Tokyo's Coolest Sound

They came carried by winds from Northern Europe, where they returned to last October 7 (2018). So goes the setting of Vanilla Beans, a unique idol group that had debuted 11 years ago, on October 3, 2007. It's worth to take a good look back to their career that I believe brought a lot of innovation and fresh air to the scene.

Vanilla Beans were mushroom-cut (kinoko-atama) Rena and outward-curled (sotohane-atama) Lisa, who spent all of their 20's giving everything to the group. Always sticking to their signature 60's-style sleeveless dresses and those specific hairstyles, their music was also greatly notable from the start. They also did countless surprising promotions and even many experiments in their music, while always keeping a perfect balance.

This article aims to recall and share my good memories of this unforgettable duo.

In recording

Starting with what Tokyo's Coolest Sound's readers may be most familiar with, here's a list of most of Vanilla Beans' recordings from first single "U ♥ Me" (which featured member Rika, who quickly disappeared to be replaced forever by Lisa) to the last, "going my way". Some anecdotes are added throughout.

- 2007.10.03. CD single "U ♥ Me": The only release where Vanilla Beans was Rena & Rika. Around that time they went to Denmark for promotion where the unit gave its first performance ever at the Japanese embassy (photos). From the very start, things were a little bit strange like that.
- 2008.05.21. CD single "Nicola": Probably their most popular song ever! It must have been the most sung in their shows (along their cover of Pizzicato Five's "Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji (the night is still young)").
- 2008.08.27. Digital single "Afternoon a Go-Go" and its remix "Afternoon a Go-Go -We Love You Mix-" (2008.09.24)
- 2008.10.29. Digital single "Shopping☆Kirari": The song was written by Dr.Usui (Motocompo, now of (M)otocompo), one of his first idol works.
- 2008.11.26. Digital single "Shopping☆Kirari ~Okite Porsche + Dr. USUI Waterfront Mix~": Okite Porsche (of duo Roman Porsche) also took part in the remix, he turned out to be VB's #1 supporter all through their career.
- 2008.12.24. Digital single "ashita wa ashita no natsu ga kuru": Another song released ahead of the first album.

- 2009.01.28. CD single "sakasaka Circus": Another song that became a Vanilla Beans classic! B-side "Tic Tac" is also a favorite with its cute choreography that mimics a clock.
- 2009.02.25. First album "Vanilla Beans"! All A-sides from previous singles were included, as well as the digital releases in different "album" or "remastered" versions. Song "Vanillad" was written by bice. Until here, all releases were on label Tokuma Japan.
- 2009.04.29. Digital single "koi no Theory": A non-album song that also ended up being a favorite in their live shows. It was the theme song for movie "fujoshi kanojo" (English title "My Geeky Girlfriend").
- 2009.09.29. CD single "LOVE&HATE": Lyrics written by Kaji Hideki.

Around this time, Vanilla Beans also started covering Pizzicato Five's "Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji" ("the night is still young"), and released it along Kaji Hideki and Original Love covers ("La Boum ~My Boum Is Me~" and "seppun ~Kiss~" respectively) but only on a mobile site. While their sound and fashion had always hinted a Shibuya-kei connections, ties with that scene were becoming clearer by the day.

- 2009.10.28. DVD "Vanilla Beans Produce kaigi DVD": An event held at Asagaya Loft, plus a collection of music videos so far. There's also some studio footage with Kaji Hideki. There was another event of the same series (though not on DVD) featuring Konishi Yasuharu who was probably converted into a fan by then.
- 2010.02.10. Compilation album "Kirakira Majocco Cluv": VB sang two songs on this compilation, one that was a collaboration with Sexy-Synthesizer and the other with Ishii Masayuki (Tica). VB also participated in a special show at Shibuya AX that featured many of the artists on this compilation. This was maybe their first encounter with Shinohara Tomoe, with who years later they would start Internet TV weekly program "ShinoVani".
- 2010.04.21. Guest appearance on Roman Porsche's "nusunda Bike de amagigoe" album: They sang Imo-kin Trio's techno-kayō classic "High School Lullabye".
- 2010.05.19. Mini-album "Def & Def": Includes lead track "D & D", a song for a TV commercial of a deodorant of the same name. Vanilla Beans could finally be seen on TV!
- 2010.05.28. Around then they also sang a cover of Danish football anthem "Ra-sepp-ten" to cheer for the Denmark team during the World Cup.
- 2010.09.22. Greatest hits album "VaniBest": New song "100mankai no SMK" written by Okite Porsche is included, and also their cover of Pizzicato Five's "Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji" and another cover of MGMT's "Kids". Both songs from first single "U ♥ Me" had vocals re-recorded.
- 2011.02.09. Participation in live DVD "Tokyo Idol Festival 2010": 7 songs with Vanilla Beans were included.

