té

té (also sometimes stylized as te' or テ in Japanese), is a Japanese post-rock and instrumental quartet, formed in Tokyo in 2004. Members: Guitar: kono (河野章宏/Akihiro Kono) Bass: matsuda (松田知大/Tomohiro Matsuda; since January 2011) Drums: tachibana (Tooru Tachibana; left band in March 2015, came back in May 2018) Support Guitar: Tatsuhito Ikeya (ATATA) / Ojima Ex members: Guitar: hiro (黒田洋俊/Hirotoshi Kuroda; passed away in November 2021) Bass: masa (left band in December 2010) Support Drums: 福田 洋子 (Fukuda Yoko; from March 2015 to May 2018) History: The band came together in January 2004 with Akihiro Kono as leader and guitarist. Kono was already active at Zankyo Record, producing early material for 9mm Parabellum Bullet, working on an album by Sparta Locals and playing in Takashi Igarashi’s solo project from syrup16g. té quickly gained attention for its forceful live presence. By September 2004 they had released their first maxi single through Zankyo. At the time, when playing with Kono's band, Kono's guitar case was the same as Hiro's, and Kono mistakenly took Hiro's guitar. When Tachibana realized this and returned it, that's how they first met. Their debut full-length followed in September 2005. It charted at number ten at Tower Records Japan and pushed the group into a successful nationwide tour. In March 2006 they appeared at the Independence D festival in Japan before an audience of ten thousand. That same month their first album was issued in the United States through Status Quo Audio, which they supported with a US tour. A second single and DVD came out in June. Later that year they were invited to share the stage with 65daysofstatic at Liquidroom. Early 2007 brought a third single and a sold out one-man show at Shibuya O-Nest. Their second album arrived in September and was followed by a one-man tour through Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Sendai. In October they played the MegaPort Festival in Kaohsiung. February 2008 marked their first self-hosted showcase night at Liquidroom together with Vola & The Oriental Machine, Art-School and Oceanlane. A month later their second album was released in Taiwan through White Wabbit Records, accompanied by a show at The Wall in Taipei. They also performed at the Rising Sun Rock Festival that summer. In October they released their third full-length and played a one-man show at Club Quattro, followed by a tour with sleepy.ab and year-end appearances at Live Di:Ga Judgement and Countdown Japan. In 2009 they performed with Mo’some Tonebender and Asparagus, played Arabaki Rock Fest and faced a short interruption when guitarist Hiro took a break from band activities in June 2009 due to malignant lymphoma, but resumed activities in August (effectively September). During that period the band still played a two-day event with Good 4 Nothing and Mo’some Tonebender. Hiro returned in time for their sets at Rock in Japan Festival and Summer Sonic. Their fourth album came out in June 2010. At the end of that year bassist Masa left, and in January 2011 Matsuda joined as his replacement. He was also a member of WRENCH and strobo. They continued to appear at major shows, including Devilock Night The Final that December. A new single arrived in February 2012 as a preview of their next record. That summer they returned to the Rising Sun Rock Festival before releasing their fifth album worldwide in September. In August 2015 they added their sixth full-length to the catalogue. In 2016 they released an opening for the anime "BBK/BRNK (Bubuki/Buranki)" followed by a live album "te' live in Kaohsiung" in 2018. In 2020, Kono started a solo project called Mr.Hygge. For their 15th anniversary they did a streaming show "te' 15th Anniversary LIVE STREAMING『終焉の縁に佇む者は殉教者の倦怠と光輝を身に纏い、一種名状し難い優美さと神韻縹渺たる調べで、雲間の間隙から覗き観る者の耽溺を誘う。』". In November 2021 guitarist hiro (Hirotoshi Kuroda) passed away from a cerebral infarction, closing a long chapter full of relentless touring, constant releases and unwavering dedication. Kono, Matsuda and Tachibana continued as a trio with a support guitarist. In August 2025 they also toured in China. They celebrated their 20th anniversary on November 30th 2025 at Shibuya CHELSEA HOTEL with "te’ one-man Live 『漆黒の深山幽谷へ分け入り、田園を駆け抜け、茫洋たる海原の彼方へ旅立つその俊傑は、やがて幽明境を異にして、舞台へ降り立つ魂魄となる。』