Having made three previous appearances at AFA and one over at AFA ID with the most recent being last year’s Valvrave Night feature concert, the awesome pair of angela will once again be making their return to Anime Festival Asia this year! Boasting a super smash hit from popular anime Knights of Sidonia, angela is set to rock the stage once more!
Who are angela?
The duo, comprising of vocalist atsuko and guitarist KATSU, are both from Okayama who went to the same music school in Tokyo. Due to their similar origins they got together and bonded fairly quickly, forming the beginnings of angela. Originally performing at clubs as an indie band, they were signed by King Records under the StarChild label when a representative heard a song KATSU improvised from Evangelion opening Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis. Following their debut single Asu e no brilliant road, they went on to making songs for anime series Uchuu no Stellvia and Soukyuu no Fafner, which helped to shoot up their popularity. In recent years, they have been working on the opening and/or ending for a number of hit anime titles such as Valvrave the Liberator, K, Coppelion and Knights of Sidonia.
Famous songs from angela?
First off, we have their debut single and their breakout song “Asu he no Brilliant Road”, the opening theme from Uchuu no Stellvia. atsuko mentions that this is the anime that really affects her life as it was the show that shot angela to fame and where they are now. I love the fast pace of this song in particular.
“Shangri-la” was featured as the opening theme song for Soukyuu no Fafner, and it was the very first mecha anime they have worked on. This is a particular favorite of mine as it was my very first exposure to angela. Since then they have went on to make more great songs for the Fafner series in general as well as other mecha anime such as Valvrave the Liberator like Boku Ja Nai and Sidonia from Knights of Sidonia.
And lastly, and I’m sure many of you have heard of this earlier this year and something you’ll want to hear this live later this year at AFA 2014. The very popular Knights of Sidonia and their opening song titled “Sidonia”. Listening to this makes me feel like hopping into a Guardian to give my life for Sidonia as a Guardian pilot! I really like the very old school mecha anthem it has going for it with a very current era vibe to it.
Why is listening to angela live a must?
First and foremost, angela are fantastic stage performers. They really know how to engage a crowd, something every performer should strive to have. Last year at Valvrave Night, before they went to sing Boku Ja Nai, KATSU took out The Straits Times Life section that featured AFA with angela on the cover. He pointed to their picture and saying how it was him (Boku desu!), a brilliant pun off their song title. This is but one of the things that really makes angela stand out to me.
We should also not forget about atsuko’s powerful vocals. While listening to her songs on your CDs or audio devices are great, there is always that charm to listen to your favourite songs live by the actual artists, and atsuko is one of those people that really stand out more live. It also helped that they had a live drummer last year, which allowed angela to really shine with a live band setup. I really hope they can continue with the live band this year as well!
Fans of Knights of Sidonia will definitely want to catch Friday’s concert this year if they enjoy the theme songs of the show. Together with Eri Kitamura singing the ending song Tenohira -show– alongside angela on the same day, you can essentially enjoy a Sidonia Night concert in all but name!
Catch angela live at Friday’s I Love Anisong concert taking place at Anime Festival Asia from 05-07 Dec 2014 along with Eri Kitamura, DJ KAZU and Yui Horie. The I Love Anisong tickets will be going on sale on 01 Oct 2014. Ticketing details can be found on the Anime Festival Asia 2014 website HERE.
Want to know who else are performing at AFA 2014 I love ani-song Singapore?
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