extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
by
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
band Folks, independently released on March 29, 2013. It was the band's first release, and their only self-issued album before their major label debut under
Ki/oon Music
is a Japanese record label, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
Artists
Their artists include: L'Arc-en-Ciel, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Polysics, The Gospellers, Denki Groove, KANA-BOON, Guitar Wolf, Sid (band), Sid, Group Tamas ...
in 2014.
Background and development
Folks first formed in 2013 when former
Galileo Galilei
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...
members Fumito Iwai and Kazumasa Noguchi moved back to their birthplace of Hokkaido to start a band, and officially became a unit in January 2013. Iwai and Noguchi asked former Guild member Yoshitomo Kobayashi to join their band, and they moved to
Sapporo
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...
, renting a house with Iwai's older brother Katsutoshi Iwai and his friend Masatsugu Takahashi, who also had a separate band. All five people practised music in their own rooms, but because Katsutoshi Iwai's room was a Japanese style room, the other band members could hear him through the thin
shōji
A is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of Transparency and translucency, translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaq ...
walls. In late 2013, Fumito Iwai heard his brother creating the song "River," and liked it so much he asked to arrange the song. All the house-mates loved the completed song, and decided to merge their two bands to create Folks.
Writing and production
''Take Off'' was recorded from Summer 2012, when Folks was a three-member unit, until March 2013. The majority of the extended play features songs written by Fumito Iwai and featuring vocals by him, except the song "River," which was written and sung by Katsutoshi Iwai. Fumito Iwai mixed, arranged and produced ''Take Off'' by himself. The band based themselves at their parents' houses in
Eniwa, Hokkaido
is a city in Ishikari Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is on the Ishikari plain, 8 km north of Chitose, and 26 km south of the prefectural capital Sapporo. It is reached through route 36 and the Chitose Railway Line. The town is s ...
, and recorded songs in Fumito Iwai's bedroom in Megumino.
Iwai felt that ''Take Off'' was influenced by
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentJames Blake and
Bombay Bicycle Club
Bombay Bicycle Club is an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London, consisting of Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram, and Ed Nash. They are guitar-fronted and have experimented with different genres, including folk, electr ...
. he felt the lyrics were influenced by Galileo Galilei vocalist Yūki Ozaki's lyrical style, and by Galileo Galilei's music in general.
For the July 2013 iTunes release of the album, ''Take Off'' was remastered by
Yoshinori Sunahara
is a Japanese record producer and DJ from Sapporo, Hokkaido. He is a former member of Denki Groove. He was also a member of Metafive.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Crossover (Yoshinori Sunahara album), Crossover'' (1995)
* ''Take Off and Landi ...
.
All songs, except the intro "Take Off" were later used for their major label debut extended play '' Newtown'' (2014), including the song "Gaga" which was retitled "You're Right."
Promotion and release
The album was first released on March 29, 2013 to download service Vibirth. On April 6, 2013 at Sound Lab Mole in
Sapporo
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...
, Folks held the album release party live, and also sold physical copies of the album there.
The physical version was released at Sapporo music store Ongaku Dokoro in July 2013, and later at Hokkaido music chain Gyokkodo on October 8, 2013. The extended play was released globally on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
on July 31, 2013.
The band made their first festival performance, at the
Rising Sun Rock Festival
Rising Sun Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Ishikari, Hokkaido, Japan. The two-day event is organized by WESS. It chiefly features Japanese rock
, sometimes abbreviated to , is rock music from Japan. Influenced by American and ...
, on August 17, 2013. They held their first radio interview on local Eniwa radio station E-niwa on August 30, 2013.