Two-piece band AINAKANNA have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support their upcoming European tour. The band first toured the United Kingdom in 2023 thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, but this summer they hope to perform at various locations in Europe.
According to the Indiegogo page, a number of potential countries are already planned, including the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and the UK. For this tour, they will collaborate with Lithuanian progressive rock band The Skys, who previously toured Japan with AINAKANNA as a support act. This year, the Lithuanian band will return to Japan, and the two bands have decided to organise an exchange tour. AINAKANNA will take charge of organising the shows in Japan, while The Skys will coordinate the European tour. The European tour is planned for the late summer months, from mid-August to early September.
To make this possible, financial support is needed, so a crowndfunding campaign has been launched. All the information can be read on the band’s Indiegogo page. For fans in Japan, a crowdfunding campaign has been launched via the website Motion Gallery.
The band name AINAKANNA comes from the first name of the two band members, vocalist Aina Ougi on keyboard and drummer Kanna. AINAKANNA’s sound is best described as pop-rock, fusing aspects of Japanese pop and Western rock. In addition, they describe themselves as a band with two band members, which for them is the minimum for a band, but according to the two, their sound is actually maximum.
Both musicians have interesting musical backgrounds, Aina Ougi had been active with music since childhood. Before founding AINAKANNA, she was a singer-songwriter and debuted through Victor Entertainment. For the Japanese horror film Rinne, she made a theme song. Kanna has been active in several bands, mostly session bands, but also in bands like CHERRY LEZ LOLiTA and Moto-Psycho R&R Service.
In 2016, the two ladies came together to start the current band. In 2019, they released their very first album, 東雲プレリュード (Shinonome Prelude). This was soon followed up with another album, titled TRANSIT HAKKEI, in 2020 and a third album in 2022, titled 暁 (Akatsuki). Last November, AINAKANNA released a documentary mini-album about their first tour in the UK, titled 天ノ原 (Amanohara) -Resounding in the UK-.
The tour in the United Kingdom was not without bumps, with the duo having to cancel the last two shows of their tour due to a storm. They eventually decided to participate in an open mic event, so they could still perform in front of an enthusiastic audience.