Vanilla Beans then moved to Tower Records' new T-Palette Records idol label, where they would stay for most of their career. The label's first releases were singles by Vanilla Beans and Negicco, and there was a press conference-like event at Tower Records Shibuya to do the announcement. Things got a bit stranger and interesting too!

- 2011.06.29. CD single "Stairway to Heaven": So their first single on the new label was a cover of Led Zeppelin, in its full length! The B-side was a cover of Pizzicato Five's "Baby Portable Rock" which also became a live favorite.
- 2011.07.20. 2nd album "Vanilla Beans II": Shortly following the Led Zeppelin cover (included in this album), this album title also reminded of Led Zeppelin, and they were going to keep this album naming rule until the end. Also no more normal idol album jackets, instead they would stick to very strange paintings. Drummer Araki Yuko (mi-gu, The Cornelius Group) played on a few songs. "oyasumi" had music written by bice, a year after the passing away of this great singer-songwriter, with lyrics written by Rena and Lisa themselves. A sequel song to "Nicola" was included, "älskar dig". Also a cover of rock band Spitz' "oppai". Another particularity is that the entire album had each vocalist on a different channel (left and right)!

- 2012.01.12. CD single "toki no kakera": From here on, most releases come in two editions. This single came in two versions with each a different cover song of Yamashita Kumiko.
- 2012.03.14. Guest appearance on Tokyo Girls' Style's "Limited addiction" album: Song "memai".
- 2012.04.11. CD single "Choco Mint Flavor Time": Baskin Robbins tie-up. Includes cover of Ohtaki Eiichi's "1969nen no Drag Race".
- 2012.06.26. Photo book Vanilla Beans "gekkan NEO Vanilla Beans": Their only photo book. A limited edition included a DVD and 10 separate photos.
- 2012.07.04. CD single "Non-Section": Another new live favorite was born! The limited editions' B-side was a cover of rock band RC Succession's "kimi ga boku o shitteru".
- 2012.10.03. Live DVD "Vanilla Beans One-Man Live DVD - Debut 5th Anniversary Live @ Shibuya WWW" (DVD): Their first live DVD of an entire show held at one of my favorite live venues. 22 songs + 3 music videos.
- 2012.11.07. 3rd album "Vanilla Beans III": Album versions of the 3 previous singles' title tracks are included. All the rest are new tracks, with a cover of Thee Michelle Gun Elephant's "sekai no owari". The entire album was performed by a full band, with no programming involved. Tokyo Girls' Style return a guest appearance by singing some excellent chorus on "mō sugu Triangle". So many good songs!

- 2013.05.08. CD single "Muscat Slope Love": Written and produced by Kaji Hideki aka Mr. Sweden. The jacket is different in all three editions, and it was shot by photographer Leslie Kee.
- 2013.07.17. Label compilation "T-Palette Records 2nd Anniversary Mix ~Diggin' on you~": 5 VB songs out of 22.
- 2013.07.27. Appearance in horror movie "ADA" (Wikipedia)
- 2013.10.06. CD single "Please Me Darling"
- 2013.10.23. 7" single "Jewel Memories / Skåne no hana ga saiteiru": The B-side of "Muscat Slope Love" and the lead track from album "Vanilla Beans III" were released on 7" exclusive to Tower Records. Back then idol 7"'s still weren't as usual as they now are.

- 2014.04.23. CD single "watashi... fukō guse": A limited edition contained 6 extra rarities for a total of 10 tracks (including 2 instrumentals).
- 2014.06.10. Label mix CD "T-Palette 3rd Anniversary ~Far Beyond The Dream~ Selected & Mixed by DJ Wildparty": 3 songs by VB were included.
- 2014.06.18. CD single "Cup no Fuchico kōshiki Song 'kitto ii fuchi' / zettai Panty Line (seishiki hikōnin Song)": Official and unofficial theme songs for popular toy series "Cup no Fuchico". Memorable music video of VB acting as if they were the toy.
- 2014.11.11. CD single "uchōten Girl": New song that used music originally written for idol group Wink (but remained unused until then). VB climbed Mount Fuji, a journey that can be watched on the limited edition's DVD.
- 2015.02.03. 4th album "Vanilla Beans IV": Included the title tracks of the previous 5 singles, and also a cover of Belle & Sebastian's "Funny Little Frog".
- 2015.03.25. Compilation "yoru no Minoru Phone Hour": Compilation of songs from the Tokuma Japan label, selected by Konishi Yasuharu, including a new remix of "Nicola" by Konishi! He did a funny trick at the end of the song, changing the last word from "Nicola" to "Konishi". Haha! :) This song was later released on 7" too.
- 2015.04.22. Compilation "Idol bakari Pizzicato -Konishi Yasuharu x T-Palette Records-": T-Palette idols cover Pizzicato Five songs in this compilation supervised by Konishi Yasuharu! VB sang 3 of the 10 songs ("I", "It's a Beautiful Day" and "Sweet Soul Revue"). The covers were produced by Yoshida Tetsuto with Hase Yasuhiro (Yume to Cosme) and Arai Toshiya. "Sweet Soul Revue" is at the end of the album, but just before it is an instrumental of the same song. While this may look strange as a tracklist, it creates a unique and moving listening experience! The compilation was later released as a set of five 7"'s.

