Genki Rockets

2006-2008: Genki Rockets I: Heavenly Star

The two producers behind Genki Rockets are renowned digital media creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi of Q Entertainment, and Kenji Tamai, a renowned music producer and CEO of Agehasprings Corporation, who has produced other musicians and acts such as Yuki, Yuna Ito, Base Ball Bear, and TRF. Mizuguchi co-produced and wrote the lyrics for the first song, "Heavenly Star", and directed the music video, which debuted in the video game Lumines II and was later used in the Wii game No More Heroes. An AAC version of the song began selling on the iTunes Store in December 2006 and was eventually accompanied by several different remixes 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 the Best Song category at the 2006 Spike TV Video Game Awards. The original song, seven remixes, and a second song, "Breeze", were release as a maxi single on July 4, 2007. The single peaked at number 24 on the Oricon charts and stayed on the charts for 15 weeks. 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. Genki Rockets was also awarded with the Best New Artist (Electronic) Award in 2007 by iTunes.

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.

On November 24, 2008, Genki Rockets participated in the YouTube Live Tokyo event, playing a non-stop mix of their most popular songs.

2009-2011: Genki Rockets II - No Border Between Us

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 as House 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 at Sony's "make.believe" 3D event in Japan. 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 game Child of Eden. The game was produced by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Q Entertainment, and published by Ubisoft for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. Lumi is featured heavily in Child 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 at Sony'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.

Image and artistry

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 band A-ha's music video for their single "Take on Me". During live performances, a DJ (wearing a costume to conceal his/her identity) spins the tracks, while Lumi "performs" them via large projection screens using Musion Eyeliner technology.

Singers Rachel Rhodes and Nami Miyahara provide the vocals for the fictional character Lumi. Rhodes also appears as Lumi on the group's album covers, in their music videos, and in the 2011 video game Child of Eden.

Charity

The "Heavenly Star" pack was available for purchase for Lumines Live! on the Xbox 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 to Live Earth.

Appearances in other cultures

"Heavenly Star" first appeared in Lumines II and can also be heard as a background song for a number of cutscenes and shop sections in the Wii game No More Heroes. It is the opening theme of the fictional anime "Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly" that exists in the No 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.

Japanese electropop singer Mitsuki 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 singer Jill Vidal's new album Jillympics, released on August 8, 2008. It is the first track of the album, titled "Youth We Can Hear" in Chinese.

Compilations / Other