Longman (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese punk rock band. They released their first album in 2014 and made their major label debut with Sony Music Associated Records in 2019.
Biography
Longman formed in 2012 from a music club at Matsuyama University. The band name comes from the Longman English-Japanese Dictionary. Member Hiroya Hirai told an interviewer in 2015: "I was looking for good words in that dictionary, and when I closed it thinking, 'I can't find it', I looked at the cover and thought, 'This is it'.
The band released their first full-length album, Neverland, in July 2014.
They released their second mini album, tick, in August 2015. The album won the Shikoku Block Award at 8th CD Shop Award.
The band's second full-length album, So Young, was released in November 2016.
Longman temporarily suspended live activities from June 2017 to July 2018 while member Sawa Yoriki received treatment for to health issues related to her throat. The group resumed live activities with a concert in Ehime Prefecture.
The group's third mini album, Walking, was released in September 2018.
On March 10, 2019, during a concert in Matsuyama, Longman announced they had signed to major label Sony Music Associated Records. The group made its major label debut in November with the single "Wish On", which served as the ending theme for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
The group released the album Just A Boy in February 2020. The album features the song "Replay", the theme song for the TV Tokyo drama Yuru Camp△.
In April 2021, the group released the album This Is Youth, which includes the song “Hello Youth”, the theme song for the TV Tokyo drama Yuru Camp△2.
The group released the EP Lyra (ライラ) in May 2022. The title track of the same name served as the ending theme for Yomiuri TV/Nippon TV anime series Love All Play.
In 2023, Longman released "Spiral", the opening theme for the second season of Mushoku Tensei. They released the full-length album 10/4 in October.
Members
Swaa Yorikisawa Vocal, Bass
My real name is Sawa Yoriki. His nickname is Sawa-chan.
Hiroya Hirai: guitar, vocals
His real name is Hiroya Hirai. His nickname is Hirai.
Yuki Horikawa: Drums, Chorus
His real name is Yuki Horikawa. His nickname is Horihori.