Anamanaguchi

Career

2004–2009: Formation, ''Power Supply'' and ''Dawn Metropolis''

Knowing each other through being classmates, Peter Berkman and James DeVito formed the band in Chappaqua, NY after Berkman and his friends would learn how to create chiptune after discovering a Wired article discussing the chiptune scenes in Sweden and New York. The origin of the band's name is unclear. In one interview, Berkman said the name "Anamanaguchi" came about from a member in one of his former bands pronouncing gibberish in the style of Jabba the Hutt. On several other occasions, the band has explained that their name came about after the members worked as interns at Armani (Berkman and DeVito), Prada (Warnaar), and Gucci (Silas) while studying fashion at Parsons School of Design (though three of the four majored in Music Technology at New York University). People began calling them the "Armani-Prada-Gucci boys," which eventually was elided into "Anamanaguchi." The band first performed on January 29, 2006 at Cake Shop and through events such as Pulsewave NYC they formed a relationship with the netlabel 8bitpeoples and subsequently released their debut the EP Power Supply in August 2006. The track "Helix Nebula" was featured as the theme song of the former GamesRadar podcast TalkRadar.

Peter Berkman met Ary Warnaar at New York University where they were studying Music Technology. In 2009, Ary Warnaar and Luke Silas joined the band for the release of their following EP, Dawn Metropolis. The album was released with an accompanying website that included animated videos for each of the songs, done in collaboration with artists David Mauro and Paris Treantafeles.

A song from Dawn Metropolis titled "Jetpack Blues, Sunset Hues" is the theme to Chris Hardwick's The Nerdist Podcast. On November 26, 2013, Anamanaguchi appeared as guests on the podcast itself.

2010–2012: ''Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'' and summer singles

In 2010, Anamanaguchi were approached by Ubisoft to compose music for the video game adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game. The soundtrack for the game was released on Amazon and iTunes by ABKCO Records on August 24, 2010. The soundtrack debuted at No. 3 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart (aka Soundscan's New Artist Chart). In the summer of 2010, Anamanaguchi began releasing a series of singles for free download on their website. These singles were released with animated gif cover art (featuring collaborations with artists such as Paul Robertson and Ryder Ripps) and were printed as limited 7" vinyl with lenticular artwork to mimic the animated images.

2013–2015: ''Endless Fantasy''

On May 3, 2013, Anamanaguchi launched a Kickstarter project for their album Endless Fantasy. In just 11 hours, their funding goal of $50,000 was reached. At the end of its run, the project was backed by 7,253 people who contributed to raising a grand total of $277,399, making it the second most-successful music project to be funded on Kickstarter at the time, behind that of singer Amanda Palmer.

Anamanaguchi featured on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on June 17, 2013, where they played their song "Endless Fantasy" from the album of the same name. On June 19, 2014, they released a single titled "Pop It" featuring a then-unknown singer whose face was hidden from view. The song was a stylistic departure for the group in that it did not feature any chiptune elements nor traditional band instrumentation, with a lead vocal. Entertainment Weekly described the song as having "glitchy electronic flourishes and relentlessly bubble gummy vibe", also drawing comparisons to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. In September, the song was featured in a Target TV advertisement, and in mid-2015 was also featured in a Taco Bell commercial for iced beverages. On November 24, 2014, the singer's name, "Meesh彡☆", and her face were revealed to the public.

On November 21, 2014, Anamanaguchi revealed they had been working on a new album titled [USA], which was set to release sometime in 2016. The band also stated that the album would not be a chiptune album. This album was later delayed for an undisclosed amount of time.

2016–2019: ''Capsule Silence XXIV'' and ''[USA]''

On March 28, 2016, the band released a role-playing first-person shooter video game called Capsule Silence XXIV which was designed by Ben Esposito along with Anamanaguchi, alongside an original score containing over 30 songs. The band "leaked" the game for free online after staging a hoax Twitter dispute with the game's fictional developer, NHX. The game also contains an unreleased video for "Japan Air", among other hidden Easter eggs. In May 2016, the band was the opening act at the North American Miku Expo tour, finishing at a two-show event at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. The band returned to the stage each night and performed their single "Miku" live with Hatsune Miku for her encore. The official soundtrack of Capsule Silence XXIV was released in two parts as Capsule Silence XXIV (Original Soundtrack Vol I) on December 21, 2016, and Capsule Silence XXIV (Original Soundtrack Vol II) on October 13, 2017.

