Ayumikurikamaki

Ayumikurikamaki
Origin Japan
Genres Japanese idol[1]
Years active 2012-present
Labels
Website ayumikurikamaki.com
Members
  • Kurika
  • Maki
  • Ayumi

Ayumikurikamaki (あゆみくりかまき stylized as "ARUMIKURIKAMAKI") is a Japanese idol group. It consists of singer "Ayumi", DJ "Kurika" and hype-woman "Maki".[1] The three girls are managed by Id Entertainment agency.[4]

History

2012: Origins and formation

Kurika and Maki met as high-school classmates in Kobe prefecture, and started out as a DJ unit Kurikamaki (くりかまき) in January, 2012.[5] Since the Japanese abbreviation of their name makes the word "kuma", which means bear in Japanese, they dress up in bear costumes and claim to be 3-year-old bears.[6] They posted their DJ performance on Niconico, which caught the management agency's attention.[5] They officially started their activity in November 2012, performing as an opening DJ in over 20 events a month.[5]

2013-2014: Indie releases

They released their first CD single "アナログマガール" (Analoguma-girl) on August 21, 2013, ranking 136 in Oricon weekly chart.[2] They released their second CD single "クマトナデシコ" (Kumatonadeshiko) on March 21, 2014, ranking 41 in the Oricon weekly chart.[2] One of the CD's B-side tracks, ”春色ディスカバリー feat. ともだち” (Seishun Discovery featuring Tomodachi), featured Ayumi, a girl in the same management agency.[7] Her singing caught Kurikamaki's attention, and they claim to have persuaded her to join their group for over 5 months.[7] On May 5, 2014, Ayumi officially joined Kurikamaki, and the group's name was changed to Ayumikurikamaki,[5][8] which is frequently abbreviated as Ayukuma.[5] On July 22, 2014, they released their first CD single as Ayumikurikamaki "ジェットクマスター" (Jet kumastar) on July 22, 2014, ranking 23 in the Oricon weekly chart.[2]

2015-present

They debuted on a major record label with the single "鮭鮭鮭" ("Shakeh Shakeh Shakeh", which translates to "Salmon Salmon Salmon") on March 4, 2015,[6] ranking 11 in the Oricon Singles Chart.[9] They released their second major single "蜜蜜蜜" (Honey Honey Honey) on June 24, 2015. It reached number 9 on the Oricon chart,[10] and it was their first single to rank in Oricon weekly chart's top 10. It was also an ending theme for the anime Punch Line.[11] They released their third major single "心友フォーエヴァー" ("Shin-yuu Forever", which roughly means "Best Friend Forever") on November 25, 2015, ranking 17 in the Oricon Singles Chart.[12]

On December 27, 2015, the members got involved in a car accident. The vehicle they were in rolled over due to a tire burst, leaving them with sprains and bruises bad enough to cancel several planned live events.[13] However, they successfully restarted their activity with a live concert on January 31, 2016.[14]

They released their first album "あゆみくりかまきがやって来る！クマァ！クマァ！クマァ！" (Ayumikurikamaki ga yattekuru! Kuma! Kuma! Kuma!) on April 13, 2016. Its title and art were inspired from The Beatles.[15] It ranked 8 in the Oricon Albums Chart.[16]

Live performance

Ayumikurikamaki's solo live concerts consist of a DJ part where they mix recorded music for an audience, and a second part where they perform their original songs.[7] They sing "I Met A Bear" only in live concerts, and circle pit is sometimes formed.[17][18] They announce beforehand the type of cheering to be done in the next concert: TTD, a moderate cheering, and DIM, an aggressive cheering. TTD stands for "To Tokyo Dome", and is mainly for a free live and in-store events where they want to attract new fans. DIM stands for "Donna Idol nimo Makenaizo", and is for their solo concerts, as well as idol and subcultural events.[19]

Original terminology and cheering

Matagi: They call their fans matagi, which means animal hunter in Japanese. It is sometimes abbreviated to MTG.[20]
Nikukyuu Kecak: Raising both hands with all fingers bent at second joints.[18][21] Nikukyuu means paw in Japanese.
Analoguma-tonton: Jumping with a hand raised diagonally that occurs during a performance of Analoguma-girl.[7][18]

Discography

CD singles[2]

