Interest

Shokotan, Scandal, Sphere Make Zone Tribute Album

10 female musical acts, including Scandal, Sphere, Shoko Nakagawa (Shokotan), ClariS, and Stereopony, have contributed songs on a Zone tribute album, which will be released on August 10. The tribute album, titled "Zone Tribute ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~," will coincide with the band's reunion concerts, which will be held on August 14-15 at the Akasaka BLITZ event hall in Tokyo. The tribute album will contain song covers female artists from the "Zone Generation" who followed in Zone's footsteps.

Zone debuted in 2001, and broke up in 2005. Three of the band members are reuniting in 2011 to mark their 10-year anniversary. The reunion is in commemoration of a line of lyrics in Zone's first big hit song, "secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~," which says "Believe that we can meet again in August ten years later." Zone band members Tomoka, Maiko and Miyu will perform at the reunion concert; band member Mizuho officially retired from show business.

Other bands who contributed to the tribute album include bump.y, Nagi Yanagi, Peaceful, Tomato n' Pine, and Tokyo Girls' Style.

The song "secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~" is currently being used as the ending theme song in Fuji TV's Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai (AnoHana) anime, as sung by the characters Meiko Honma (Ai Kayano), Naruko Anjō (Haruka Tomatsu), and Chiriko Tsurumi (Saori Hayami). The story of AnoHana follows several childhood friends who try to reconnect in high school after drifting apart. Scandal will cover "secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~" for the Zone tribute album.

This summer, the Noitamina Shop in Tokyo's Shinjuku PARCO Part 1 department store is recreating the secret base of "Chō Heiwa Busters," the childhood gathering of friends from AnoHana.

The new album's song lineup includes:

• ClariS "true blue"
• Scandal "secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~"
• Stereopony "Akashi"
• Sphere "Glory colors ~kaze no Tobira~"
• Tokyo Girls' Style "Boku no Tegami"
• Tomato n' Pine "Yume no Kakera"
• Shoko Nakagawa "Shiroi Hana"
• bump.y "Sotsugyō"
• Peaceful "Good Days"
• Nagi Yanagi "Hitoshizuku"

Sources: Music Natalie, Tokyograph