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The Voyage...

A couple of words from webmaster heavenlypigsty
Hi to you in front of computer! You've come to the mini library which details GARNET CROW's biography from they first formed the band till now. For detailed information, you can navigate the year link above. The contents were painstakingly compiled by myself and k (dear communicator for this website), with help from existing online resources (mainly Japanese Wikipedia entry on GC). All these documentations might be boring to read for a GC starter, but soon you'll come to appreciate how they've grown and matured as a band, and the hardworking years behind the name they've made.

If you have any suggestions or spotted any mistake, I'd be more than happy to hear from you. You can leave a message on the message board or email heavenlypigsty@gmail.com. Happy reading!

A summary table of all releases can be found here. (with romaji/eng translation)

Overview

Interviewer: So how did you guys meet each other?
Azuki NANA: Omiai. (arranged marriage)

That was an interview excerpt in which GC members were asked about how they formed the band. Arranged marriage is nonetheless a hilariously accurate portrayal of the brotherhood and sisterhood of the foursome. They met each other in 1999 when doing studio work. Coming to a common understanding about music making, they clicked right away. Yuri by that time was the only 'newbie' in the industry. However, her unique voice and strength in songwriting made a major contribution to the success the band has enjoyed so far. Furui is a very experienced music producer and is commonly regarded as GC's leader. Azuki NANA and Hitoshi Okamoto had also made quite a name for themselves back in 1999. The band started off as an indie band, releasing a 6 track mini album titled 'The first kaleidscope' which nonetheless garnered some listenership and also attracted one of the bigger labels in Jpop industry - GIZA. They officially signed up with GIZA and released the first single 'Mysterious Eyes' which was used as the opening theme of TV anime series 'Mentantei Conan' (Detective Conan). GC's gradual climb to success is intimately tied to this anime, the wide viewership of which promoted this otherwise anonymous group to significant ranking in ORICON sales chart. Many of their subsequent singles were also used in 'Detective Conan', namely 'Natsu no Maboroshi' (Summer Illusion, 5th single),'Yume mita ato de' (after waking up from a dream, 10th single), 'Kimi to iu hikari' (The light named after you, 14th single) and 'Wasurezaki' (The forgotten flower's blooming, 17th single). The road to popularity wasn't marble smooth. Compared to other big names under the same label, such as Mai Kuraki, Rina Aiuchi etc, GC wasn't as forthcoming in either promotion or public performance. They spent most of their time writing and producing new songs and tend to keep a low profile. There has been significant improvement on that and GC has risen to the main force (major source of income that is) in GIZA. Personally I think there is a distinction between GC and the mainstream Jpop and it's always been a debate whether they should be categorised into 'Jpop'. (Undeniably however their recent works have seen more 'pop-ish' elements but that's just a minor note.) It's been 6 years since their debut and recently in an interview Yuri said that 'Before we were busy seeding. Now it is the ripe time to harvest'. They're filled with new ideas and busy working on new songs as ever. The next couple of years would be their golden age. So to all the fans out there, give them your support and lo behold, the era of magnum opus is close!