On October 19, 2017, the band announced that they would be debuting music from their third studio album, [USA], at a live show on November 10 in Brooklyn, NY. The performance was live streamed on the band's official Twitch page.

On October 18, 2018, Anamanaguchi headlined "Coalchella", a virtual music festival conducted entirely in a Minecraft server with sets broadcast live on an online radio. On January 12 the following year, Anamanaguchi headlined Fire Festival, another Minecraft music festival by Open Pit Presents, the organizers of Coalchella. Anamanaguchi also headlined Open Pit's third festival, MineGala, on September 14, 2019.

In a YouTube video released on August 20, 2019, Anamanaguchi stated that the release date of [USA] would be October 25. It released on the label Polyvinyl Records. Later they announced that the "[USA] tour originally planned for 2020 will be rescheduled to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic".

2020–2024: ''Scott Pilgrim Takes Off''

On November 12, 2021, the band announced the Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game Soundtrack: The Tour, taking place in January the following year. Four days later, they released the song "Water Resistant" featuring 8485 on the label Monstercat in celebration of the then-upcoming mobile game, Rocket League: Sideswipe. On the 30th, later the same month, the band released another song titled "Dreams" with Flux Pavilion for Rocket League: Sideswipe, with the game's official soundtrack releasing shortly after, including both "Dreams" and "Water Resistant". During their Scott Pilgrim vs the World tour, they played a cover of the song "Hopes and Dreams" from the 2015 video game Undertale. They uploaded the cover to their YouTube channel on January 21, 2022. In March 2023, it was announced that Anamanaguchi would be writing original songs and co-composing the score for the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off animated series. A free update to the video game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge in September 2024 added remixed tracks by several artists, including Anamanaguchi, who remixed the track "Panic in the Sky!"

2025–present: ''Anyway''

In January 2025, the band released a cover of Nirvanas "Territorial Pissings".

On May 6, 2025, Anamanaguchi released the single "Darcie" and announced a new album, Anyway, which was written in the American Football House. The album's sound diverges from their chiptune style and follows a more traditional rock sound, with Pitchfork authors likening the album's sound to rock bands Ovlov and Angel Dust.

Musical style and influences

Stylistically, Anamanaguchi is characterized as electronic, pop, rock, bitpop, chiptune, punk rock, and electropop.

Berkman has stated that their music is not solely influenced by video game music and that much of it is inspired by "[s]imple pop stuff, like Weezer and the Beach Boys," as well as Janet Jackson, Yasutaka Nakata, Koji Kondo, Elliott Smith and DragonForce.

Berkman stated that his top three influences in order would be "Tim & Eric and that absurd comedy, Japanese music and video games." "Ultimately, Berkman's interest in Japanese pop culture is at the root of his interest in video games."

Anamanaguchi has collaborated with several musical artists including Meesh and Pochi.

Discography

Studio albums

Soundtracks

Compilation albums

• Frug 4 Lyfe (2011) A compilation CD that was sold at live shows contains the 2010 summer singles and two live tracks.
• Single + Remix Collections. The album was released exclusively in Japan on March 4, 2012. The album compiles all of the singles from the band's summer of singles along with all the tracks from Power Supply. As well as these tracks, it includes two previously unreleased remixes of Anamanaguchi tracks.
• Summer Singles 2010/2020 (2021) A compilation album that contains the 2010 and 2020 summer singles.

