An Cafe | |
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Also known as | Antic Cafe |
Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
Genres | |
Years active | 2003–2010, 2012–present |
Labels |
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Website | www |
Members | Miku Kanon Teruki Takuya Yu-ki |
Past members | Bou |
Antic Cafe (アンティック-珈琲店- Antikku Kafe?, nicknamed An Cafe) is a Japanese pop rock band formed in 2003 and signed to Sony Music Japan. Their visual image is oshare kei, and they describe their music as "Harajuku Dance Rock". The group has released five full-length albums, one compilation album, and four EPs. On September 1, 2009, the band announced that after their live show on January 4, 2010 at the Nippon Budokan, they would suspend activities and put the group on hiatus, however they stated they will not disband. On April 1, 2012, after two-year break, the team announced the resumption of activity.
An Cafe was formed in May 2003 by vocalist Miku, guitarist Bou and bassist Kanon. Miku's former band, Revirii, had disbanded two months earlier in April, and even though the band did not have a drummer at this point, they started to perform at several events. They were later joined by Teruki after he left his former band, Feathers-Blue.
In 2004, An Cafe released their first demos and signed a record deal with Loop Ash. Their first release, "Candyholic", was released in March and reached the second spot on the Oricon indies single chart. The band continued touring and releasing, including their first album, Shikisai Moment, in 2005. The band released even more singles in 2006 until their second studio album, Magnya Carta (a play on "Magna Carta").
In 2007, the band announced their first overseas appearance at Project A-Kon. The announcement of this was followed shortly by the departure of guitarist Bou. The last performance with Bou was on April 30, 2007, and was featured in a DVD titled Hibiya On ☆The☆ 0 New Sekai. After Bou left the band, two new members were announced: Takuya was to replace Bou as the guitarist and Yu-ki was to join An Cafe as a keyboardist. The first single with their new lineup was announced as "Kakusei Heroism" followed by "Ryūsei Rocket". At the end of 2007, An Cafe announced their first overseas tour, taking place in Europe in 2008.