Halcali to play gig in Chicago!

５月にシカゴで行われるジャパンカルチャーのイベントでもライブを行うことが決定、さらにＣＤリリースも決まった。

[Halcali] have been confirmed to perform at a Japan Culture event in May, and on top of that they will be getting a CD [Cyborg Oretachi] release too.

(source)

This is incredible news, and along with this report confirming that the Paris gigs and European releases are going ahead (which I was concerned about below), it looks like Halcali are getting that international push I think they have deserved for years. The article is quite a bit longer and clearly quite sceptical of Halcali in general. Anyway, I'm working on getting the rest of it up now, but you might also like to note that they also say Halcali will be playing in Cannes. I just wanted to get this news up as soon as possible.

Bear in mind that this is just one report, from the entertainment section of a sports newspaper of all things, so those in the Chicago area might want to wait for confirmation from the official site before getting too excited. The event mentioned is probably Anime Central. For now though, let's just tentatively assume this is all going ahead.

I'll get the rest of the article up as soon as I can.

Here we go...

ハルカリ仏デビュー！パリ、カンヌでライブも

　ＹＵＣＡＬＩ（ユカリ＝２０）とＨＡＬＣＡ（ハルカ＝１９）の２人組ユニット「ＨＡＬＣＡＬＩ（ハルカリ）」が、今月２４日にフランスでＣＤデ ビューすることが決まった。同２６日にはパリで、２８日にはカンヌでライブも開催する。日本では知る人ぞ知る存在の２人が、なぜかフランスでプチブレー ク。５月には米国でもＣＤリリースが予定され、ワールドワイドに活躍する。
おしゃれなサウンドに、脱力感あふれるラップを乗せる２人組が、日本より先に海外でチャンスをつかんだ。きっかけになったのはＳＦロボットアニメ 「交響詩篇エウレカセブン」。フランスでは日本アニメへの関心が高く、エウレカセブンも放送されるや人気番組の一つになっていた。
０５年１２月発売のシングル「Ｔｉｐ　Ｔａｐｓ　Ｔｉｐ」が同作の主題歌だったことから、ハルカリの名前もフランスで浸透。昨年７月にパリで行わ れた日本のポップカルチャーを紹介するイベント「第８回ジャパンエキスポ」にも招待された。その際行った無料ライブは約５０００人の観客で埋まる大盛況。 「日本の文化を等身大で表現している存在」として、２０件近い海外メディアからの取材申し込みもあり、関係者を驚かせた。
今回、フランスでのリリースが決まったのは、昨年７月に発売された最新アルバム「サイボーグ俺達」。２人はリリースに合わせて渡仏し、２６日にはパリのクラブ「ＱＩＮ　Ｅｌｙｓｅｅｓ」で初の有料ライブを開催。さらに２８日にはカンヌでもライブを行う。
エウレカ人気はアメリカでも高く、５月にシカゴで行われるジャパンカルチャーのイベントでもライブを行うことが決定、さらにＣＤリリースも決まっ た。もっとも「サイボーグ俺達」の日本でのセールスは２万枚で、まだまだ知る人ぞ知る存在のハルカリ。「初めてデビューして忙しくなりそうな年ですね」と 意気込みもユルユルだが、そんな２人が海外で一気にブレーク…するかもしれない。

Halcali's French debut! Two gigs planned for Paris and Cannes.

Yukari (20) and Haruka (19) of the two person unit Halcali , will make their debut CD release in France on the 24th of this month. January will also see them perform twice, on the 26th in France and the 28th in Cannes. Despite only having a small, cult audience in Japan, they have somehow been given a minor break in France. The CD is also scheduled to be released in America in May, increasing their activities worldwide.Having a fashionable sound overflowing with an exhausted rap style, they've now got that shot at success abroad that has eluded them in Japan. This chance was due to their involvement in the science fiction robot-anime Eureka Seven. There is a lot of interest in this Japanese animation in France where it became popular upon being broadcast.

The show featured the single Tip Taps Tip, released in December 2005, as it's theme song, which spread the name Halcali around France. Last year in July they were invited to play at an event designed to promote Japanese pop culture, the 8th Japanese Expo. The free gig they played there attracted 5000 people and was a massive success. As a 'larger than life' exhibition of Japanese culture, the event surprised many by attracting nearly 20 different media outlets who came to cover it.

The scheduled release for France is their most recent album, last years Cyborg Oretachi. To coincide with the release, Halcali will be travelling to France on the 26th of January to play at the Paris club QIN Elysees, which will be their first gig abroad with an entrance fee.

Eureka Seven also has great popularity in America, and so in May Halcali will play at a Japan Culture event in Chicaco, and their album has also been slated for release. That album, Cyborg Oretachi, barely sold 20,000 copies, making them a band still known only to a select few in Japan. They say "We're going to be very busy off the back of this début" full of casual enthusiasm, but will this be a chance for them to gain rapid popularity abroad? Perhaps.