Genki Rockets | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Tokyo,Japan |
| Genres | Electronic dance,[1]pop,house music[2] |
| Years active | 2006-present |
| Labels | Avex Trax andQ Entertainment (2007-2008) Sony Records (2010-present) |
| Members | Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Kenji Tamai and Lumi |
| Website | www |
Genki Rockets (元気ロケッツ) is avirtual band created byvideo game developerTetsuya Mizuguchi andrecord producer Kenji Tamai.Rachel Rhodes portrayed the band'sfrontwoman, a fictional 17-year-old girl named Lumi who was the first human born in outer space on theInternational Space Station on September 11, 2019.
The two producers behind Genki Rockets are renowned digital media creatorTetsuya Mizuguchi ofQ Entertainment, and Kenji Tamai, a renowned music producer and CEO of Agehasprings Corporation, who has produced other musicians and acts such asYuki,Yuna Ito,Base Ball Bear, andTRF. Mizuguchi co-produced and wrote the lyrics for the first song, "Heavenly Star", and directed themusic video, which debuted in thevideo gameLumines II and was later used in theWii gameNo More Heroes. AnAAC version of the song began selling on theiTunes Store in December 2006[3] and was eventually accompanied by several differentremixes from various artists such as Metalmouse,Headwaters, Techriders, and DJ Sodeyama (the "Count Down", "Glorious", "Love", "Space Walk", "Sunrise", "Aurora", "Floating", and "LnM Projekt" remixes). "Heavenly Star" was nominated for theBest Song category at the 2006Spike TV Video Game Awards.[3] The original song, seven remixes, and a second song, "Breeze", were released as amaxi single on July 4, 2007. The single peaked at number 24 on theOricon charts and stayed on the charts for 15 weeks.[4] In September 2007, "Breeze" received its own standalone single and video and was later remixed several times. In October 2007, a "Heavenly Star" trance remix single was released on 12" vinyl by Avex Trax's sublabel Rhythm Republic; it featured remixes by Overhead Champion, Delaction and DJ Ten.[5] Genki Rockets was also awarded with the Best New Artist (Electronic) Award in 2007 by iTunes.[6]
In 2008, the Genki Rockets released two new songs: the medium-tempo "Smile" was released for download on March 23, and the rock-influenced "Star Line" became downloadable on May 14. A music video for "Star Line" was also released around the same time. "Smile" was used in an advertisement for the Menard Facial Salon and "Star Line" was used in promotions for the annual 4-day sale held by Parco. It was later announced that the two songs, along with three remixes, would be featured on Genki Rockets' second maxi single through Avex Trax, which was released on June 11, 2008. The single was followed a month later on July 2 by the release of the group's debut album,Genki Rockets I: Heavenly Star.[7]
On November 24, 2008, Genki Rockets participated in the YouTube Live Tokyo event, playing a non-stop mix of their most popular songs.
In January 2009, a 15-second clip of a previously unreleased song called "Reaching for the Stars" was used for Parco Japanese department store advertising a 4-day sale. Throughout the year, Genki Rockets did not release any original material, but performed at various live events, such asHouse Nation. The group remixed two tracks for Japanese artists, Crystal Kay's "Koi ni Ochitara" (included on the album "The Best Remixes of CK"), and Floor on the Intelligence's "Fade" (included on the album "Romaholic").
In 2010, Genki Rockets created the world's first 3D and full CG music video, and presented it atSony's "make.believe" 3D event in Japan.[8] This made Genki Rockets the first to ever host a live 3D concert in the world. In June 2010, a remix of "Star Line" was used in the reveal trailer for the interactive video gameChild of Eden. The game was produced by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Q Entertainment, and published byUbisoft for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms.[9] Lumi is featured heavily inChild of Eden, with the central plot focusing on rescuing "Project Lumi" from a malevolent force. The game's soundtrack is composed entirely of Genki Rockets songs and remixes.
At the 2010 IFA exhibition in Berlin, the group performed daily atSony's "make.believe" stand.
