Asa-Chang & Junray

Japanese avant-garde band

Avant-garde
electronic
percussive music

Years active1998–presentLabelsThe Leaf Label, Oon Music IncMembers

ASA-CHANG
Yoshihiro Goseki
Anzu Suhara

Past members

Hidehiko Urayama
U-zhaan

Websitewww.junray.com

ASA-CHANG & Junray is a band founded by Japanese percussionist ASA-CHANG, who was the founder and original bandmaster of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. After leaving the group in 1993, he formed ASA-CHANG & Junray in 1998 with programmer and guitarist Hidehiko Urayama. They were joined in 2000 by tabla player U-zhaan. Live, the group used a portable sound-system called 'Jun-Ray Tronics', hence the name; the word 'junray', however, also means 'pilgrimage'.

In 2002, the British label The Leaf Label released Jun Ray Song Chang, which compiled the group's first two Japan-only albums. It was followed a year later by the mini album Tsu Gi Ne Pu. The group's song 'Hana' was featured on Fabric Live 07, while 'Tsuginepu To Ittemita' was included on a The Wire Tapper CD. The group's 2005 album, Minna no Junray, featured vocals by singer and actress Kyōko Koizumi.

On March 31, 2010, Urayama and U-zhaan left the band.

In 2012, saxophone flute player Yoshihiro Goseki and violinist Anzu Suhara joined as live members.

In 2013, their song "Hana" was re-done and used as the ending theme for the anime adaptation of Shuzo Oshimi's The Flowers of Evil. Several versions, including the original, are used throughout the series.

Members

ASA-CHANG (Hirokazu Asakura, ex. Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra): percussion, tablabongo
Yoshihiro Goseki (ex. DCPRG, ex. Zainichi Funk): sax, flute, vocal
Anzu Suhara (ex. Led Act Sect): violin, guitar, vocal