Gesu no Kiwami Otome

Biography

The band was formed in May 2012 by Enon Kawatani, out of members of other musical units. Kawatani formed the band out of people he respected, and had enjoyed performing with. Kawatani concurrently worked as the vocalist and songwriter for Indigo la End, a band he had been a member of since 2009. Of the members, he chose Kyūjitsu Kachō, who was a former member of Indigo la End, as well as Chan Mari and Hona Ikoka, from the bands Crimson and Microcosm respectively. The members had known each other since early 2010, from performing together at different events at the Shimokitazawa Era live house in Tokyo. They saw the project as more for fun, aside from their usual musical endeavours. The band name came from a custom tote bag that Chan Mari had brought with her to the recording studio, which had been created by a friend of hers who attended art school.

Indigo la End released their debut album Yoru ni Mahō o Kakerarete in February 2013. Two months later saw Gesu no Kiwami Otome's first release, the extended play Dress no Nugikata, which was recorded in only two days. The band played numerous live concerts around Japan in 2013, and in September became the regular DJs for the J-Wave radio show The Kings Place.

In December, Gesu no Kiwami Otome released their second extended play Odorenai nara, Gesu ni Natte Shimae yo, which was nominated at the 6th CD Shop Awards. In December, the band was also signed to Warner sub-label Unborde simultaneously with Indigo la End. Both musical units released their major label debut released on April 2, 2014: Minna Normal for Gesu no Kiwami Otome and Ano Machi Record for Inidgo la End.

In August 2014, the band released a double A-side "Ryōkiteki na Kiss o Watashi ni Shite" / "Asobi", with the former song serving as the drama Around 30-chan: Mushūsei's opening theme song and the latter in a commercial campaign for au. The band also performed at Music Station for the first time on August 29. This was followed by the band's debut album Miryoku ga Sugoi yo in October 2014.

In October 2016 the band entered into hiatus, because the vocalist, Enon, got caught drinking with his girlfriend, Rin Honoka, who was under the legal drinking age. SPACE SHOWER RECORDS decided to not renew the contract of the band.

Members

Artistry

Vocalist Enon Kawatani is the sole songwriter for the band. This is despite other members having some experience with song writing, such as Chan Mari who composed the song "Isotope" (アイソトープ) on Crimson's EP World Scape (2012). The band has been praised for their performance skills, their strong personalities and Kawatani's songwriting. The band's dynamic mixed genre sound has drawn the praise of many critics, including What's In? critic Nobuaki Onuki.

In March 2015, Gesu no Kiwami Otome was awarded the best artist award at the 7th CD Shop Awards, due to their extended play Minna Normal and their debut album Miryoku ga Sugoi yo.