Extended plays

Singles

Remixes

Music videos

Filmography

Television

References

References

1. (August 20, 2019). "Anamanaguchi Signs with Polyvinyl and Announces New Album [USA] for October 2019 Release".
2. (December 5, 2007). "Anamanaguchi Interview Part 1 – Gamewave Podcast".
3. Machkovech, Sam. (2013-05-20). "Anamanaguchi: The Ninja Turtles of Rock".
4. "Anamanaguchi Home Page as of October 10, 2011".
5. Berkman, Peter, James DeVito, and Ary Warnaar. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090808203803/http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-08-04/music/anamanaguchi-avoid-the-perils-of-cheap-nostalgia/ "Anamanaguchi Avoid the Perils of Cheap Nostalgia."] Interview by Vijith Assar. The Village Voice. August 4, 2009. Web. August 13, 2009.
6. "GameSetWatch Sound Current: 'Anamanaguchi's Guide to Scott Pilgrim: The Game Soundtrack'".
7. (December 19, 2008). "I Want My MP3: Anamanaguchi (Ep5)".
8. Machkovech, Sam. (May 23, 2013). "Anamanaguchi: The Ninja Turtles of Rock « Polygon". polygon.com.
9. (May 29, 2013). "We Talked to Anamanaguchi About Bitcoin, Memes, and Dick Tricks". Noisey.vice.com.
10. (March 30, 2006). "Anamanaguchi – First Show (Cake Shop Jan 2006)".
11. (May 20, 2008). "Talkradar HQ". GamesRadar.
12. Hardwick, Chris. (November 30, 2011). "Nerdist Podcast Theme on Two Guitars « Nerdist". Nerdist.com.
13. Levine, Katie. (November 26, 2013). "Nerdist podcast: anamanaguchi". Nerdist.
14. [https://twitter.com/anamanaguchi/status/11130019557 Twitter / Anamanaguchi: WE ARE DOING THE MUSIC FOR] {{webarchive. link. (December 8, 2015 . Twitter.com. Retrieved on November 16, 2010.)
15. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZNRZZ2 Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game (Original Videogame Soundtrack): Anamanaguchi: MP3 Downloads]. Amazon.com. Retrieved on November 16, 2010.
16. "Heatseekers Albums 2010-09-11". Billboard.com.
17. (May 3, 2013). "Anamanaguchi – make ''Endless Fantasy'' more than an album by Anamanaguchi". Kickstarter.com.
18. "Kickstarter Projects – Music – Most Funded". Kickstarter.
19. "Jimmy Fallon: Anamanaguchi – Endless Fantasy (HD)".
20. (March 3, 2021). "Anamanaguchi – Endless Fantasy (Live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)".
21. "Anamanaguchi releases a mysterious (but catchy) new single".
22. (September 23, 2014). "Target TV Commercial, 'Pop It, Targetstyle' Song by Anamanaguchi".
23. cool boys. "Introducing Meesh彡☆ http://t.co/VxE9NvDbrp".
24. "Cool boys on Twitter: "ALBUM [USA] COMING 2015"".
25. (December 14, 2014). "ANAMANA... GUCHI on Twitter: "[USA] will not be a chiptune album."".
26. "Lucky boys on Twitter: "Hiiii, I've mentioned this a few times noww, but we still get asked everyday, so just gonna say again-- [USA] is NOT coming out this year!"".
27. "Capsule Silence XXIV – Ben Esposito".
28. Warman, Zane. (2017-12-18). "Revisiting Anamanaguchi's 'Capsule Silence XXIV,' Music Gaming's Most Revolutionary Misadventure".
29. "Anamanaguchi Uses Viral Marketing For Latest Album Release".
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31. (October 11, 2018). "Inside Coalchella, the Minecraft music festival that had brands everywhere (sort of)".
32. (2019-01-09). "A Small Conversation With the Lineup of Fire Festival, the Minecraft Music Festival".
33. "MineGala Day 1 Set Times".
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35. (November 12, 2021). "SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD THE GAME SOUNDTRACK: THE TOUR".
36. Yopko, Nick. (November 30, 2021). "Anamanaguchi and Flux Pavilion Soundtrack Rocket League's Mobile Game With "Dreams"".
37. Renadette, Brian. (January 26, 2022). "Anamanaguchi Covers Hopes and Dreams from Undertale". TechRaptor.
