By Stephanie H., staff writer, Inside AX- Anime Expo
Famous in the Japanese music scene for their ability to fuse a variety of music styles with melodic songwriting and mash-ups, Nirgilis has established its popularity among both fans of rock music and anime. Famous for hits such as ’sakura’ from Eureka Seven and ‘Snow Kiss’ from D.Gray-man, the band enthusiastically engaged fans with an amazing concert, panel, and autograph sessions.
On Day One, I eagerly lined up for the Nirgilis concert that was to be held at Club Nokia at 7 PM. Club Nokia’s stage setup for Nirgilis included a computer station of sorts for each member. Considering that I have never seen Nirgilis perform live before, I was interested to see how they would pull it off. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised as the lights dimmed and all three members of Nirgilis danced triumphantly onto the stage. Their energy and enthusiasm was evident as they went straight into their setlist.
Anime fans were ecstatic to hear the opening cues of songs that Nirgilis had anime tie-ins with. The band played a remix of ‘sakura’ from Eureka Seven, ‘Kiseki’ from Tetsuwan Birdy Decode 02, ‘Snow Kiss’ from D.Gray-man, and finally their latest single ‘Shiny Shiny,’ which is currently being featured on the anime series Deadman Wonderland. In addition, the band showed off their remixing and DJing skills as they proceeded to perform several mashups live. During the performance of ‘Shiny Shiny,’ all three members of Nirgilis (Acchu Iwata, Minoru Kurihara, and Yuki Inadera) took the time to quickly show the crowd how to dance during the chorus of the song. The excitement from the crowd was just as large as all of the other concerts held during Anime Expo, as fans enthusiastically waved glowsticks and clapped along to the beat. Judging by the wild shouts of “ENCORE!” given at the end and the packed house, the concert was a huge success for the group.
Following the concert, Day Three was when the panel for Nirgilis took place. Naturally, the panel started off introducing each member and what they were responsible for in the band: Acchu Iwata (Vocals, Keyboards, Piano, and Programming), Minoru Kurihara (Bass, DJ, and Programming), and Yuki Inadera (Drums, Programming, Chorus, D & A VJ). The group then proceeded to do a Q & A panel that included topics such as their favorite animes and differences between performing in the US and Japan. Questions in regards to their music style and inspirations were very interesting to listen to as each member had their own favorite artist or hopes for the future. Acchu is influenced by American music and performers such as Prince and Sydney Robert. Yuki likes all sorts of music, while Minoru is always on the lookout for something new. They have also stated that while they have done many anime tie-ins, Nirgilis would like to try their hand at producing tracks for games.” But whatever comes would work for us…” stated Acchu, “the real goal of Nirgilis is to bridge the gaps of music.”
With Nirgilis’ exciting concert and panel here at Anime Expo 2011, the group has certainly left their mark. I look forward to what the group will do next and anticipate a hopeful return to Anime Expo in the future.
------Tags: Anime Expo 2011, Nirgilis
