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Akino Arai

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Akino Arai is a Japanese singer, songwriter and lyricist, born in 1959 in Tokyo. She is best known for music for anime. After her studies she went to work at Victor Music Entertainment. In 1986 her first single Yakusoku appeared, which was used in the anime Windaria, along with her first album Natsukashii Mirai. In 1988 she left her record company.

Music and breakthrough

In the 1990s she returned with music for series and film. In 1992 she sang songs for Record of Lodoss War. In 1994 she sang Voices for Macross Plus, in which she was also the singing voice of two characters. Her first compilation album, Sora no Mori, appeared in 1997. Outlaw Star in 1998 and Spice and Wolf II in 2009 followed, among others. In 2005 she celebrated her twentieth anniversary with the compilation album Sora no Uta. A year later she toured France and Germany, and in 2013 she gave her first concert in Asia outside Japan. She also collaborated with other artists and was in groups such as Marsh-mallow and RuRu Chapeau.

Influence

She also presented a weekly radio programme, Viridian House. Her music shows how anime music can build a world of its own out of song, atmosphere and story, and how important Japanese lyricists are in that for an international audience.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Voices and notice how the singing carries the melody and what atmosphere the music around it builds up.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists