fripSide

Trance-pop duo fripSide was formed in 2002 by voccalist nao and composer Yaginuma Satoshi, originally known as sat. Having started out selling their music online via muzie, the group had their first break in 2006 when they started producing music for video game publisher VisualArt’s.

This phase of fripSide’s career ended in 2009 with the departure of nao. The arrival of her replacement, voice actress Yoshino Nanjo, was accompanied by a move to major label Geneon and a pivot towards anime theme songs. The duo’s inaugural major single was the first of six songs fripSide would record for the “A Certain Scientific Railgun” franchise.

fripSide’s continued success has enabled Yaginuma to follow in the footsteps of his musical idol Komuro Tetsuya by working as a producer for various acts, as well as co-founding his own dance-pop trio ALTIMA. Nanjo ended her tenure in April 2022.