BIOGRAPHY
The sound of beauty and decay, of elation and despair...
influenced by anime, J-Rock, visual-kei, and traditional Japanese music.
When asked about the inspiration behind S.S. HANAMI, founding member Robert Adams replies, “I try to write songs that make me feel the same way the most moving scenes from my favorite anime make me feel. There’s something about that particular style of art that affects me deeply. I want to create that sort of world through the music and through the band’s presentation.”
Adams formed S.S. HANAMI in 2009, combining the initials of his favorite anime character with the Japanese word for “cherry-blossom viewing” — a mixture of the contemporary and the traditional. The band began as a solo project, with friends and guest musicians filling in alongside Adams to record the first single Eternal Autumn and perform the first live at Chibi-Pa 2009. Among these musicians were James Brinkle Jr. (bass) and Andrew Wiggins (drums), who stayed on to later become full-fledged members of S.S. HANAMI. After several line-up changes, they were eventually joined in 2011 by Nat Morkan (guitar) – the last piece of the puzzle in the band’s current line-up.
S.S. HANAMI released the album Original Soundtrack, Season One in June 2012.
The Koto
The koto, a thirteen-string Japanese harp, makes an appearance on a handful of songs. Adams recounts first hearing the koto in the background music of a movie: “I didn’t even know what it was called at first, but I fell in love with its sound and felt compelled to learn how to play it. I researched traditional Japanese music, got a koto of my own, and eventually found an instructor who could teach me.”
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