<$BlogRSDUrl$> <body><script type="text/javascript"> function setAttributeOnload(object, attribute, val) { if(window.addEventListener) { window.addEventListener('load', function(){ object[attribute] = val; }, false); } else { window.attachEvent('onload', function(){ object[attribute] = val; }); } } </script> <div id="navbar-iframe-container"></div> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://apis.google.com/js/platform.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> gapi.load("gapi.iframes:gapi.iframes.style.bubble", function() { if (gapi.iframes && gapi.iframes.getContext) { gapi.iframes.getContext().openChild({ url: 'https://www.blogger.com/navbar.g?targetBlogID\x3d9609170\x26blogName\x3dHALCALI+day+by+day\x26publishMode\x3dPUBLISH_MODE_BLOGSPOT\x26navbarType\x3dBLUE\x26layoutType\x3dCLASSIC\x26searchRoot\x3dhttps://halcali.blogspot.com/search\x26blogLocale\x3den_US\x26v\x3d2\x26homepageUrl\x3dhttp://halcali.blogspot.com/\x26vt\x3d3111461664222580602', where: document.getElementById("navbar-iframe-container"), id: "navbar-iframe" }); } }); </script>

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Sony Anime Festival '06

If you cast your mind back to November last year, you might remember the brief flurry of excitement that came with the long, long, long awaited new Halcali single on Epic Records. When it finally came, it had Sony's In House stamp all over it. Giving the song to a guy who worked on fellow Sony stalwart Yuki’s Joy aside, it was also attached to the back of Sunday morning anime Eureka 7, for which all the opening and closing theme songs are commissioned to Sony artists. Halcali’s actual stint on that show is long over, but it looks like there’s still a bit more mileage to squeeze out of the tie-in yet, as Halcali have been added to the concept festival (I think it’s safe to call it that) Sony Anime Festival ’06.
As Sony knows, the real beauty of attaching one of your artists (particularly a new one) to the back of a popular TV show is that it’s essentially maximum promotion with minimum effort. Who cares about going to the trouble of pleasing, or even considering an existing fanbase when you can just jump on the hoverboard and hitch a ride on the back of an existing one? Tip Taps Tip embarrassed Twinkle Star in terms of record sales, but the fact is that Sony’s promotion of both singles was equally slack, both singles suffering from massive under exposure from a major label that (one would presume) would be able to get this manufactured pop band further up the charts than an indie subsidiary could. The only real difference between the two being, of course, that the former came with free picture postcards and a readymade weekly built in audience.
My problem here isn’t so much the fact that it was attached to an anime as such, it’s more like this general feeling that Halcali have been almost totally neglected by their label except in the few instances where it fits in with their plan for them, which so far appears to be nothing more than to use them as a tool to promote a kids TV show.
Anyway, let’s get back to the plot for a second. The festival will feature a different stage for each show that Sony had artists perform songs on, and will take place over a period of two days in Tokyo (May 6/7) and Osaka (June 10/11). There are a lot of artists on the bill (along with various voice actors from the show), and considering the Eureka 7 stage starts at 6:00pm, this presumably means either very short sets (which Halcali should be used to by now anyway), or…well the prospect of them coming out and only playing their theme tune for the show seems too grim to contemplate.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think this festival is a pretty cool concept. Anime fans will go, and music fans will probably go too.
Hm...I would like to go actually....
There might even be some cool swag available.

Hopefully HALCALI will be able to play more than one song - and have the stage at a decent time (not like 10:45 at night or something equally ridiculous).

You should go and scream your brains out for them. :P

5:34 AM

 
Blogger jariten said...

It seems like a pretty clever idea by Sony, like you said it should draw both anime and regular music fans. Apart from Halcali there isn't anyone i'd really like to see (apart from Tommy Heavenly maybe) but Halcali is enough to make me try to get tickets. I can see it selling out quite fast though- theres a few big players in the lineup.

6:44 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I heard about this a few weeks back (I think there was an article on animenewsnetwork) and almost had a heart attack. All I read was 'sony' 'anime' 'concert' and 'halcali' and totally thought that they were going to be playing in the states at a convention. Unfortunately under close inspection I saw it was in Japan... I can't afford to go there! heh. They are going to be performing with some big names though.

3:41 AM

 
Blogger jariten said...

...which should draw a big crowd and hopefully some more interest. I was talking to a friend about Halcali the other day who said she really likes Bacon, adding "but they haven't released anything for ages have they?"
Ahh.
I'm going to lend her copies of the last two singles, but I'd prefer it if Sony did the promotion themselves.
Anyway, this is a high profile gig for them, which is never a bad thing.

10:45 PM

 

Post a Comment

<< Home