I don’t think I’ve hidden the fact that fhána is my favorite anisong band I’ve encountered in my time watching anime. Their sound is just one that really appeals to me. I’ll probably write a post on my favorite anisong bands/singers sometime, but for now I just wanted to share a couple songs they’ve recently released.
1. “Kotonoha Breakdown”
One of the first songs the three male members of fhána wrote together, re-recorded with current singer towana’s vocals. The song actually has a pretty cool story behind it. It’s written about the Great Tohoku Earthquakes that occurred in Japan in March of 2011, and the effect social media and electronic communication played in the aftermath of the disaster. As one of the band members, Jyunichi Sato writes in the Facebook post that went along with the song, it is a song “about the vanity of the meanings and the power of words, interpreted falsely and spread to people who don’t seem to understand the words.” It’s pretty cool to see how in unison with that particular message the incredible animation of the music video is.
It’s also another example one of my favorite characteristics in their music, which are really nice bridges in between the verses and refrains.
2. “Itsuka no, Iku Tsuka no Kimi to no Sekai”
The OP from the currently airing anime Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou. They have started to include some male vocals in their music, which adds another layer of depth to the already lush soundscape they produce, and those parts take on a bigger role in this song than they ever have before.
Note: fhána’s newest EP came out on April 29, and you can find it on US iTunes.
Mage in a Barrel 
Pretty interesting stuff! The electronic sound and the cartooney animation go really well with the ideas of social media in “Kotonoha Breakdown”. I haven’t heard a lot of fhána – their style of music doesn’t grab me enough to dive into their discography – but I think quite highly of towana’s vocals. She’s definitely more than a cut above the average anison singer! It’s great that their using a male singer now as well. Two vocalists really expands what a group can do. A bigger vocal range, a song with parts/coversation-like structure, different moods and just variation in general… many possibilities. Do you know of any songs of theirs where the guy has some lead parts?
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Oh, yeah, I love the animation that went along with the song. We’re also in agreement about towana: she has a richness of depth to her tone, and a flexibility in her range that makes her really nice to listen to. She avoid the kind of typical “cutesy” sound and just sings. I’d wager she has more training than most anisong singers.
I don’t think they have any songs where the guy is featured (after all, what would towana do in a song like that?), but the song “Are You Sleeping?” from their new album has one part where I think of the couple guys come in with a sort of countermelody in the bridge. It’s a gorgeous song generally, and that moment is beautiful. I don’t know how much luck you’ll have finding it on the net considering how recently the album came out, though…
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I didn’t mean that the guy led the whole time. But I imagine she’d just do whatever she does in the instrumental breaks. I know of some bands with a vocalist and a vocalist/other instrumentalist, and sometimes the lead vocalist doesn’t sing except in the chorus or something. And it works out fine.
Anyway maybe I’ll try and listen to a bit more of them sometime ^ ^
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I’m so glad for more fans of fhána. I was really fascinated after hearing their opening for Witchcraft Works ‘divine intervention’ but they really struck gold with Itsuka no….
Then I dived into their old stuff like Que sera, sera and kotonoha breakdown which is also genius. I’m really glad they are getting more attention, and these new singles they have release are really good.
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