AliA

Overview

AliA is a Japanese pop rock band formed in July 2018 around keyboardist TKT and guitarist EREN. The five-piece group, made up of men and women, calls itself a "hybrid rock band" because its members' influences range widely from classical music to modern rock. The name carries no particular meaning; it was chosen because it looks good, sounds good and can never be abbreviated.

Members

• AYAME (vocals): writes lyrics. She was performing solo in Chiba when TKT and EREN went to see her; EREN was won over by her singing and persistently invited her to join.
• EREN (guitar): the main composer. After moving to Tokyo he found TKT in an instrumental-band LINE group and approached him right away, leading to the band's formation.
• TKT (keyboard): from Nagano Prefecture and a lyricist. He studied piano from age three and graduated from a music university.
• RINA (violin and keyboard): started violin at age four and became interested in electric violin after discovering rock violinist Ayasa.
• SEIYA (bass): joined after being scouted by EREN.
• BOB (drums, former member): left the group on July 31, 2023, and later joined paledusk.

Career

2018-2019

AliA formed in July 2018. Vocalist AYAME and violinist RINA joined, while bassist SEIYA and drummer BOB started as support members and later became official members. In December 2018 the band released the demo CD limit, sold exclusively at Tower Records Shibuya and Village Vanguard Shibuya for 100 yen.

In February 2019 they released the mini album AliVe, produced by Satori Hiraide, and toured 21 venues across Japan under the title AliAliVe 2019. The music video for the album track "Kakurenbo" later spread through user videos on YouTube and TikTok from around 2021 and had reached 64.5 million views by April 2024. In May they released the video for "impulse", and in July they provided the song "joker" for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks event Taka no Matsuri 2019. In September they released the mini album realize and toured 42 venues; its title song became the theme for the Nippon TV drama Himura Hideo no Suiri 2019.

2020-2021

In January 2020 the band began its first world tour, AliAliVe2020 Around the World -Re:AliVe-, which was cancelled partway through because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The video for "eye" followed in March, and in December they held their first worldwide simultaneous streaming concert, AliAliVe2020 -Refrain Mayday-.

In February 2021 "limit" became the opening theme of the web anime Inō no AICis. In March the band launched the online community app FANFARE, and in April held the nine-city tour AliAliVe 2021 -FANFARE-. Because the May Tokyo show was held without an audience, a revenge show followed in July. In December they released their first full album, Me, and held a 100-yen-admission concert.

2022-2023

In February 2022 the band toured five venues with AliAliVe 2022 -Me-, offering a special ticket for first-time attendees, and in October they appeared at FM802 MINAMI WHEEL. In February 2023 they held the five-city tour AliAliVe 2023 -rebirth-, and in July they played AliAliVe2023 -FANFARE- 5th Anniversary at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall. Drummer BOB left that same month. After a two-man show with BIGMAMA in August, the single "Aikotoba" became the ending theme of an anime series in October, and the three-city tour AliAliVe 2023 -animation- followed in November.

2024 onward

In January 2024 the new song "Kokoro no Naka" became the ending theme of the anime Tales of Wedding Rings, and in April "NewGame" became the opening theme of Gods' Games We Play. In September 2024 the band announced the cancellation of AliA LIVE TOUR 2024, and in July 2025 it announced its return to activity. It has also been announced that AliA will provide the opening theme for the second season of Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World.

Musical style

AliA's sound draws on influences from classical music to modern rock. Real Sound's concert coverage described the music as ranging from classical to metal, from hard rock and alternative rock to anime and video game music, and J-pop. EREN mainly composes, while AYAME and TKT write lyrics.