Around then, Vanilla Beans moved from T-Palette Records to major label Avex.

- 2015.11.18. CD single "onna wa sore o gaman shinai / Beanius / lonesome X": Triple A-sider. A new album was announced at the same time, but that also came with a worrying news. An objective was set saying that a total of 15,000 physical CDs (of the single or album) would have to be sold by the end of February 2016, unless which Vanilla Beans would disband.
- 2016.02.03. Album "Vanilla Beans V": All three songs from the latest single plus a lot of new ones. Notice opening song "Say Goodbye" and closing song "Now & Forever". A cover of Gorillaz' "Dare" featuring Ram Rider was included. In the promotion in-store events for the album, VB always sang "Say Goodbye". Fortunately the previous single and this album sold just over 15,000 copies, enough to keep VB going some more. Only once they reached this number, they performed "Now & Forever" live for the first time. The album's limited edition came with a live DVD, and the regular edition included a bonus track.
- 2016.09.28. ShinoVani single "onna no ko ☆ otoko no ko / kokoro no usagi": Only single of ShinoVani (Shinohara Tomoe + Vanilla Beans), a unit named after their weekly Internet TV show of the same name. Title track was written and produced by Tomoe, and the B-side is a self-cover of her song "kokoro no usagi".
- 2017.02.01. Digital single "sweet life": Another song with music written by late singer-songwriter bice. So thankful to VB for using music from bice's repertory. This song was also released on 7" as a split-single with The Pen Friend Club for Record Store Day 2017.
- 2017.08.02. Digital singles "Nihao! Zaijian! Yodaredori!!" & "Tokyo Crawl (Rena ver.)": These two songs are separate collaborations of Lisa and Rena with other artists. "Nihao! Zaijian! Yodaredori!!" is a rap song released as "Omisohan to Richakohan" and featuring Lisa and her good friend DJ Misoshiru to MC Gohan (aka Omisohan). "Tokyo Crawl" is a collaboration of Rena with band Five New Old.
- 2017.12.06. Greatest hits album "Vani Best II": Mostly single title tracks from their entire career. Included is a new version of Pizzicato Five cover "Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji" remixed/produced by Konishi Yasuharu. VB had kept covering this song in most of their shows for many years, and finally got a new version tailored especially for them by the song's creator. The album came in three editions, each of which had a different bonus track ("Nihao! Zaijian! Yodaredori!!", "Tokyo Crawl" and "sweet life" respectively). One limited edition contained a DVD of 4 live songs and interviews, and another came with a Blu-ray disc of all their music videos plus the same 4 live songs (no interviews though). On the jacket VB appear in the same pose as their first album.
- 2017.12.20. Digital single "Necco ~watashi no mono~": A surprising track released suddenly. Sung in Korean, it has a Swedish-style soft rock sound that reminds of Shibuya-kei.

After "Vani Best II" (and digital single "Necco") there was somewhat of a blank, after which came the news that Vanilla Beans would break up in October. After the announcement (on August 1st), there was still plenty of time so that they could release a single, finish an ongoing tour of all of Japan's Tower Records (an unprecedented feat as there are over 80 stores), and then do again plenty of promotion for the last single, to finish their duty with a final one-man live.

- 2018.09.18. CD single "going my way": Coming after the news that they would quit on October 7, 2018, this single was VB's musical farewell to all their fans. Two brand new songs. The jacket is a nod to their 2nd single "Nicola". Tomizawa Noboru (Nomiya Maki's long-time hair & make-up artist) participated in the making. This last single was released on T-Palette Records, label they were on for most of their career.

On stage

Vanilla Beans also gave wonderful on-stage performances. Unlike most idol groups, no dancing was ever involved except for some simple but beautiful choreography mainly just using their arms as they stood at their mic stands. For some songs they would move the mic stands away and walk around the stage to get a bit closer to the audience, such as for song "Summer Vacation".

In terms of visuals, Vanilla Beans always sported cool 60's-ish sleeveless dresses, always of a matching design but different colors. With every single release at least, they got brand new matching outfits totaling at least 20 sets. Most (if not all) of those dresses were made by brand Starblinc which offers similar dresses in their collections. For in-store events they often revisited previous outfits, so fans even got to see nostalgic ones.