其の四〜20周年記念ワンマンライブ〜" after touring in Japan and playing several festivals/events in summer. Musical style: The music of te' is so aggressive and emotional with its heavy sound and tremendous roar. That is one of the reasons why their music was sometimes compared to hardcore music. Not only the heaviness, but they play so delicately a beautiful melody methodically and tightly. To express these two completely different senses at the same time, the music of te' doesn't need vocals at all. One big reason why te' is now getting offers to play in another countries like U.S.A, Asia, is because of their high quality of their stage. Everyone who watches their stage, they won't believe how they play those music with their aggressive stage performances. There is a completely new scene ahead for the audiences who have experienced the music of té. In 2012 their label Zankyo Records started to make music available internationally under "Zankyo Record UK". They also released some albums through Denovali Records (Germany). They are often compared to fellow post-rock bands like Mogwai and 65daysofstatic. Characteristic for them are their titles, since album titles always consist of 29 characters, while song titles consist of 30 characters and their unique sound which is often compared to Mogwai or 65daysofstatic. They had their major-label debut at Tokuma Japan Communication in June 2010. "té" derives from the Spanish and French word for "tea". Although the name "テ ハポネーゼ" ("té japonais"; Japanese tea) was used, they shortened it to "té". On their social media, they use the name te’. About the members: kono has produced 9mm Parabellum Bullet's indie recordings and SPARTA LOCALS' album "Leecher." He also provides guitar and production for former Syrup 16g vocalist Takashi Igarashi's solo project, "Inu ga Hoeru by Takashi Igarashi." tachibana started playing drums in high school and went on to music college, majoring in classical percussion. He joined té after the previous drummer (Yoko, also support drummer for BOOM BOOM SATELLITES/THE SPELLBOUND) left the band. He uses a simple drum set consisting of a notum and one cymbal. He participated in the recording of the music for the film "Detroit Metal City." masa came up with all the song titles. He is also a member of the band miimi, which is on the same label, where he plays baritone guitar. He left té at the end of 2010. hiro, when playing with Kono's band, Kono's guitar case was the same as Hiro's, and Kono mistakenly took Hiro's guitar. When Tachibana realized this and returned it, that's how they first met. Discography: 2004/09/21 - 己が分を知りて及ばざる時は速やかに止むるを『智』と言うべし。(1st single) 2005/09/07 - ならば、意味から解放された響きは『音』の世界の深淵を語る。 (1st album) 2006/04/28 - "If that is what is being thought, liberated sound talks the depth of "musical" world. (1st album - international version with bonus tracks) 2006/06/06 - 言葉を用いて奏でる者は才能に在らず、ただの記憶に『過』ぎぬ。 (2nd single) 2007/03/07 - 美しき旋律も、音を語る言を 持たずしては心にも『留』めがたし。 (3rd single) 2007/07/25 - 音楽の研究者は、音楽をねじ伏せようとしてはいけない。音楽をして、音楽の赴く所に赴かしめるように導けばよい。そうして音楽自身をして音楽を研究させ、音楽の神秘を物語らせればよい。 (1st DVD) 2007/09/12 - それは、鳴り響く世界から 現実的な音を『歌』おうとする思考。(2nd album) 2007/09/12 - Tower Records Special Limited DVD 2008/10/08 - まして、心と五感が一致するなら 全て最上の『音楽』に変ずる。(3rd album) 2009/03/11 - 「音楽を汚すものは、悦楽でも、惰性でも、官能でも無い。 現実が要求する打算と、経験から生まれる熟慮、それに反省。 現実を汚す音楽を救えるものは、受取手の無垢という表現」 (2nd DVD) 2009/03/25 - P-T-A! ~Pistols Tribute Anthem~ (Tribute album) 2010/06/02 - 敢えて、理解を望み縺れ尽く音声や文字の枠外での『約束』を。 (4th album) 2010/xx/xx - Collection (Vinyl release of their first three albums; Denovali records) 2011/xx/xx - Live@2011/09/24 "残響祭 7th Anniversary" (Live DVD) 2012/02/22 - 音の中の『痙攣的』な美は、観念を超え肉体に訪れる野生の戦慄。(4th single) 2012/10/03 - ゆえに、密度の幻想は綻び、蹌踉めく世界は明日を『忘却』す。(5th album) 2014/06/15 - 思想も共感もいらず、ただ幻聴を誘発する『起因』としての音楽。 (5th single) 2015/08/05 - 其れは、繙かれた『結晶』の断片。或いは赫奕たる日輪の残照。 (6th album) 2016/04/06 - 『閾』 (1st EP) 2016/11/30 - TVアニメ「ブブキ・ブランキ 星の巨人」オープニングテーマ「玲瓏たる純潔は『紅炎』の傀儡を疾らせ、暁天に燦めく証を刻む。」 (6th Single/Anime OP) 2017/06/01 - 『櫂』 (2nd EP) 2018/02/13 - Live in Kaohsiung (Live CD) 2019/09/06 - 2012/12/9 (Sun) @ Shibuya Club Quattro Live!!! (Live DVD/CD) 2023/11/30 - 煌めきに内包する滅びの刻印とは、目睫の間に迫る透徹な『慧眼』(7th Single; also on vinyl) https://tesound.amebaownd.com/ http://www.facebook.com/tesound/ https://www.instagram.com/te_band https://x.com/te_postrock https://www.youtube.com/@tesound Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.