Sphere (Japanese band)

Sphere is a J-pop idol unit made up of voice actresses who are all managed by Sony Music Entertainment's Music Ray'n subdivision, under the Lantis music label GloryHeaven. The group debuted in April 2009 releasing their first single "Future Stream", which was followed up with the June 2009 release of "Dangerous Girls" theme used in the opening animation of the PlayStation Portable game "Ken to Mahou Gakuen Mono 2" (known in the US as "Class of Heroes 2"). As all four are voice actresses, their music is frequently featured as theme songs to a variety of anime series, including First Love Limited, Sora no Manimani, Demon King Daimao, Asobi ni iku yo! and Ryūgajō Nanana no Maizōkin. The group features in the anime Natsuiro Kiseki, in which every member has a role as the four main characters.

Members

  • Haruka Tomatsu
  • Minako Kotobuki
  • Ayahi Takagaki
  • Aki Toyosaki
  • Discography

    Source:

    Albums

  • A.T.M.O.S.P.H.E.R.E (December 23, 2009)
  • Spring is Here (March 16, 2011)
  • Third Planet (July 11, 2012)
  • Sphere (American band)

    Sphere were an American jazz ensemble which began as a tribute to pianist/composer Thelonious Monk, whose middle name was "Sphere".

    The band initially consisting of Monk's longtime tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Buster Williams, and Monk's former drummer Ben Riley. Saxophonist Gary Bartz assumed Rouse's place after his death in 1988.

    Discography

  • 1982: Four in One (Elektra)
  • 1983: Flight Path (Elektra)
  • 1985: On Tour (Red)
  • 1986 : Live at Umbria Jazz (Red)
  • 1986: Pumpkin's Delight (Red)
  • 1987: Four for All (Verve)
  • 1987: Sphere (Verve)
  • 1988: Bird Songs (Verve)
  • References

    Friction (band)

    Friction (フリクション furikushon) is an influential rock band from Japan, formed in 1978. They originally began in 1971 under the name Circle Triangle Square, and are considered to be one of the pioneers of Japan's alternative rock scene. In September 2007, Rolling Stone Japan rated their debut album Atsureki at #21 on its list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time".

    History

    Originally formed in 1971 as an avant-garde music group by bassist Reck, saxophonist Chico Hige, and drummer Sakuro Watanabe in Tokyo, Japan. They changed the band's name to 3/3 in the mid 70s, and Reck and Chico later moved to the United States, where they would form the band Teenage Jesus and the Jerks with Lydia Lunch and James Chance, and later became the original founding members of James Chance and the Contortions before returning to Japan.

    Renaming 3/3 to form Friction, they recruited guitarist Tsunematsu Masatoshi, who had studied art at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts & Music. They released a live album and single in 1979, and their first studio album, Atsureki (軋轢, meaning 'friction' in Japanese) in 1980, produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Tsunematsu left the band in December 1980 to become an artist, and from then on Friction has had numerous guest instrumentalists for lives and studio releases, all revolving around frontman Reck. The live video titled Dumb Numb was directed by Sogo Ishii. Towards the year 2000, Friction went on hiatus when Reck started producing for other musicians, but restarted in 2007.

    Friction (disambiguation)

    Friction may refer to:

  • Friction, the force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact
  • Charlotte Beck, fictional paranormal in the Marvel Comics publication DP 7 who occasionally uses the codename Friction
  • "Friction," a song by Television from their 1977 album Marquee Moon
  • "Friction," a song by Morcheeba from their 1998 album Big Calm
  • "Friction," a song by Imagine Dragons from their 2015 album Smoke + Mirrors
  • Friction (Coney Hatch album), 1983 album by Coney Hatch
  • Friction (Stavesacre album), 1996 album by Stavesacre
  • Friction (Phideaux Xavier album), 1993 album by Phideaux Xavier
  • Friction (band), Japanese rock band formed in 1978
  • DJ Friction, a drum and bass artist from the UK
  • People

  • Bobby Friction, host of the "Friction" show on the BBC Asian Network
  • Military

  • Friction, a concept introduced by Carl von Clausewitz to name how the simple things become difficult in war because of many misfortunes and mistakes. It's the disparity between the optimal performance of units, organisms or systems versus their degraded performance in combat (Book I, Chapter VII)
  • Friction (musician)

    Ed Keeley, better known by his stage name Friction, is a drum and bass producer and DJ from Brighton, England. He runs his own record label, Shogun Audio, and has a regular overnight show on BBC Radio 1Xtra.

    Biography

    Brighton-raised Friction is one of only a handful of drum and bass DJs to utilise three decks to mash up his mixes, creating a unique sound. As a teenager Friction was busy playing and promoting events in Brighton when he began collaborating with local producers Stakka & K-Tee who were heavily involved in Andy C's Ram Records label.

    In 1998 Friction released his debut single "Critical Mass" under the stage name Kinnetix, attracting the attention of major labels. Soon he was releasing tracks on renowned labels such as Valve, Tru Playaz, Trouble On Vinyl, 31 Records, Hospital, Charge and Renegade Hardware alongside his own Shogun Audio imprint.

    Friction is regarded as one of the biggest DJs in the drum and bass scene, with an extremely fast rise to success. Highly regarded for his various mix CDs and releases on labels like Hospital, Tru Playaz and Renegade Hardware. One of his biggest tracks was the "Back To Your Roots Remix" on Shogun Audio in 2007.

    Podcasts:

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    Avoiding an Israel-Syria Showdown (Part 1): The Risks of “Occupation”

    The Washington Institute 20 Mar 2025
    If Syria devolves into a weak state with permanent Turkish and Israel spheres of influence, the situation would be replete with friction points and potential conflict between two key U.S.
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