From around the release of album "Vanilla Beans III", which was released near their 5th anniversary, they often performed live backed by a band of four (guitar, bass, keyboards and drums) which was referred to as VaniBand. Several shows featured the band from start until end. That was also something quite rare at the time for idol groups to do, and I feel like it influenced others. With VaniBand, Vanilla Beans also did a series of band-themed shows held at Shinjuku Loft, all of which featured another artist or band (Band janai mon, 7!!, Kaji Hideki, Nomiya Maki & BIBA, The Collectors, Fujioka Minami & The Morones, Scoobie Do, The Bohemians and D.W. Nicols). For each show they would also sell a new "VaniRock T-shirt" that funnily gave homage to visuals of various famous bands from around the world.

Below is a list of all (or most) Vanilla Beans events that I've been to. Thirty-eight of them!? Still that's a small number compared to the huge amount of shows and in-store events they did. The "Report" and "Mini-report" links next to each contain more details, set lists and sometimes photos.

- 2009.07.17. "The Sound of 60/90" w/ Les 5-4-3-2-1, Kinoco Hotel @ Shibuya Aoi Heya (Report)
- 2009.08.21. "Love & Hate" release in-store promotion @ Tower Records Shibuya (Report)

- 2009.11.02. "Vanilla Beans Produce kaigi DVD" release in-store event @ Tower Records Shinjuku (Report)

- 2009.12.23. One-man live vol.1 w/ Kinoco Hotel @ Daikanyama Unit (Report)
- 2010.03.14. Compilation "Kirakira Majocco Cluv" release party w/ Shinohara Tomoe, Ōta Takako & more @ Shibuya AX (Report)
- 2010.05.19. "Def & Def" release in-store event @ HMV Shibuya (Report)
- 2010.08.28. "Def & Def" promotion testing of the D&D deodorant @ Shibuya Tokyo FM Spain-zaka Studio (Photo)

- 2011.06.03. T-Palette press conference w/ Negicco @ Tower Records Shibuya (Report)

- 2011.07.20. "Vanilla Beans II" release in-store event w/ Negicco @ Tower Records Shibuya (Report)
- 2012.03.17. "Choco Mint Flavor Time" in-store event @ Tsutaya Nakano (Mini-report)
- 2012.04.10. "Choco Mint Flavor Time" in-store event @ Tower Records Shibuya (Mini-report)
- 2012.06.17. One-man live vol.4 @ Shibuya WWW (Report)

- 2012.07.20. "Tamaful & Mōshiwake Night" all-night event w/ LinQ, Tomato'n'Pine, Beach on the DIE!, DJs Utamaru, Gyūzō, Se­ｘ Yamaguchi, Cypress Ueno, etc. @ Daikanyama Unit (Mini-report)
- 2013.05.01. Band live vol.3 w/ Kaji Hideki @ Shinjuku Loft (Report)

- 2013.07.05. Band live vol.4 w/ Nomiya Maki & BIBA @ Shinjuku Loft (Report)
- 2014.04.22. "watashi... fukō guse" free release event feat. Supbeans @ Shibuya 2.5d (Mini-report)

- 2014.06.17. "kitto ii fuchi" release in-store event @ Shibuya Marui Jam rooftop (Mini-report)

- 2014.11.??. "uchōten Girl" release in-store event @ ?? (Mini-report)
- 2014.12.18. One-man live feat. Tokyo Girls' Style, Supbeans @ Ebisu Liquidroom (Mini-report)
- 2015.02.03. "Vanilla Beans IV" release in-store event feat. Okite Porsche @ Shibuya Marui Jam 5F (Mini-report)
- 2015.02.05. "Vanilla Beans IV" release in-store event @ Nakano Tsutaya (Mini-report)
- 2015.11.09. "onna wa sore o gaman shinai" promotion at Tower Records Shibuya Internet TV show w/ DJ Fukutake (Mini-report)
- 2015.11.21. Nomiya Maki "What The World Needs Now Is Love" release in-store event @ HMV & Books Shibuya (Mini-report)

- 2015.11.29. "onna wa sore o gaman shinai" in-store event @ Tower Records Shibuya B1F Stage One (Mini-report)
- 2016.02.03. "Vanilla Beans V" release in-store event @ Shibuya Marui rooftop (Mini-report)
- 2016.02.05. "Vanilla Beans V" release in-store event @ Tower Records Shibuya (Mini-report)
- 2016.03.18. One-man live vo.9 @ Tokyo Kinema Club (Mini-report)

- 2016.08.17. ShinoVani outdoor event @ Roppongi Hills (Mini-report)
- 2017.04.22. Record Store Day 2017 in-store event w/ The Pen Friend Club @ Tower Records Shinjuku (Mini-report)

- 2017.10.03. 10th anniversary in-store event @ Shibuya Marui rooftop (Mini-report)

- 2017.10.07. 10th anniversary show @ Shibuya Duo Music Exchange (Mini-report)

- 2017.10.28. "Shibuya no Radio no Shibuya-kei Festival" w/ Nomiya Maki, Kaji Hideki, Kaseci Cider, Takano Hiroshi, DJ Konishi Yasuharu @ Sakura Hall, Shibuya Cultural Center Ōwada (Report)
- 2017.11.27. "Vani Best II" release in-store event @ Shibuya Marui (Mini-report)

- 2018.09.10. Talk & mini-live event @ Shibuya Marui 8F (Mini-report)

From then, there was a Vanilla Beans shop in Shibuya Marui where many outfits and props were on display. I dropped by several times.

