Formed in Osaka, flumpool's roots started as early as 2002, when childhood friends Ryuuta Yamamura and Kazuki Sakai formed Cube, and shortly thereafter, brought in Genki Amakawa. However, very little is known about Cube and what happened in the years following.
flumpool's turning point came in January 2007. Voicing their concerns that changing support drummers would changed the quality of their live performances, the members decided that it was time to search for a permanent drummer. Upon meeting Seiji Ogura through an acquaintance, the boys realized change had come upon Cube and on January 13, they changed their name to flumpool. The name flumpool derived from the word "four" for the four members, and merged with the words "lump" and "pool."
By the next month they began touring, playing on February 26 at Osaka Club Quattro, and continued in other venues throughout the city. By July, the band released their first indies single, Mirai Kanai. flumpool remained inactive for nearly a full year before the summer of 2008, when they released Mirai digitally and by July, debuted the PV Labo to gear fans up for the single's release on August 27.
The band began to receive nationwide recognition, landing number one on Access Rankings for Labo’s PV, as well as being named the Campaign Song Artist for au KDDI, a Japanese telephone provider, in September. Hana ni nare, au’s official campaign song, was launched soon after. Due to its success, the song was also featured on SPACESHOWER TV's website's POWER PUSH along with an interview with the band.
Thanks to this popularity, flumpool was invited by Fuji TV to perform on Mezamashi TV. On September 5, Japanese music fans woke up to flumpool greeting them with a performance during the Japanese news broadcast, which airs daily at 5:30 a.m. In October, flumpool’s popularity skyrocketed when their song, Over the rain ~Hikari no Hashi~ was featured as the theme for the Japanese drama, "Bloody Monday."
By November, they were signed onto AMUSE records under the sub-label A-Sketch, and released their first two major singles. As a digital release, Hana ni nare had over 180 million downloads, and Over the rain ~Hikari no Hashi~ followed behind at 70 million. Their first mini-album, unreal, hit shelves on November 19 and was an instant success.
The year 2009 was a busy one for flumpool. With the band quickly becoming a household name in Japan, they sold out all seven dates for their first one-man tour, which began on February 19 at Sendai CLUB JUNK BOX and finished on March 7 at Shibuya Club Quattro. On February 25, they released the single Hoshi ni Negai wo, much to the delight of their fans. In the spring, flumpool announced a second 2009 tour, unclose, which began on July 8 at Shibuya CC Lemon Hall for a total of eighteen shows across Japan. The band later participated in Rock In Japan Festival 2009 and SWEET LOVE SHOWER 2009, before releasing their first album, What’s flumpool !? on December 23rd, which rose to #2 on the Oricon charts.
By 2010, flumpool's fanbase had grown exponentially, and with the early release of their new single and DVD, the band saw both debut on the Oricon charts in spots #3 and #1, respectively. The band had record high sales during their 2010 tour which hit 46 places nationwide. Between June and September, flumpool released two more singles, both landing #2 on the Oricon charts. The band will be wrapping up the year with their special winter tour, Snowy Nights Serenade.
The year 2011 brings big plans for flumpool, with NICO Touches the Walls and flumpool embarking on a two-man tour in January, and a new album, Fantasia of Life Stripe, debuting just days later. With the guys preparing for the new year, fans and band alike have a very busy year ahead.
