Band-Maid

The band formed in July 2013. Singer/guitarist Miku Kobato, formerly an employee of a Japanese maid café, envisioned forming a band that juxtaposed the maid image with rock music. Kobato recruited lead guitarist Kanami Tōno after an Internet search. Tōno had performed as a singer-songwriter and suggested her occasional backing drummer Akane Hirose for the new band. Hirose in turn suggested bassist Misa, with whom she had attended music school.[10] On July 24, 2013 they had their first live performance at the PP Audition held at Osaka Deep, as a quartet with Kobato on vocals.[11] The band then decided to recruit an additional lead singer and selected Saiki Atsumi during auditions.[12] Their first performance as a five-piece was at the P Festival at Shibuya-AX on August 22, 2013.[11]

Early in their history, Band-Maid regularly performed live at various venues around the Tokyo area.[13] The group released their debut mini-album Maid in Japan in January 2014, written in collaboration with musicians Masahiko Fukui[14] and Kentaro Akutsu[15] (the latter formerly of the musical group Zero). In August 2014, they released the maxi-single "Ai to Jōnetsu no Matador" (titled "Love, Passion, Matador" internationally). In November 2015 they released their sophomore mini-album New Beginning.[16] The album was their first chart placement, reaching No. 64 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart.[17] The band undertook a tour of Tokyo venues to promote the album through February 2016, culminating in a sold-out concert on February 14.[18]

In March 2016 they had their first overseas performance at Sakura-Con in Seattle, Washington.[9][19] The group released their third mini-album and major label debut, Brand New Maid, in May 2016 on the Nippon Crown sub-label Crown Stones[20] and JPU Records overseas. That album reached No. 19 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart.[21] In October and November 2016, they went on their first world tour that took them to Mexico, Hong Kong, and six countries in Europe.[22][23][24][25]

In January 2017, Band-Maid released their first full-length album titled Just Bring It. It was preceded by the single "YOLO," released in November 2016. Just Bring It reached No. 16 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart.[26] Band-Maid appeared at the 2017 Golden Melody Awards and festival in Taiwan on June 23–24.[27][28] The maxi-single "Daydreaming/Choose Me" was released in July 2017.[29] They covered "Honey" for the November 2017 Mucc tribute album Tribute of Mucc -En-.[30]

The band released their second full-length album titled World Domination on February 14, 2018 (2018-02-14).[31][32] World Domination reached number 9 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart.[33] Also on February 14, 2018, they reissued their 2014 debut album Maid in Japan with two bonus tracks.[34][35] While the original release of that album did not chart, the reissued version reached No. 26 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart.[36] On April 1, 2018, they performed at Warped Tour at Makuhari Messe[37] as the first date on a world tour.

The maxi-single "Start Over" was released on July 25, 2018.[38] The CD singles "Glory" and "Bubble" were released simultaneously on January 16, 2019.[39] Under the name Band-Maiko and adopting a maiko image, the band released an EP titled Band-Maiko on April 3, 2019, which adapted several previous Band-Maid songs with traditional Japanese musical instruments and lyrics in the Kyoto dialect.[40] In April 2019, the band announced a tour of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Taiwan, and the United States in partnership with Live Nation Entertainment.[41][42]

The band's third full-length album Conqueror was released digitally on December 4, 2019, with physical formats following one week later.[43] The album featured one song produced by Tony Visconti.[44] It debuted at number nine on Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart[45] but debuted at number one on the Oricon weekly Rock Albums chart.[46] Also in December 2019, it was announced that Band-Maid will appear in the upcoming Netflix film Kate, playing themselves.[47] They released their first standalone concert video Band-Maid World Domination Tour [Shinka] at Line Cube Shibuya (Shibuya Public Hall) on April 29, 2020.[48] The band's fourth full-length album Unseen World was released in January 2021.[49]

Miku Kobato and Akane Hirose (back) performing in 2017.

Band-Maid's image is modeled on maid café hostesses, with the standard uniform adapted to match each member's personality.[10] In interviews, they explained the concept came from founding member Miku Kobato who had previously worked at a maid café in Akihabara.[12] This theme is reinforced by the band, who refer to their male fans as "masters," their female fans as "princesses," and their concerts as "servings."[50] The band's "submissive" maid appearance is meant to contrast with their aggressive rock style.[10][51] They decided to have two vocalists to allow a larger variety of music with two different voice types.[12]

Kobato loved Japanese enka music when she was a child, and Tokyo Jihen led her to rock.[52] She attended a vocal school around 2012, but started playing guitar with the formation of Band-Maid the following year.[53] Atsumi started singing when she was 14 and Band-Maid is her first band. Tōno is a big fan of Carlos Santana, has played classical piano since she was a child, and began playing guitar when she joined her high school band club. Hirose is a fan of Deep Purple and Maximum the Hormone, particularly the latter's female drummer Nao Kawakita, and also played trombone and piano. Misa likes Paz Lenchantin,[52] The Smashing Pumpkins and Jimi Hendrix; she started playing piano at around 3 or 4 years of age, and also played trumpet, alto horn, and guitar.[10][12][50]

• Miku Kobato (小鳩 ミク) – rhythm guitar, vocals
• Kanami Tōno (遠乃 歌波) – lead guitar
• Akane Hirose (廣瀬 茜) – drums, percussion
• Misa (stylized as MISA) – bass guitar
• Saiki Atsumi (厚見 彩姫) – lead vocals

Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards

Neo Awards

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Band-Maid.

• Official website
• Official page at JPU Records (in English)
• Band-Maid discography at Discogs