- 2018.09.19. In-store talk event @ Tower Records Shibuya (Mini-report)
- 2018.10.03. Last in-store event @ Shibuya Marui 8F (Mini-report)

- 2018.10.06. Last one-man live "adieu" @ Shibuya Duo Music Exchange (Mini-report)
- 2018.10.07. Last event "Vanilla Beans ni kanshasai" @ Shinjuku ReNY (Report)

The two last ones are reviewed in greater detail further below.

Continue reading below for more about Vanilla Beans' creative promotions, their musicians and collaborators, and also reports of the last shows!

Promotion

Idol groups are known for often holding events where fans can meet and greet, get autographs, shake hands or take photos, normally after having bought a CD (or sometimes several).

While Vanilla Beans also did a lot of the above, they also used marketing tricks that were completely original and previously unheard of, often with a touch of humor. Here are a few that I can recall.

- Campaign trucks are often used to advertise new music, decorated with large artwork and blasting sounds through the crowded streets of Shibuya, Harajuku, etc. Vanilla Beans were IN their truck, one with transparent walls where they'd sit around and wave to the passer-bys. They called it "truck life".
- Around the release of single "Love & Hate", they posed as mannequins at Tower Records Shibuya inside a glass box that surprised shoppers in front of an escalator. They held large QR codes which when scanned led to a mobile site to buy exclusive songs (those rare covers of Pizzicato Five, Kaji Hideki and Original Love).
- For another promotion, instead of shaking hands they offered to slap the buyer in the face, or alternatively to gently pat them on the head. The slap was most popular, and a photo of them slapping Okite Porsche went viral.
- Another time, once only, the special service for buyers at an in-store event was advertised as a "guard hug". The meaning was unknown until that exact time after their mini-live show. They both came back on stage wearing muscular male plastic outfits in an overall suit. Each buyer walked on stage and got sandwiched by the two for a few seconds. I was of the lucky ones that day. :)
- Their song "D&D" was used for a TV commercial of a deodorant of the same name, which advertised that its effect lasted 24 hours. Once again they were placed in a truck with a transparent wall, where they applied the deodorant and then came back 24 hours later to "check" each other.
- For the release of song "100mankai no SMK" (part of "VaniBest"), they did an in-store event where they'd kick the butt of their fans, in a word play of the song's "SMK" meaning (the song says "shūmatsu Kiss" = "weekend kisses", but instead they delivered "weekend kicks").
- They did a tour of all Tower Records stores in Japan (over 80!), which took them over a year. They performed an in-store event in each.
- At the very end, for the release of their last single, those who bought the single were given numbered tickets, which were used at the event that followed to give away a bunch of personal effects including two of their wigs (!). Did you know they wore wigs the whole time?

Other remarkable things they did for promotion includes holding a long-running live weekly Internet show, "Vanibi Urabi". That started way before the days of live YouTube streaming and even Ustream. The streaming was first hosted on their own web site. Many can be found archived by fans on YouTube.

Years later they did another weekly online show titled "ShinoVani", with Shinohara Tomoe. This one wasn't live, but they made over a hundred episodes talking about various trends and often visiting various companies and creating an original promotional clip for them. All of these shows are archived on YouTube (the last with Vanilla Beans is #167). The last two episodes focused on Rena and Lisa, and talked about what they plan to do after Vanilla Beans is over, each making a self-promotional clip.

Rena and Lisa also did many other public appearances, whether together or separately, on radio, Internet streamed shows and sometimes TV variety shows. They also animated boat racing events part of the "Idol Festival in Boat Race Tamagawa" series. For a while they were also featured as the navigators in digital signage of Lawson convenience stores.

The musicians

One thing that always stood out in Vanilla Beans is that the music is excellent! While not an extensive list, here are some of the composers and musicians who were involved in making Vanilla Beans' great music. When missing Vanilla Beans' sound or melodies there might be something to find this way? This is at least a nod to say thanks for all the great songs. (Please note that some songs are probably missing from the lists below.)

Here are some of the main songwriters, as found in CD liner notes:

Abe Yasuhiro (Profile at Puretone Music, Twitter)

Songwriter and arranger of "Nicola" and its sequel "älskar dig".

Takami Yū (Profile at Miracle Group)

Songwriter and arranger of "U♥Me" (debut single), "Nostalgy" ("Nicola" B-side), "Afternoon a Go-Go", "Winter Has Gone", "say goodbye" (last single), and arranger of "Sodermalm", "yume miru shippo", "oyasumi" (music written by bice).

