An Cafe

??????-???- (Antikku cafe) . is an Japanese rock band formed in 2003 and signed to the independent label Loop Ash. They formed as an oshare kei band, and now describe themselves as "Harajuku Dance Rock". The group has released five full-length albums and three EPs. On September 1, 2009, the band announced that after their live on January 4, 2010, at the Nippon Budokan, they will be suspending activities and put the group on a hiatus, however they have stated they will not be disbanding.

In 2010, An Cafe announced that they will be taking a break from activities. It is unknown as to how long they will be on hiatus, but they have not stated they will be disbanding. The message, issued on their official homepage, claims that "after the Budokan show, each member will concentrate on their own activity to be prepared for the band to restart in the future." The aforementioned Nippon Budokan show took place on January 4, 2010.

In wake of the hiatus, several members are now involved in other projects. Kanon paired up with ???? (Kanon Wakeshima) to form a duo act called KanonxKanon. Miku is serving as the vocalist for the new visual-kei band,Lc5, which started in June 2010. Teruki is playing as a support drummer for the band DOGinThe?????????????? (DOG in the parallel world orchestra).

As of Spring 2012 they have stated an end to the hiatus and now will be once again preforming, having photo shoots, and producing new music.

Members

* Miku (??) ? Vocals
* Takuya (???) ? Guitar
* Kanon (???) ? Bass
* Yu-ki (???, Y?ki) ? Keyboard
* Teruki (??-?) ? Drums

Former Members

* Bou (??) - Guitar


History

An Cafe was formed in May 2003 by vocalist Miku, guitarist Bou and bassist Kanon. Miku's former band, Revirii, had disbanded two months earlier in April, and even though the band did not have a drummer at this point, they started to perform at several events. They were later joined by Teruki after he left his former band, Feathers-Blue.

In 2004, An Cafe released their first demos and signed a record deal with Loop Ash. Their first release, "Candyholic", was released in March and reached the second spot on the Oricon indies single chart. The band continued touring and releasing, including their first album, Shikisai Moment, in 2005. The band released even more singles in 2006 until their second studio album, Magnya Carta (a play on "Magna Carta").

In 2007, the band announced their first overseas appearance at Project A-Kon. The announcement of this was followed shortly by the departure of guitarist Bou. The last performance with Bou was on April 30, 2007, and was featured in a DVD titled Hibiya On ?The? 0 New Sekai. After Bou left the band, two new members were announced: Takuya was to replace Bou as the guitarist and Yu-ki was to join An Cafe as a keyboardist. The first single with their new lineup was announced as "Kakusei Heroism" followed by "Ry?sei Rocket". At the end of 2007, An Cafe announced their first overseas tour, taking place in Europe in 2008.
Kanon at Japan Expo 2010

In the opening weeks of 2008, An Cafe announced their upcoming single, "Cherry Saku Yuki!!", in February, as well as their next studio album, Gokutama Rock Cafe, which was released on April, 2008.

An Cafe's EP, Harajuku Dance Rock, was released by the LA based Maru Music on March 13, 2009. This special release was made exclusively for overseas fans in North America and Europe.

BB Parallel World, An Cafe's fourth studio album, was released in Japan on September 9, 2009; and in Europe on October 2, 2009.[dated info] It contains title track singles "Aroma", "Summer Dive" and "Natsu Koi ? Natsu GAME", and eight other songs.

In 2010, An Cafe announced that they will be taking a break from activities. It is unknown as to how long they will be on hiatus, but they have not stated they will be disbanding. The message, issued on their official homepage, claims that "after the Budokan show, each member will concentrate on their own activity to be prepared for the band to restart in the future." The aforementioned Nippon Budokan show took place on January 4, 2010.

In wake of the hiatus, several members are now involved in other projects. Kanon paired up with ???? (Kanon Wakeshima) to form a duo act called KanonxKanon. Miku is serving as the vocalist for the new visual-kei band,Lc5[{artist], which started in June 2010. Teruki is playing as a support drummer for the band DOGinThe?????????????? (DOG in the parallel world orchestra).

As of Spring 2012 they have stated an end to the hiatus and now will be once again preforming, having photo shoots, and producing new music. They have created a new website in celebration of their getting back together: [url=http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/ancafe/top.html?noOP nofollow=yes]http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/ancafe/top.html?noOP[/url]