Halcali (ハルカリ Harukari), stylized as HALCALI, is a Japanese pop hip-hop duo consisting of members Halca (born April 21, 1988) and Yucali (born July 18, 1987) from Meguro, Tokyo, Japan. Its name is a (a portmanteau of Halca ( ハルカ Haruka?) and Yucali ( ユカリ Yukari?)) Their debut album, Halcali Bacon, reached #5 on the Oricon charts, making it the first album by a female hip-hop artist to enter the top ten in Japanese history.
Halcali also made their American debut in May 2008 as the musical guests of honor at the Chicago Japanese culture, manga and anime convention entitled Anime Central. They performed again in America at Central Park, New York City on June 1, 2008 as part of a Japan Day Festival as part of a Japanese tourism campaign.
On May 26, 2010, they released their fourth album album, Tokyo Groove.
The new style
In winter 2003, Halcali released their fourth single, the Christmas-themed "Strawberry Chips" (ストロベリーチップス). This single continued to show the fluctuation between rap and J-pop.
After the release of "Strawberry Chips", Halcali's visual style shifted, along with the layout and lyrical style of their songs. Their fifth single, "Marching March" (マーチングマーチ?), was the first to showcase this new style. This change in style is attributed to Halcali's coming-of-age, however it also represents the changing of fads that occurred in Japanese teens at the time and was necessary to retain their fanbase.
Their sixth single, "Baby Blue!", was an instant cult hit. The album art and video featured the character Hanpanda, a trend by Japanese artist Nagi Noda, which has since become popular.
MEMBERS
Halca
Halca (ハルカ Haruka), portrays herself to be the more mature of the pair in her PR and personal blog entries. She shows focus for performances, commentating seriously on those commenting on her in TV appearances. She has recently became more focused on fashion, and has appeared in Barfout, a fashion magazine, along with Yucali.
Profile
Real Name: Haruka
Birthplace: Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
Blood Type: B
Birthday: April 21, 1988
Interests: Korean food and culture
Favorite Artists: RIP SLYME, Schadara parr and Missy Elliot
Yucali
In the past, Yucali (ユカリ Yukari) would portray a child-like image, which gave the group's image a more school-aged look. She wore a tilted baseball cap or some other sort of head apparel as was the fad at the time. Her current image is now more adult-like.
Profile
Real Name: Yukari
Birthplace: Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
Blood Type: B
Birthday: July 18, 1987
Interests: "Sailor Moon"
Favorite Artists: Missy Elliot
Progression in Sound & the 4th Album
Halcali's sound has been progressively and markedly different from their period of inception- initially being focused upon peppy, high-energy beats with equally fast and furious lyrics, moving onto more creative songs which seem to weave between genres and sounds, a la 音樂ノススメ (Ongaku no Susume), and more particularly サイボーグ俺達 (Cyborg Oretachi), which included musical genres ranging from rap, pop, electrocore and rock.
As Halca & Yucali have matured, they have taken on the role of writing their own rhymes & lyrics and composing their own music. Their 3rd album, サイボーグ俺達 (Cyborg Oretachi), featured many tracks which were written or co-written by Halcali. Every single after this album has also been written by or co-written by Halcali as well.
The girls are currently playing various lives to promote their music. They're also hard at work on their upcoming 4th album; their blogs also hint that they've been in the studio writing new songs.
Anime themes
Several songs by Halcali have been used as opening or ending themes in anime television series.
"Tip Taps Tip" – Eureka Seven, 3rd Ending theme
"Look" – Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z, 2nd Ending theme
"Lights, Camera. Action!" – Getsumento Heiki Mina, Opening theme
"Tandem" – Ga-Ra-Ku-Ta: Mr. Stain on Junk Alley, Ending theme
"Long Kiss Good Bye" – Naruto Shippūden, 7th Ending theme
Song references
References made in Halcali videos
"Tandem" – Super Mario Bros. (Stage 1-1)
"Electric Sensei" – "Stepper's Delight" by Rip Slyme.
"Tandem" – "Automatic" by Utada Hikaru.
"Giri Giri Surf Rider" – Michael Jackson's "Beat It" video.
"Candy Hearts" – Chad Jackson - "Hear the Drummer (Get Wicked)"; "Candy Hearts" makes a reference to "Peace, love, unity and having fun" from the song.