In January 2011, Genki Rockets performed in the United States for the first time at the CES convention, where a preview of the new song "Curiosity" debuted. Throughout the year, the new songs "Reaching for the Stars" and "Touch Me" were used in Japanese television advertisements. Commercial ringtones of the songs were made available for download through the Japanese ringtone store Chaku-uta. In June 2011, the 3D music video for "Curiosity" was released, showcasing Lumi dancing on a futuristic platform surrounded by holograms. Genki Rockets' second album,Genki Rockets II: No Border Between Us, was released on September 7, 2011.[10] The album updates the band's biography, Lumi has visited the Earth when she reaches 20 years old in 2039.[11]
Genki Rockets' music videos are all almost entirely computer-generated, and all feature Lumi (who sometimes appears as a digitization and other times in the flesh). The visual art style for the "Heavenly Star" video was created by Japan's Glamoove Inc., and was inspired by Norwegian bandA-ha's music video for their single "Take On Me".[12][13] During live performances, aDJ (wearing aspace suitcostume to conceal their identity) controls aDJ mixer to play aDJ mix, while Lumi appears to the audience viableeding edgeelectronic visual display.
SingersRachel Rhodes andNami Miyahara provide the vocals for the fictional character Lumi.[14] Rei also appears as Lumi on the group's album covers, in their music videos, and in the 2011 video gameChild of Eden.[15] Rei noted that at first her voice and appearance are strongly processed, but later the processing effect had become weaker and her identity became more clear.[16]
| Event | Location | Display Technology |
|---|---|---|
| Live Earth concert, Tokyo | Makuhari Messe | Musion Eyeliner[17] |
| HOUSE NATION Fiesta -"Best Gig" Release Tour Final-[18] | Studio Coast | See-throughLED[19][20] |
| YouTube Live, Tokyo | ||
| Expo 2010 | Japan Pavilion,Shanghai | |
| Sonymake.believe dot park[21][22] | Roppongi Hills Arena | 280-inch[23][24] 3D LED Wall[25] |
| 3D world Created by Sony,[26]2010 FIFA World Cup[27] | Nelson Mandela Square | |
| Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin 2010 | Messe Berlin | |
| Consumer Electronics Show 2011 | Las Vegas Convention Center | 1,027-inch[28] 3D LED Billboard[29] |
| Genki Rockets 3D Music Video Screening[30][31] | Communication Zone OPUS,Sony Building (Tokyo) | 200-inch 3D screen from Sony SRX-T110 digital cinema projector[32][33][34] |
| Splash Live!! inOkinawa[35] | Chura Sun Beach | 40 x 15metres water screen projection[36] |
| Genki Rockets Special Night!! | Toho Cinemas, Roppongi Hills andNagoya Bay City[37] | MI-2100 digital 3D system and MI-1000 dual projection 3D glass filters[38] |
The "Heavenly Star" pack was available for purchase forLumines Live! on theXbox Live Marketplace from June 27, 2007 to July 17, 2007. A remix of the song was available in the "SOS Campaign Charity Pack". A portion of the proceeds were donated toLive Earth.[39]
"Heavenly Star" first appeared inLumines II and can also be heard as a background song for a number of cutscenes and shop sections in the Wii gameNo More Heroes. It is the opening theme of the fictional anime "Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly" that exists in theNo More Heroes universe. The music video can also be viewed on Travis' television in the Japanese and European versions of the game. Mizuguchi's videogame,Child of Eden, features Lumi as the central character, as well as music from Genki Rockets.[40]
Japanese electropop singerMitsuki Aira performed a cover of the song during concerts, and a rare CD copy of it was distributed during the live shows. A Cantonese version of "Heavenly Star" was recently introduced in Hong Kong, featured on pop singerJill Vidal's new albumJillympics, released on August 8, 2008. It is the first track of the album, titled "Youth We Can Hear" in Chinese.
Rhodes sang Heavenly Star live at23rd World Scout Jamboree andCount Down TV Special. She also sang Heavenly Star in Christmas Special Live 2014 and Touch Me in 2015. Her first solo debut album also included Heavenly Star (Acoustic Version). She sang Heavenly Star again in her concert "It’s you" at Billboard Live TOKYO 2021.[41]
On March 7th of 2024, on the Playstation official YouTube Channel, they post a new music video in collaboration with Japanese singerAimer. The song name「Play Goes On｣
Albums[edit]
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Digital Downloads[edit]
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Remixes[edit]
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