38. Anamanaguchi. (January 21, 2022). "Anamanaguchi – Hopes and Dreams {{endash}} Undertale {{endash}} (YTP Live Visuals)".
39. London, Rob. (March 30, 2023). "'Scott Pilgrim vs. The World's Original Cast Returns to Voice Anime Series".
40. (September 23, 2024). "TMNT: Shredder's Revenge Radical Reptiles DLC Trailer".
41. (22 January 2025). "Anamanaguchi Share Cover Of Nirvana's "Territorial Pissings": Listen".
42. Deville, Chris. (6 May 2025). "Chiptune Band Anamanaguchi Wrote A Rock Album In The American Football House".
43. (8 August 2025). "10 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Amaarae, Gunna, No Joy, and More".
44. "Anamanaguchi {{!}} AllMusic".
45. (November 4, 2013). "Anamanaguchi 'Endless Fantasy' Video Sends A Pizza Into Space".
46. (May 24, 2013). "Watch Anamanaguchi send a slice of pizza into space in 'Endless Fantasy'".
47. "Bitpop Band Anamanaguchi Release Capsule Silence XXIV, A Video Game Album".
48. Heffler, Jason. (July 15, 2020). "Porter Robinson celebrates birthday with bitpop remix of 'Get Your Wish' by Anamanaguchi". Edm.com - the Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists.
49. (July 20, 2016). "Bitpop Bigfoots: The Endless Fantasy of Anamanaguchi".
50. (April 6, 2020). "American Football and Anamanaguchi are throwing a coronavirus relife concert in Minecraft – The Verge".
51. (December 3, 2020). "Anamanaguchi Speed Up and Synth Out American Football's Midwestern Emo Classic "Stay Home"".
52. "Revisiting Anamanaguchi's 'Capsule Silence XXIV, 'Music Gaming's Most Revolutionary Misadventure".
53. "Anamanaguchi: [USA] Album Review".
54. Berkman, Peter. [https://www.avclub.com/8-bit-punks-anamanaguchi-beyond-the-side-scrollers-1798226580 "8-bit punks Anamanaguchi beyond the side-scrollers."] Interview by David Wolinsky. A.V. Club. July 18, 2011. Web. July 18, 2012.
55. (February 8, 2013). "Anamanaguchi: From NES to MTV – IGN". IGN.
56. Berkman, Peter. [http://songexploder.net/episode-17-anamanaguchi/ "Song Exploder Ep. 18"] Interview by Hrishikesh Hirway. Web. September 2, 2014
57. (April 8, 2011). "Anamanaguchi's Peter Berkman Shares His Top 3 Influences: Tim and Eric, Japanese Music and Video Games".
58. Moen, Matt. (July 8, 2020). "Anamanaguchi Almost Abandoned This J-Pop Collab".
59. "Anamanaguchi – Chart History: Top Album Sales".
60. "Anamanaguchi – Chart History: Dance/Electronic Albums".
61. "Anamanaguchi – Chart History: Heatseekers Albums".
62. "Anamanaguchi – Chart History: Independent Albums".
63. "Anamanaguchi – Chart History: Overview". [[Prometheus Global Media]].
64. "Frug 4 Lyfe".
65. (2013-01-15). "Single + Remix Collections – Anamanaguchi – Discover music at". Last.fm.
66. "Release "Single + Remix Collections" by Anamanaguchi". MusicBrainz.
67. "Frug 4 Lyfe".
68. Anamanaguchi. "Prom Night 2014 SINGLE". SoundCloud.
69. "Summer Singles".
70. (December 2, 2020). "Anamanaguchi – Stay Home (American Football cover)".
71. Yopko, Nick. (November 30, 2021). "Anamanaguchi and Flux Pavilion soundtrack Rocket League's mobile game with 'Dreams'".
72. Poon, Katie. (August 6, 2025). "Anamanaguchi Shares Fun New Single "Buckwild"".
73. (October 14, 2014). "Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Anamanagucci Remix) (Audio)".
74. Electra, Dorian. "Tickets & Pre-order at dorianelectra.com Featuring 12 new tracks".
75. (January 8, 2013). "Anamanaguchi – 「MEOW」 (Official Music Video)".
76. (May 24, 2013). "Anamanaguchi -「ENDLESS FANTASY」(Official Music Video)".
77. (November 12, 2020). "Anamanaguchi – Jaime ft. Jaime Brooks (Lyric Video)".
78. Polo, Susana. (2023-10-31). "The Scott Pilgrim anime opening credits are a real banger, of course".