“The Ohayogozaimas”
The Ohayogozaimas in 2020. Left to right: Nagi, Saba, Utsu-P, Kojiro Yamazaki
Background information
Also known as
おはようございます
Genres
Metalcore・Electronic Metal・Hybrid Metal
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The Ohayogozaimas is a Japanese metalcore band formed by Utsu-P in 2015. They're known for their dynamic musical style and live shows. Led by Utsu-P as bassist and lead songwriter, the band also comprises of guitarist Nagi and vocalist Saba, maintaining a consistent lineup since inception, with drummer Kojiro Yamazaki joining in 2017.
In 2015, The Ohayogozaimas released their debut album “Monosugoi” independently through Utsu-P's “MY SONG IS SHIT” self label. Their first EP, and third release, “Maeda e.p.” is the first release of theirs to be featured in stores nationwide in Japan. Their most recent release is SEISHI released in 2022, and their most popular song is MIMIZU IN THE DANCEFLOOR with 120,000 views on YouTube
In mid 2013, in a promotional interview for Warufuzake conducted with the website natalie.mu, Utsu-P expressed a public interest in forming a band for a more live performance oriented sound, but also so that his vocaloid music can take a further, more experimental sound which a singer couldn't replicate easily.
By June of 2014, auditions took place for The Ohayogozaimas and Saba was chosen as vocalist. It's unknown when Nagi was decided as the guitarist, but it's likely that it was early on due to Utsu-P's friendship with him lasting since middle school.
The band's debut single, Amazing was released July 26th of 2015, their second single, MIMIZU IN THE DANCEFLOOR was released on September 6th. The band's first live performance took place at Harajuku ASTRO HALL on September 12th as part of Utsu-P presents LIVE Mania event. The Ohayogozaimas would continue doing shows without an official drummer, relying on support drummers. The final single to their first album, Endless Amusement, was released on December and the band released their debut album, “Monosugoi” on new years day of 2015.
In August of 2016, The Ohayogozaimas released their first new single “Introduction To Sleep Studies”. Following an album trailer and announcement in December, they released their second single “Please, Do Your Best”, then their album “No-Nonsense” on 2016's new years day, one day prior to release, they held a special live performance where the audience members were given cameras to record the performance for using in their upcoming music video for the track ◯◯◯◯◯.
In 2017, Kojiro Yamazaki, who had performed with the band as a support drummer a few times, had officially joined the band leading up to their third release, Maeda e.p. in 2017. Which is their first nationally distributed CD, stocked in stores all around Japan. They released one single per week in the two weeks leading up to release, with Maeda being the first, and SYSTEMATIC IROMONO HARDCORE being the second and last.
In March of 2018, The Ohayogozaimas released a cover of Wait & See ~Risk~ by Utada Hikaru on YouTube. In July, they uploaded a shortened music video of a studio version of Corpse Attack!! covered by The Ohayogozaimas, and their single Do It Seriously. Next month in August, the final single, Mockumentary Of Tokyo was released. “Design EP” was released in September, the month after.
To kick off 2019, The Ohayogozaimas released their first new single #money_anthem. The title's hashtag was used on twitter to help promote the song, people who used it got a direct message with different kinds of exclusive bonus videos, mainly live footage. In the summer, The Ohayogozaimas released a downloadable EP exclusive to their live shows with unfinished and short tracks titled Book Ticket EP, along with a survey asking fans which song they should improve upon, and how they should do it. They released their second single of the year, I. They also ran a crowdfunding campaign with the goal of having a large concert, it was an overwhelming success, allowing them to have lights, smoke, effects, and even backup dancers during the song MIMIZU IN THE DANCEFLOOR. The final single, Nothing Pretending To Be Nothing used footage compiled from this concert. Their album “Nothing Special” was released soon after in September.
Although The Ohayogozaimas had initially planned for 2020 to be a big year full of touring and other potential surprises, with multiple song teasers being shown, However the global covid-19 pandemic forced them to cancel all their shows and perform sparse livestreamed concerts instead. they released the single Super-Normal which was featured in the arcade rhythm game GITADORA HIGH-VOLTAGE. Super-Normal also came with a streaming service exclusive B-side, Slander, which was a slightly reworked track from their Book-Ticket EP from last year. In September of 2020, Utsu-P a special campaign where he released one song for each of his main projects, Demands was the song for The Ohayogozaimas. In October of 2020 they performed their first proper live concert titled “Chinkon Kitou”, the gimmick of the show was that all audience members were given robes and made to hold candles, standing apart from eachother to prevent infection, giving a cult-like appearance to the show. 2021 was mainly just a year full of touring however they did release the song AIEUO in May. In May of 2022, The Ohayogozaimas released their mini album SEISHI, featuring the singles from the past 3 years alongside one new track “Going Through Life” which would be released as a single within a few days.
In 2023, The Ohayogozaimas launched a live concert tour series titled “Kikiki” where they performed a new song for each show.
Utsu-P, the primary songwriter, stated that the primary reasons for forming the band were for writing more live performance oriented music as well as for allowing his vocaloid music to grow into more experimental ranges that wouldn't fit a live performance as well.
The Ohayogozaimas' music incorporates elements such as harsh vocals, catchy guitar riffs, electronic elements, and intense metalcore sections. The band benefits from Utsu-P's talents as producer to allow a high end produced sound.
The band's lineup has remained stable, with the only addition being drummer Kojiro Yamazaki joining in 2017. Since Design EP, Utsu-P has said that having a drummer has injected a more “band”-like sound into their music, instead of being almost fully composed by Utsu-P prior to recording. Their songwriting techniques peak with successive albums, resonating more and more precise, focused music with a serious, yet also playful feeling. The band's lyrics generally contain uplifting messages, or cover social themes and perspectives as an artist.
Saba - Vocals (2015-present)
Nagi – Guitar, backup vocals (2015-present)
Utsu-P – Bass, programming, backup vocals (2015-present)
Kojiro Yamazaki - Drums (2017-present)
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