, the song was released as the third track on the ''Heart, Natural, On Your Mark''

Mini CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

for the

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affi ...

label. It reached number 1 on the Oricon Singles Chart upon its release. More than 1.1 million copies have been sold. ''On Your Mark'' was used as the theme song for the 1994 "American Festival". The 1994 Festival was an event held, to reinforce Japan-U.S. ties, marking the 150th anniversary of the

Convention of Kanagawa The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the Kanagawa Treaty (, ''Kanagawa Jōyaku'') or the Japan–US Treaty of Peace and Amity (, ''Nichibei Washin Jōyaku''), was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March ...

establishing Japan–U.S. relations.

Releases

''On Your Mark'' was first released as the third track on a CD single also featuring the songs ''Heart'' and ''Natural'' and appeared on the album ''Code Name. 2 Sister Moon''. The song was included on several compilation albums. For the Japanese market on ''Chage and Aska Very Best Roll Over 20th'' and for international markets on ''Greatest Hits'', ''The Best'' and ''Asian Communications''.

Live performances and recordings

‘’On Your Mark’’ was first performed live in concert at their fan club meeting, held at the

Makuhari Messe is a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba City, in the northwest corner of Chiba Prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. ''Makuhari'' is the name of ...

in Chiba, for the ''Concert Tour '95~'96 Super Best 3 Mission Impossible'' on June 29, 1995 and continues to be included on set lists for Chage and Aska live performances. It has been recorded live and appears on their 25 Anniversary live album ''Chage and Aska Concert Tour 2004 - Two Five''. Footage from the tour has been released on DVD and Blu-ray. The original lyrics were written in Japanese. On July 8, 1996, a song with the same original music track but with English lyrics, credited to Aska and Ervin Bedward, was released under the title ''Castles in the Air'' on the album ''One Voice: The Songs of Chage and Aska''. A compilation of their songs performed by the duo and other artists, including

Maxi Priest Max Alfred "Maxi" Elliott (born 10 June 1961), known by his stage name Maxi Priest, is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with an R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion. He was one ...

featuring

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer * Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse * Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspor ...

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

, Chaka Khan,

Michael Hutchence Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into th ...

, Alejandro Sanz,

Cathy Dennis Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She was the vocalist for D Mob, which had the s ...

Apache Indian Steven Kapur (born 11 May 1967), known by the stage name Apache Indian, is a British singer-songwriter and reggae DJ. He had a series of hits during the 1990s. He is best known in the UK for the song " Boom Shack-A-Lak", which reached the top ...

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...

, Richard Marx,

Londonbeat Londonbeat is a British dance-pop band who scored a number of pop and dance hits in the early 1990s. Band members are American Jimmy Helms (who also had a successful solo career and sang radio jingles for Radio Hallam and Hereward Radio in the ...

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

and

Wendy Matthews Wendy Joan Matthews (born 13 January 1960) is a Canadian-born Australian singer-songwriter who has been a member of Models and Absent Friends and is a solo artist. She released Top 20 hit singles in the 1990s including " Token Angels", " ...

. Created with executive producer Safta Jaffery, released by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

outside Japan for the international market. ''Castles in the Air'' was among the songs performed live for a recorded

session, the first MTV Unplugged session by an act from Asia, released on CD, VHS and DVD.

Credits

Vocals were performed by Chage and Aska with Tōru Hasebe on drums, Chiharu Mikutsuki on bass, Takumiichi Korenaga on acoustic and electric guitar, strings by ''Joe Strings''. The synthesizer sound designer was Nobuhiko Nakayama. Taisuke Sawachika, who was the musician on acoustic piano and keyboards, also did the arrangement for the song. It was released on the Pony Canyon label.

Music video

In 1994 Chage and Aska, through their agency Real Cast and the record company Pony Canyon, approached

for the creation of a promotional video. The collaboration resulted in the animated short film '' Ghibli Experimental Theater On Your Mark''. The film has been shown on stage at their concerts and had a theatrical release together with the animated Ghibli feature ''

''.

References

External links

Official Website Chage & Aska. On Your Mark
{{in lang, ja 1994 singles Chage and Aska songs Pony Canyon singles 1994 songs