Release date Label Title Group Track listing Peak ORICON weekly ranking
8/21/2013 id アナログマガール
(Analoguma-girl) 		Kurikamaki 1. アナログマガール
(Analoguma-girl)
2. HELLO!!
3.Chap Chap 		136
3/12/2014 id クマトナデシコ
(Kumatonadeshiko) 		Kurikamaki 1. クマトナデシコ
(Kumatonadeshiko)
2. 春色ディスカバリー feat.ともだち
(Seishun Discovery featuring Tomodachi)
3. My Sweet Darlin’ 		41
7/22/2014 id ジェットクマスター
(Jet kumastar) 		Ayumikurikamaki 1. ジェットクマスター
(Jet kumastar)
2. ナキムシヒーロー
(Nakimushi hero)
3. 恋のダイヤル6700
(Koi no dial 6700) 		23
3/4/2015 DefSTAR 鮭鮭鮭
(Shake Shake Shake) 		Ayumikurikamaki 1. 鮭鮭鮭
(Shake Shake Shake)
2. キミノモトヘ
(Kiminomotoe)
3. 自分革命[22]
(Jibunkakumei) 		11
6/24/2015 DefSTAR 蜜蜜蜜
(Honey Honey Honey) 		Ayumikurikamaki 1. 蜜蜜蜜
(Honey Honey Honey)
2. KILLLA TUNE
3. アイノウタ[23]
(Ainouta) 		9
11/25/2015 SME 心友フォーエヴァー
(Shin-yuu Forever) 		Ayumikurikamaki 1. 心友フォーエヴァー
(Shin-yuu Forever)
2. 森森森
(Mori Mori Mori)
3. 素敵な世界[24]
(Suteki na Sekai) 		17

CD albums[25]

Release date Label Title Group Track listing Peak ORICON weekly ranking
4/13/2016 SME あゆみくりかまきがやって来る!クマァ!クマァ!クマァ!
(Ayumikurikamaki ga yattekuru! Kuma! Kuma! Kuma!) 		Ayumikurikamaki 1. スターライトジャンボリー
(Starlight Jamboree)
2. WAR CRY
3. ジェットクマスター
(Jet kumastar)
4. 蜜蜜蜜
(Honey Honey Honey)
5. 心友フォーエヴァー
(Shin-yuu Forever)
6. KILLLA TUNE
7. What’s my name?
8. アイノウタ
(Ainouta)
9. 森森森
(Mori Mori Mori)
10. 鮭鮭鮭
(Shake Shake Shake)
11. 自分革命
(Jibunkakumei)
12. ナキムシヒーロー
(Nakimushi hero) 		8

References

  1. 1 2 Natalie artist description (checked 7/4/2015)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Oricon Style singles ranking of Ayumikurikamaki
  3. ↑ Geki-Rock Entertainment Inc. news (posted 6/25/2015, checked 7/9/2015)
  4. ↑ Id Entertainment agency artist profile (checked 7/4/2015)
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Geki-Rock Entertainment Inc. feature article on Ayumikurikamaki (posted 3/4/2015, checked 7/4/2015)
  6. 1 2 Natalie interview with Ayumikurikamaki (checked 7/4/2015)
  7. 1 2 3 4 Natalie live report (posted 3/24/2014, checked 7/4/2015)
  8. ↑ Tokyo Girls Update (posted 4/28/2014, checked 7/5/2015)
  9. ↑ "鮭鮭鮭". Oricon Style. Oricon. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "蜜蜜蜜". Oricon Style. Oricon. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Musicman-NET news (posted 3/10/2015, checked 7/5/2015)
  12. ↑ 心友フォーエヴァー on Oricon chart (checked 1/23/2016)
  13. ↑ tokyohive news (posted 12/29/2015, checked 4/25/2016)
  14. ↑ Natalie live report (posted 2/3/2016, checked 4/25/2016)
  15. ↑ Nikkan Sports news (posted 4/8/2016, checked 4/25/2016)
  16. ↑ あゆみくりかまきがやって来る!クマァ!クマァ!クマァ! on Oricon chart (checked 4/25/2016)
  17. ↑ Natalie live report (posted 4/27/2015, checked 7/4/2015)
  18. 1 2 3 Live video of Ayumikurikamaki (posted 3/21/2015, checked 7/6/2015)
  19. ↑ MUSICにゅっと。 (posted 6/23/2015, checked 7/5/2015)
  20. ↑ AYUMIKURIKAMAKI profile in TOWER RECORDS ONLINE (checked 7/4/2015)
  21. ↑ Natalie live report (posted 5/17/2015, checked 7/4/2015)
  22. ↑ Only included in the standard version of the single 鮭鮭鮭. See Oricon description of the single (checked 7/17/2015)
  23. ↑ Only included in the standard version of the single 蜜蜜蜜. See Oricon description of the single (checked 7/17/2015)
  24. ↑ Only included in the standard version of the single 心友フォーエヴァー. See Natalie news article about the single (posted 8/16/2015, checked 8/16/2015)
  25. ↑ Oricon Style albums ranking of Ayumikurikamaki
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