Nakajima Yasuo (Official site, Twitter)

Songwriter/arranger of "sakasaka Circus", "koi no Theory", "?", "Choco Mint Flavor Time", "Jewel Memories", "watashi... fukō guse", and also arranger of "Stairway to Heaven", "Doctor, onegai", "Summer vacation", "1969nen no Drag Race" and "Non-Section".

Osumi Tomotaka (Profile at Miracle Group, Twitter)

Songwriter/arranger of "musunde hiraite", "hitotsu no uta", "Skåne no hana ga saiteiru", "Subcul(ture) Girl Madoka", "Next Step Up", "mōso Cafeteria", "Please Me Darling", "Night on the Earth", "zettai Panty Line", "Beanius", "lonesome X", "Last Song", songwriter of "toki no kakera", "going my way", arranger of "C-ba-san no uta", "hoshi ni natta uso", "Choco Mint Flavor Time (Album ver.)", "uchoten Girl", "Kiss wa me ni shite pō!" and "oppai".

Matsukura Saori (Official site, Twitter)

Songwriter/arranger of "happy merry-go-round", songwriter of "Sodermalm", "yume miru shippo", "Very Very Blueberry", "mo sugu Triangle", "A-kiho", "kimi ni Love Song", "Booby Boy Near Pin Girl", "mada yo Boyfriend", "Fågel och vind" and "ai no sei".

Tsutsumi Hiroaki (Profile at Miracle Group)

Many arrangements.

Nobusawa Nobuaki (Profile at Miracle Group)

"kitto ii fuchi", "Lady Survivor".

Hidaka Toru (The Starbems) (Official site, Twitter)

"Night and Fly", "Boyz & Girlz", "Style and Council".

Imai Akinori (Profile at Miracle Group)

"Killer Kyui-n", "Now & Forever", "Non-Section".

Mizuno Nobuyoshi (from Rita-iota) (Twitter)

"kimagure na Palette Type", "ashita wa ashita no natsu ga kuru".

And then some Shibuya-kei or just excellent taste collaborators:

bice

Songwriter of "Vanillad", "oyasumi" and "sweet life".

Kaji Hideki

Songwritter of "Muscat Love Slope".

Dr.Usui ((M)otocompo)

Songwriter of "Shopping☆Kirari", remixer of "Shopping☆Kirari ~Okite Porsche + Dr.USUI Waterfront Mix~" and "ashita wa ashita no natsu ga kuru ~Okite Porsche + Dr.USUI Death Techno Mix~".

Konishi Yasuharu (Pizzicato One, ex-Pizzicato Five)

Remix of "Nicola".

Hase Yasuhiro (Yume to Cosme) and Yoshida Tetsuto

Arrangers of "It's a Beautiful Day", "Sweet Soul Revue" (Pizzicato Five covers). Yoshida Tetsuto worked as a manipulator for Konishi Yasuharu.

Arai Toshiya (Count Joke)

Arranger of "I" (Pizzicato Five cover). He also worked as a manipulator for Konishi Yasuharu.

Araki Yūko (mi-gu, The Cornelius Group)

Drums on "Doctor, onegai" and "?".

Ram Rider

Cover of Gorillaz' "Dare".

Sexy-Synthesizer

Cover of "LaLaLa ~ kuchibiru ni negai o komete ~" ("mahō no Stage Fancy Lala" OP).

Ishii Masayuki (Tica)

Cover of "fushigi iro Happiness" ("mahō no Star Magical Emi" OP).

etc.

Also not to be forgotten is VaniBand. Here are some musicians who were credited as being part of the live band. Several of them also played on the albums.

Drums/Band master

Higeshiro Ken (Twitter)

Guitar

Tsutsumi Hiroaki (see above)

Guitar

Satō Hiroaki (Twitter)

Bass

Tamaki Shōtarō (Twitter, Soundcloud)

Bass

Kitagawa Atuto (Twitter)

Keyboard

Fukino Kuwagata (Twitter, Blog)

Keyboard

Iga Takurō (Twitter)

Here's hoping to see any of them again on stage someday somewhere, and then maybe remember VaniBand's cool dynamics and sound!

Say Goodbye

The announcement that Vanilla Beans would split up was done on August 1st (... my birthday..!). The news was first sent by email to members of their free fan club, with handwritten messages by Rena and Lisa. The same (though not handwritten) then made a round of news sites and social networks. It was explained afterwards that it was not their own decision but rather their agency's, Flower Label. Actually, Vanilla Beans' agency wasn't a normal idol or artist agency, but rather a company that imports and markets goods from Northern Europe, and they created an artist division: Vanilla Beans. This surely adds to the many reasons why Vanilla Beans were so unique and special.

