Fade (stylized as fade) was a Japanese-American
rock band formed in 1991. To date, Fade has released 5
mini-albums, 3 full-length studio albums, and 2 singles. Fade is currently signed with record label
Universal Music Japan. On April 9, 2014, fade announced an indefinite hiatus, in effect after the completion of their June tour.
History
Pre-Fade and Formation
The band was founded by drummer and songwriter Rui Watanabe and guitarist Kansei Miyagi, both of whom attended the same Japanese secondary school in
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. In 1994 bassist Noriyuki Hashimoto joined the group and in 1998 a second guitarist, Shingo Terasawa, (alias 5°, pronounced ''Godo'') came on board. In 1999 the members relocated to
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...
and in 2001, Jon Underdown, who at the time was an
exchange student
A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions.
A student exchange program may involve international travel, but d ...
hailing from
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, joined the band solidifying the line-up. The following year, 2002, the group officially decided on the band name “Fade”.
Jon, Rui and Kansei were born in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
but only Jon doesn't have any Japanese ancestry while Noriyuki and Godo were born in
Japan.
''Fade'' and ''A Moment of Truth''
The band's self-titled debut mini-album, ''fade'', was released nationwide in Japan in 2003. It ranked 3rd on
Japan Countdown
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, a weekly countdown chart of album sales nationwide in Japan. Following their debut mini-album, while working with Markku Lappalainen (ex.
Hoobastank
Hoobastank (sometimes stylized as h∞bastank, and originally known as Hoobustank) is an American rock band formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, by lead vocalist Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassis ...
), Erik Gregory (programming for
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and dr ...
’s 1st remix album ''
Reanimation''), and
Jason C. Miller (
gODHEAD
Godhead (from Middle English ''godhede'', "godhood", and unrelated to the modern word "head"), may refer to:
* Deity
* Divinity
* Conceptions of God
* In Abrahamic religions
** Godhead in Judaism, the unknowable aspect of God, which lies beyo ...
) in 2005, Fade released their second mini-album entitled ''A Moment of Truth''. “Beautiful”, the album's 3rd track, was featured in the 2006
Shunji Iwai
is a Japanese film director, video artist, writer and documentary maker.
Life and career
Iwai was born in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. He attended Yokohama National University, graduating in 1987.
In 1988 he started out in the Japanese entertainment ...
film,
Rainbow Song.
''Under the Sun'' and ''To Find A Better Tomorrow''
''A Moment of Truth'' was shortly followed by the release of ''Under the Sun'', the band's 3rd mini-album, a few months later. The band's 4th mini-album release, ''To Find A Better Tomorrow'', in which they worked with
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' '' Come Away with Me''.
Biograp ...
, was released in 2008 ranking 9th on the Western Music chart of
USEN Japan.
The album's 6th track, “Slitting Regret”, features additional vocals from Toyo of Japanese
industrial metal
Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine ...
band
Newbreed.
''Age of Innocence''
2009 marked Fade's 5th release and first full-length studio album, ''Age of Innocence''. It included numerous songs that were featured on numerous
marketing campaigns including
ABC-Mart
is a Japanese footwear company, with stores in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
History
The company was founded by Masahiro Miki in Shinjuku in 1985 as Boeki Shoji Inc. In 1987, the company moved to Arakawa and changed its name to International ...
,
and popular video games series'
Drum Mania and
Guitar Freaks.
''Kings of Dawn''
Fade's 6th release, ''Kings of Dawn'', arrived in 2011, which featured
Koie Kenta, of Japanese
industrial metal
Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine ...
band
Crossfaith, on the intro track “Born Ready”. This was also the first album featuring Jon singing in Japanese in addition to being the first album which the band hired producer,
Hajime Okano
is the Japanese word meaning . In the Japanese traditional martial arts such as karate, judo, aikido, Kūdō and kendo, it is a verbal command to "begin". Hajime is also a common Japanese given name for males.
In the Amami Islands, Hajime (元) ...
(
L'Arc en Ciel). An
ITunes version of ''Kings of Dawn'' was released which included a cover of
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such quit th ...
's,
Livin' on a Prayer
"Livin' on a Prayer" is a song by the American rock band Bon Jovi, and is the band's second chart-topping single from their third album '' Slippery When Wet''. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, the single, released in ...
(1986). In addition, a European edition of ''Kings of Dawn'' was also released in December 2011 through
Gan-shin Records.
