BUMP OF CHICKEN

Bump of Chicken was a highly successful Japanese rock act that formed in 1994 for a high school "cultural festival." Members Motoo Fujiwara (vocals and guitar), Hiroaki Masukawa (guitar), Yoshifumi Naoi (bass), and Hideo Masu (drums) all met each other as youngsters at school, and would eventually release their first album, Flame Vein, in 1999 with High Line Records. The deal with High Line only lasted through one more album, 2000s Living Dead, but their new deal with Toy Factory was made all the sweeter when, in 2001, the band achieved their first charting single ("Tentai Kansoku") — which began a streak for Bump of Chicken, who since that release, have never not been on the charts — and released their next album, 2002's Jupiter, which became their first number one. 2004 was a busy release year for Bump of Chicken, seeing not only the new album (number four), Yggdrasil, but re-releases of their first two albums and a number of singles. Further hits continued for the band, when in 2007 their two singles "Hana No Na" and "Mayday" occupied the top two spots and the corresponding album, Orbital Period was a Top Ten seller.