Discography
Singles
[2003.01.08] Tandem (タンデム)
[2003.04.09] Electric Sensei (エレクトリック先生; Electric Teacher)
[2003.07.09] GiriGiri Surf Rider (ギリギリ・サーフライダー; A Surf Rider at the Last Moment)
[2003.11.26] Strawberry Chips (ストロベリーチップス)
[2004.06.09] Marching March (マーチングマーチ)
[2004.10.20] Baby Blue!
[2005.12.07] Tip Taps Tip
[2006.02.22] Twinkle Star
[2006.12.13] Look
[2007.03.14] Tougenkyou / Lights, Camera. Action! (桃源郷; Shangri-la)
[2007.06.20] It's Party Time!
[2008.11.12] Long Kiss Good Bye
[2009.02.11] Re:Yasashii Kimochi (Re:やさしい気持ち; Re:Tender Feelings)
[2009.09.23] Konya wa Boogie Back* (今夜はブギー･バック; Boogie Back Tonight)*
[2010.01.27] Endless Night
[2010.05.05] You May Dream*
(* Denotes a Collaborative single as Tokyo No.1 Soul Set + Halcali)
Albums
[2003.09.03] Halcali Bacon (ハルカリベーコン)
[2004.11.24] Ongaku no Susume (音樂ノススメ; Recommended Music)
[2005.03.16] Halcali Mix (ハルカリミックス) (Remix Album)
[2007.07.18] Cyborg Oretachi (サイボーグ俺達; We, the Cyborgs)
[2010.05.26] Tokyo Groove
Download exclusive tracks
[2006.12.01] Slalom '06 (スラローム '06)
[2007.01.09] 2 Higher Clap 007
[2007.02.01] Girl! Girl! Girl!
DVD
[2004.03.24] Halcali DVD (Temporary Title) (春狩デーヴィーデー(仮))
Compilation / Other
[2004.04.14] "The Japan Gold Disc Award 2004" (#22 ストロベリーチップス (Strawberry Chips))
[2004.06.02] "Garakuta Dohri no Stain Original Soundtrack" (#2 タンデム (Tandem), #3 ギリギリ･サーフライダー (GiriGiri Surf Rider))
[2004.09.01] "Magokoro Covers" (#3 愛 (Ai))
[2004.12.03] G.Last - "Tribute to Godzilla 50th" (#7 Godzilla Is Coming To Town! / Bank$ feat. Halcali)
[2006.04.05] "Koukyoushihen Eureka Seven Original Soundtrack 2" (#2, #3 Tip Taps Tip)
[2006.05.07] "Koukyoushihen Eureka Seven" (#6 Tip Taps Tip)
[2006.07.26] m-flo - "m-flo inside -Works Best II-" (#7 Baby Blue!)
[2007.06.20] Kohei Japan - "Family (Kohei Japan)" (CD2 #22 ハルカリズム "CANDY HEARTS" (Halcali Rhythm "Candy Hears"))
[2007.06.27] "Powerpuff Girls Z Original Soundtrack" (#3 LOOK)
[2007.08.22] □□□ (Kuchi Roro) - "Golden Love" (#3 Cosmic Dance)
[2007.10.24] "Okuda Tamio Covers" (愛のために (Ai no Tame ni))
[2007.12.05] The Hello Works - "Payday" (Performed in the Chorus)
[2008.03.26] "Sound Concierge: Japan: Japanese Lyric Dance" (#12 Oboroge Copy View)
[2008.09.24] Fujio Akatsuka - "Tribute — Fushigi da ga Seikai da!" (#2 すきすきソング (Suki Suki Song))
[2009.03.18] Judy and Mary - "15th Anniversary Tribute Album" (#11 ラッキープール (Lucky Pool))
[2009.07.08] ヨースケ@HOME (Yosuke@Home) - "パノラマ" (Panorama) (Performed in the Chorus of b-side トコナッツ (Toko Nuts))
[2009.09.02] DJ Caroline D'armore - "J-Girl's Celebrity Mix" (#29 FLASH)
[2009.11.25] DJ Kaori's JMix 3 (#14 今夜はブギー・バック (Konya wa Boogie Back))
[2010.02.24] Tokyo No.1 Soul Set - "Best Set" (今夜はブギー･バック (Konya wa Boogie Back)
LINK
> Official Site