The news also included word of a last single to be released on September 18, 2018, which would be followed by a last one-man show on October 6, and the next day a final event held by T-Palette Records on the following day, October 7. Luckily there were also many in-store events (including a few outside of Tokyo) to promote the last single, so that as many Vanilla Beans fans as possible would get to meet the two one last time. There was also a talk event with Tower Records' CEO Minewaki Ikuo, who runs T-Palette.

October 6, 2018: "Vanilla Beans Last Live - adieu -" report

Always having ended their shows waving while saying "adieu", just seeing this event's title brought tears to the eyes knowing that the last show(s) would end with the same word but this time it would be the real final farewell greeting.

This last one-man live was held at Shibuya Duo Music Exchange, a place where the 10th anniversary show had also taken place a year before. There were lots of people waiting outside the venue before the doors opened, buying goods or taking photos of the many large flower bouquets on display (sent by many close artists or companies, etc.).

I picked up my ticket bought through the fan club (#60) and bought an "adieu" T-shirt made especially for this show. Once it was time to enter, I was able to get a good place near the center just a few rows away from the stage. As it's usually the rule for shows in Japan, entering the venue required to buy a drink ticket, and there was word from other fans nearby that when exchanging the ticket at the bar counter a special card written by either of the two was given back, so I ran to get one. The place was soon packed and the show about to start.

The stage was empty but for the two mic stands, which meant that the show was going to be karaoke-style with only the two of Vanilla Beans on stage. For their 10th anniversary the year before they had performed all of their singles, so I was hoping that the show would be a mix of their best singles but also more of their best album tracks, and that's exactly the kind of show it turned out to be!

The show started with "Say Goodbye", a special song from latest album "Vanilla Beans V". Then followed a moslty chronological set of many of their best singles. However there were big surprises along the way, one of which was "älskar dig" (the excellent sequel to biggest hit "Nicola", included on "Vanilla Beans II", but which had for a long time been sort of forgotten). In fact I had sent a desperate song request on Twitter a few weeks earlier for this very song, so I was so happy at that incredible moment. That song has been one of my favorites since the first time I heard it at an in-store event at Tower Records Shibuya in 2011.

Another very pleasant surprise was "hitotsu no uta", and later "tokeijikake Wonderland" which is a kind of retrospective of many of their songs. The show's main part ended with "Last Song" (the last single's B-side) and "going my way" (its A-side).

"Nicola" hadn't been sung yet so it was obvious there would be an encore. Meanwhile fans were conspirating to surprise the duo when they'd come back. Light sticks, Northern Europe country flags, and also some large props were quickly spread around the audience who prepared for the imminent return. The surprise was very successful!

The encore consisted of three more favorites! The first was "Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji", their Pizzicato Five cover and one of the songs that they sang most in their live shows. Following was "Summer Vacation", another important favorite of their shows. For this song only photos were allowed. I always loved that moment when Rena is stage left and Lisa is stage right, but Lisa sneaks behind Rena and comes to sing with her. I'm glad I could get a good picture of that! The show ended with a moving "Nicola".

Set list: Say Goodbye / U ❤︎ Me / sakasaka Circus / Love & Hate / koi no Theory / Def & Def / älskar dig / toki no kakera / Choco Mint Flavor Time / hitotsu no uta / Non-Section / Muscat Slope Love / Please Me Darling / watashi... fukō guse / kitto ii fuchi / uchōten Girl / onna wa sore o gaman shinai / Beanius / tokeijikake Wonderland / Last Song / going my way

Encore: Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji (Pizzicato Five cover) / Summer Vacation / Nicola

After they had left the stage, a photo slideshow of their whole career was shown, after which fans still kept begging for another encore. However instead of showing up on stage to say goodbye once more, they used a mic backstage to announce that the show was completely over as venue staff normally would.

Also check out the official report at Natalie which has many photos.

October 7, 2018: "T-Palette Records presents Vanilla Beans ni kanshasai"

Usually a group would be lucky to even be able to release new music or play a last show after having announced they would quit (sudden disbandments aren't unusual), but Vanilla Beans were given yet another extra event where they were sort of the guests, and other idol groups of T-Palette would come on stage once after another to perform and talk about their memories. Not only that, but on the timetable was a special time slot that read "DJ Konishi Yasuharu & Nomiya Maki & Vanilla Beans: Special Show Time"! The two of Pizzicato Five (which split up in 2001) had performed at a same event before, and there have also been some impromptu reunions part of Konishi's DJ sets, as it had happened at the "Shibuya-kei Festival" the year before. However this was the first time since 2001 that the two were scheduled to appear in the same set together!

