SILENT SIREN

Overview

SILENT SIREN (サイレントサイレン, nicknamed "Saisai") is a Japanese all-female band formed in the summer of 2010. The current trio consists of Sumire Yoshida ("Suu", lead vocals and guitar), Aina Yamauchi ("Ainyan", bass) and Yukako Kurosaka ("Yukarun", keyboard). The band is managed by SAYN (in partnership with Platinum Pixel) and releases music on its own YOUTHFUL TUNE label. Yoshida and Hinako Umemura, both reader models for the magazine CUTiE, bonded over 10-FEET's song "RIVER" and decided to start a band; it began purely as a shared hobby rather than as a group assembled by an agency. The name came from a remark by Yoshida at a yakitori restaurant in Shibuya, wondering why "siren" and "silent" differ by only one letter yet mean opposite things. It was chosen to mean a "silent warning" conveying the members' feelings.

Career

Indie era (2010–2012)

The band formed in summer 2010 with Yoshida (vocals, guitar), Umemura (drums), Yamauchi (bass) and Ayana Sogawa (keyboard). Their first live show took place on September 7, 2010 at Harajuku Astro Hall. In 2011 they performed at AGESTOCK2011, whose official support song was their original "All Right ('Ima' o Kakeru)". They released the mini albums Sai Sai (February 8, 2012) and Love Shiru (July 4, 2012); the latter reached No. 15 on Oricon's weekly indie albums chart. Their first one-man tour began in July 2012, when their major debut with Dreamusic was announced. After Sogawa left, Yukako Kurosaka, a Ray magazine model and a regular on the TV show ZIP!, was announced as the new keyboardist at a live show on September 13, 2012.

Major debut and rise (2012–2014)

Their debut maxi single "Sweet Pop!" came out on November 14, 2012, and was the ending theme of the TV program Tokyo Brand New Girls. "Stella" followed on February 20, 2013, as the ending theme of Happy Music. The first album Start→ (April 10, 2013) peaked at No. 16 on Oricon, followed by "Beach Sandals" (August) and "I×U" (October). The second album 31Wonderland (February 12, 2014) reached No. 4 on the weekly Oricon chart and No. 2 daily, their highest ranking at the time. In 2014 they played their first overseas show in Hong Kong (July 31), appeared at ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2014, hosted their own festival "Saisai Fes" (August 19) and released "Koi Yuki" in December.

Budokan and expansion (2015–2018)

On January 17, 2015 the band played its first solo concert at Nippon Budokan, the fastest any all-female band had done so after a major-label debut. That year they provided theme songs for the anime Onyankopon and Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion, the live-action Anohana film and the restaurant chain Tenkaippin. Their fourth album S (March 2016) reached No. 3 on the Oricon weekly chart. At the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on December 30, 2016, they announced the name's change to all capitals and a move from Dolly Music to EMI Records. In 2017 they released "Fujiyama Disco", their first best album Silent Siren Selection, "Akane/Awaawa", "Just Meet" and the fifth album Girls Power. In 2018 came "Tenkaippin no Theme", "19 summer note" and "Go Way!".

10th anniversary and hiatus (2019–2021)

The sixth album 31313 arrived in March 2019, followed by the digital single "Shigatsu no Kaze" (April) and the EP HERO (December 2019). In April 2020 the band launched an official YouTube channel for its 10th anniversary. "Up To You", a collaboration with Aimi of Poppin'Party, was released in June 2020, followed by "Kikasete wow wow o" and "Answer", and the seventh album mix10th in September 2020. Umemura was also announced as the voice actor for Takao Toka in D4DJ. On September 25, 2021, Umemura left the band after the "Kirara Revenge ~ Saisai 10th Birthday Festival ~" show. The band announced a hiatus in October, released "Koi Ranman" and "FAMILIA" in December, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium show on December 30, 2021 marked the pause.

Return (2023–present)

On October 11, 2023 the three remaining members announced they would resume activities, returning to the stage at COUNTDOWN JAPAN 23/24 on December 28, 2023, and now tour with a support drummer. On January 31, 2024 they founded their independent label YOUTHFUL TUNE and released "Sus4", their first new song since returning; the third mini album YOUTHFUL followed on March 31, 2024. Subsequent releases include "Who's that?" (October 2024), "Maybe Baby Blue" (November 2024), "Lady go" (December 2024), "more than pink" (January 2025), "Kyupi Kyupi" (June 2025) and "Toge ni Hachimitsu" (December 2025).

Members

• Sumire Yoshida: lead vocals, guitar
• Aina Yamauchi (born July 3, 1988): bass, lyricist and picture-book author; she published the picture books Nyan Nyan Nyanta no Daihenshin and Nyan Nyan Nyanta no Okurimono in 2020–2021.
• Yukako Kurosaka (born June 6, 1989): keyboard; a ZIP! regular from April 2011 to March 2013, she launched the fashion brand jour de muguet in 2020.

Musical style

Rooted in j-rock and j-pop, SILENT SIREN is known for bright, pop-minded sound. Sound producer Naoki Kubo, involved in songwriting since the band's formation, typically writes one chorus of the music first, and the members then write the lyrics, a music-first process used for about 90% of their songs. Lyric duties are usually assigned by member, though they sometimes co-write.