Cero () are a Japanese pop band from Tokyo. The band was formed by singer, guitarist, and flautist Shōhei Takagi, keyboardist Yū Arauchi, and drummer Tomoyuki Yanagi in 2004. They were joined by guitarist Tsubasa Hashimoto in 2006 and musician Keiichi Suzuki became their producer in 2008. They released their debut album, ''World Record'', in 2011, after which Yanagi departed the band. As a group of three, the band has released four studio albums; the most successful, ''Poly Life Multi Soul'' (2018), reached fourth place on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

Albums Chart. The band has received two finalist awards at the

CD Shop Awards The is an annual set of music awards presented in Japan. It is sponsored by All-Japan CD Shop Employees Union and awarded based on votes by CD shop employees from all over Japan, with the goal of bringing awareness to underappreciated, high quali ...

and were named Best Alternative Artist at the 2016 Space Shower Music Awards.

History

An abbreviation for Contemporary Exotica Rock Orchestra, Cero was formed in Tokyo by singer, guitarist, and flautist Shōhei Takagi, keyboardist Yū Arauchi, and drummer Tomoyuki Yanagi in 2004. They were joined by guitarist Tsubasa Hashimoto in 2006, and record producer and musician Keiichi Suzuki would begin to produce for the band in 2008 after developing an interest in their sound. They subsequently participated on the Commmons-released compilation album ''Strange Song Book: Tribute to Haruomi Hosono 2'' (2008). In 2011, the band signed to indie label Kakubarhythm to release their debut studio album, ''World Record''. It explores genres such as J-rap and dub pop for an

avant garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

and exotic-like sound, and peaked at number 170 on

's Albums Chart. Following the album's release, Yanagi departed the band to focus on his work as an illustrator. As a group of three, they released their next album ''My Lost City'' in 2012, which rose to 33rd on Oricon's chart. The band's third album, ''Obscure Ride'' (2015), won a finalist award at the 2016

. It was their first album to break into the top ten, charting on both Oricon's chart and ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine '' Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence fr ...

'' Hot Albums. The CD singles "Yellow Magus" and the

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

d "Orphans" / "Yōsari" had been released in preparation for the album; both reached the top 30 of the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard Single (music), singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track down ...

and charted around 50 on ''Billboard Japan''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. The same year as ''Obscure Ride'', Takagi joined the

FM802 (call sign JOFV-FM) is a commercial radio broadcasting, radio station based at Daiwa Building in Tenjimbashi Nichome, Kita-ku, Osaka, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, broadcasting on 80.2 FM broadcasting, FM from Mount Iimori to Kansai region. As a latec ...

program ''Music Freaks'' as a DJ on behalf of Cero alongside singer and guitarist Shunichi Tanabe. The band won Best Alternative Artist at the 2016 Space Shower Music Awards. The band followed ''Obscure Ride'' with ''Poly Life Multi Soul'' in 2018, earning a second finalist accolade at the CD Shop Awards. Their most commercially successful album to date, it reached number four on Oricon's chart and eight on the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot Albums. They contributed music for the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series ''

Carole & Tuesday is an original anime television series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe. It was produced by Bones in commemoration of the studio's 20th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of record label FlyingDog. It aired from April 11 to October 3, 2 ...

'' in 2019. With the 2020s, all members of the band released solo albums: Takagi released ''Triptych'' (2020) under the solo project Shohei Takagi Parallela Botanica, Arauchi released ''Śisei'' (2021), and Hashimoto started the project Diorama Scene and released ''Awai'' (2022). The band's fifth and most recent album, ''E O'' (2023), peaked at number 27 on Oricon's chart.

Members

;Current members * Shōhei Takagi vocals, guitar, flute (2004–present) * Yū Arauchi keyboard, chorus vocals (2004–present) * Tsubasa Hashimoto guitar, clarinet, chorus vocals (2006–present) ;Former members * Tomoyuki Yanagi drums (2004–2011)

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

Other charted songs

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Japanese musical trios Japanese pop music groups Musical groups from Tokyo