This event was titled "Vanilla Beans ni kanshasai" ("Thank You Vanilla Beans Festival") and was held at Shinjuku ReNY starting at noon. Presented by T-Palette Records, it also featured Negicco, lyrical school, Up Up Girls, kolme and Tokyo Style Girls, as well as a talk show featuring long-time supporters Okite Porsche and Yoshida Gō, and a DJ set of Okite Porsche. The event started with a speech by Tower Records' CEO, who had pointed out how rare it is that a group disbanding would be given such a farewell party after their last show. Because my ticket number wasn't very early I got in around this time, and later heard that Vanilla Beans had actually been handing out flyers in disguise at the entrance to warn fans that jumping or stage diving wasn't allowed (many didn't even notice it was them). Decidedly these two were full of tricks until the very end!

Negicco played first, starting with "Pop with you" and then "Nostalgia". This was followed by "attōteki na Style", a song that when played live there's a part where the audience gets together and does a line dance. This time Vanilla Beans showed up briefly on stage to do the same line dance with Negicco! The group also sang "sayonara Music".

Next up was rap idol group lyrical school, who part of their set did a special tribute by singing a special version of Vanilla Beans' "Choco Mint Flavor Time" with verses replaced by original rap lyrics!

Up Up Girls is a group that does some energetic dancing, and Vanilla Beans joined them for a little bit but quickly seemed to get exhausted, leaving the stage holding their backs as if they were very old. Haha!

Then was Vanilla Beans' first of two sets. They sang 6 songs, starting with "sakasaka Circus", "U♥Me", "Nicola", and then Kaji Hideki-produced "Muscat Slope Love" and its B-side "Jewel Memories". Then, saying that "älskar dig" had been really popular at their show the previous day (many fans on Twitter had posted saying what a good song it was) they performed it once again for a last time! By this time it was already feeling obvious that each of their songs were probably sang by the two as Vanilla Beans for the very last time, and the event just kept getting more and more moving.

1st set list: sakasaka Circus / U ♥ Me / Nicola / Muscat Slope Love / Jewel Memories / älskar dig

This was followed by a DJ set by Okite Porsche, who started by playing Vanilla Beans' T-Palette debut single... Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven"! Several times during the long track he fainted to stop it, but he just kept it playing for quite a while, causing a lot of laughter. He also played his (with Dr.Usui) remix of "Shopping☆Kirari", and then Roman Porsche's cover of C-C-B's "Romantic ga tomaranai", for which Vanilla Beans joined and slapped his face repeatedly as they once did in a promotion event long ago.

There was a set by kolme, who sang five songs including Rena's favorite: "Confession". They were followed by Tokyo Girls' Style, who for the song "memai" were joined by Vanilla Beans. They also sang "Life Size", "onnaji kimochi" and "sayonara, arigatō.". After the set Vanilla Beans came back on stage to talk with them a little. The younger group had been looking up to them since elementary school as if they were their big sisters, and they were in tears of seeing them go.

The peak of the show was a set that began with Konishi Yasuharu DJing. He first started playing Negicco's "Idol bakari kikanai de" (a song he wrote and produced) for just a few seconds and quickly stopping it, grabbing the mic to say he did a mistake, haha! That was followed by a pre-mixed segment of songs he made and other favorites he often spins, warming up the audience for what was to come while he prepared his decks carefully. Soon after, Vanilla Beans and Nomiya Maki joined him on stage and they sang all of their Pizzicato Five covers (all in Vanilla Beans' own versions) and Konishi's remix of "Nicola"! It was very touching that Maki sang along to "Nicola", and also that she adopted the duo's original dance moves for "Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji". After "Nicola", Konishi said "I love this song!", and at the end of the set Maki told the duo "Thank you for singing Pizzicato Five so much!". That was a very moving set, a dream for any Vanilla Beans or Pizzicato Five fan, and of course for Vanilla Beans themselves. There sure was a lot of love on stage and in the whole venue!

Special show time set list: It's a Beautiful Day (Pizzicato Five cover) / I (Pizzicato Five cover) / Nicola (Konishi remix) / Sweet Soul Revue (Pizzicato Five cover) / Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji (Pizzicato Five cover, Vanilla Beans version remixed by Konishi)

Then it was really time for the show to end, so Vanilla Beans did one last generous set of their songs. "Night on the Earth" was heard for the first time that weekend. The set ended with "Summer Vacation" and then "going my way". As the audience begged for an encore, the two came back on stage and gave a 3rd performance of the day of "Nicola".

Last set: Night on the Earth / kitto ii fuchi / Choco Mint Flavor Time / Non-Section / watashi... fukō guse / Please Me Darling / uchōten Girl / Summer Vacation / going my way
Encore: Nicola

And that was Vanilla Beans' very last "Adieu!".

An official report and many photos can be found at Natalie.

Going My Way

Vanilla Beans' last single release and their last series of events really helped make their departure ("back to Northern Europe") feel smooth and gentle. Looking back at their entire career, it's quite amazing how much they accomplished. I believe that Vanilla Beans did all what needed to be done, and along the way they opened a lot of interesting doors to places where idol groups had yet to adventure. I am really thankful for all the great music and memories that they left behind.