SAMBOMASTER

Sambomaster (サンボマスター Sanbomasutā) is a Japanese rock band signed by Sony Music Japan. The band's name, Sambomaster, refers to the Russian martial art called Sambo.

Members:

- Takashi Yamaguchi (山口隆 Yamaguchi Takashi)

- Yasufumi Kiuchi (木内泰史 Kiuchi Yasufumi)

- Yoichi Kondo (近藤洋一 Kondo Yoichi)
Lead vocalist and guitarist Takashi Yamaguchi first met drummer Yasufumi Kiuchi a few years back, at a university music club they were both members of. The duo ran into bassist Yoichi Kondo during February 2000, and the three went on to officially form the band now known as Sambomaster.

They made their debut at a live house in Tokyo's Kōenji district and soon followed this up with the self-production of their first single "Kick no Oni" (Kicking Demons), which they spent nearly a year working on. It was subsequently released in April 2001 as a limited edition of 300 copies. For the first time, listeners outside of a live show were presented with vocalist and frontman Yamaguchi's vocals, which shift between a soft, sandpaper-like melodic voice to all-out screaming madness. Sambomaster's musical style is a blend of punk/classic rock, pop, jazz and rock ballads. The year 2003 saw the release of their very first major-label album, Atarashiki Nihongo Rock no Michi to Hikari and a live performance at the Fuji Rock festival's Rookie GO GO. This led to a huge rise in their success and more widespread notoriety. They have been gathering acclaim from both critics and regular listeners ever since.

In 2004 and 2005, Sambomaster released the majority of their hit singles including "Seishun Kyōsōkyoku" and "Sekai wa Sore wo Ai to Yobundaze"; "Seishun Kyōsōkyoku" was used as the fifth opening theme to the hit anime series Naruto, and "Sekai wa sore Ai to Yobunda ze" ended up being the ending theme to the popular Japanese television drama Densha Otoko (and also Nintendo DS game Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2). They were also asked to do the main theme to the movie Koi no Mon, which became the song Tsuki ni Saku Hana no Yō ni Naru no. Recently, their song Hikari no Rock was featured as the single for the film Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion. In March 2009, their song "Kimi wo Mamotte, Kimi wo Aishite" was announced to be the nineteenth ending song in the hit anime series Bleach. In 2010, they performed the ending theme for the Kuragehime anime, "Kimi ni Kirei no Kizuite Okure".

Discography

Singles

• Kick no Oni (indie) (April 2001)
• Utsukushiki Ningen no Hibi (April 7, 2004)
• Tsuki ni Saku Hana no Yō ni Naru no (July 22, 2004)
• Seishun Kyōsōkyoku (December 1, 2004)
• Utagoe yoo kore (April 27, 2005)
• Sekai wa Sore wo Ai to Yobundaze (August 3, 2005)
• Subete no Yoru to Subete no Asa ni Tamborine o Narasu no da (November 2, 2005)
• Tegami (March 15, 2006)
• Itoshisa to Kokoro no Kabe (August 2, 2006)
• I Love You (April 18, 2007)
• Very Special!! (July 25, 2007)
• Hikari no Rock (December 12, 2007) (Theme song for BLEACH: The DiamondDust Rebellion)
• Kimi wo Mamotte, Kimi wo Aishite (June 10, 2009) (19th ending theme for Bleach)
• Rabu Songu (November 18, 2009) (English: Love Song)
• Dekikkonai o Yaranakucha (February 24, 2010)
• Kimi ni Kirei no Kizuite okure (December 01, 2010)
• Kibo no Michi (February 23, 2011)

Albums

Atarashiki Nihongo Rock no Michi to Hikari (December 3, 2003)

• English: The Way and Light of New Japanese Rock

Sambomaster wa kimi ni katarikakeru (January 19, 2005)

• English: Sambomaster Is Talking to You

Boku to Kimi no Subete o Rock 'n Roll to Yobe (April 12, 2006)

PART 1

PART 2

• English: Call Everything That We (You and I) Are 'Rock n' Roll'

Ongaku no Kodomo wa Mina Utau (January 23, 2008)

• English: All You Musical Kids, Sing

Kimi no Tameni Tsuyoku Naritai (April 21, 2010)

• English: I Want to Become Strong for You

Sambomaster Kyukyou Besuto (February 23, 2011)

• English: Ultimate Best Sambomaster

Official Site : www.sambomaster.com