''One Reason'' and ''Cosmicalism''
Concurrently, the singles "One Reason" and "Cosmicalism" (コズミカリズム Kozumikarizumu) were also released in April 2011. The song “
One Reason” by Fade featuring Deadman Wonder Band (DWB), was the opening theme song to the Japanese
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
Deadman Wonderland. A
limited edition
The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
of “One Reason” was also released in 2011, which included a bonus DVD of the anime movie
Deadman Wonderland. The song "One Reason" ranked 4th on the Independent Label music chart.
''Ten''
Ten (天), the band's 7th album was released in July 2012. The band once again collaborated with producer
Hajime Okano
is the Japanese word meaning . In the Japanese traditional martial arts such as karate, judo, aikido, Kūdō and kendo, it is a verbal command to "begin". Hajime is also a common Japanese given name for males.
In the Amami Islands, Hajime (元) ...
, and featured Toyo from
Newbreed on the album's 2nd track, "Chase for Daylight", Jon once described the concept of ''TEN'' as “ROCK with pop sensibility” and commented “I think we went to the poppyest we’ve ever been on one side, and we went to the heaviest we’ve ever been, too”.
A limited-edition of ''TEN'' was also released which included a bonus DVD featuring selected live concert footage and music videos.
''Crossroad ~History of fade~''
The band's 8th album, released on 26 February 2014, features 17 tracks of which 3 are new. The band worked with Akira Yamaoka on new track "One Shot Dealer". Mixing for the album was done in LA by Jay Baumgardner.
Discography
Mini-Album
* ''Fade (Self-Titled)'' (1st January 2003)
1.- Metamorphosis
2.- One Day
3.- Save Me
4.- Fustration's Puppet
5.- Inner Peace
* ''A Moment of Truth'' (23th March 2005)
1.- Drifting Away
2.- Five
3.- Beautiful
4.- She
5.- From The Inside Out
6.- Wiser For The Wear
* ''Under the Sun'' (27th July 2005)
1.- Better Scarred
2.- Under The Sun
3.- Nature Of Rain
4.- Out Body Of Experience
5.- You
* ''To Find A Better Tomorrow'' (6th August 2008)
1.- Filter
2.- Break Away
3.- Miss You
4.- Till The End Of Time
5.- Fool
6.- Slitting Regret
7.- The Sound Of Light
* ''Kings of Dawn'' (4th April 2011)
1.- Born Ready
2.- Cosmicalism (コズミカリズム)
3.- Black Hearts & Doller $ign$
4.- Tides OF Change
5.- Kings Of Dawn
6.- Livin' On A Prayer
7.- Relax
8.- Face (Acoustic)
Studio albums
* ''Age Of Innocence'' (11th November 2009)
1.- Last Man Standing
2.- So Far Gone
3.- Reflection
4.- Let It Go
5.- The Age Of Innocence
6.- Trapped
7.- Reality Lost
8.- Face
9.- Spin
10.- It Was You
* ''Ten'' (6th Jun 2012)
1.- In The End
2.- Chase for Daylight (Feat. Toyo)
3.- Reimei ~黎明~
4.- Ever Free
5.- Close to You (Jp)
6.- Moment of Life
7.- Keep the Faith
8.- WAKE UP THE WORLD
10.- Million to One
11.- Always and Forever
12.- Ten
13.- Beautiful (Ver. 2012)
14.- Close to You (Eng)
EP's
* ''Crossroad History Of Fade'' (26th Feb 2014)
1.- Crossroad
2.- Yurenonaka (ユレノナカ)
3.- One Shot Dealer
Singles
* ''Black Hearts And Dollar Signs'' (2009)
* ''One Reason'' (2011)
* ''From The Heart'' (2011)
* ''Cosmicalism'' (2011)
* ''Cross Road'' (2013)
Band members
* Jonathan Mathew "Jon" Underdown − lead vocals
* Shingo "Godo" Terasawa − guitars, backing vocals
* Noriyuki Hashimoto − bass, backing vocals
* Kansei Miyagi − guitars, backing vocals
* Rui Watanabe − drums, bandleader
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Japanese rock music groups
American rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1991
Universal Music Japan artists
Musical groups from New York City
Musical groups from Tokyo
1991 establishments in New York City
2001 establishments in Japan
English-language musical groups from Japan