Masahito Arai

Masahito Arai
新井正人
Masahito Arai 新井正人
Born	March 25, 1958 (age 66); Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Genres	Album-oriented rock; city pop;
Years active	1977–present
Formerly of	Brand New Omega Tribe
Website	files-m-music.sakura.ne.jp/arai/TOP.html
Japanese name
Kanji	新井正人
Hiragana	あらいまさひと
Katakana	アライマサヒト
Romanization
Transcriptions
Romanization	Arai Masahiro

Masahito Arai (新井正人, Arai Masahiro) is a Japanese singer and composer. Debuting with the band Diary in 1977, he joined the group Pal in 1979 and had a solo debut in 1987, performing the song "Anime ja Nai" for the 1986 anime Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ.^[1]

Life and career

Arai was born on March 25, 1958, in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He was influenced by his parents, who both liked various kinds of music such as bossa nova, pop music, and traditional Japanese music; his grandfather played the shamisen. He started playing the guitar during elementary school and started composing music in the first grade of junior high school. While doing band activities in 1976, he was scouting and made his debut as a professional shortly after graduating from Nihon University First High School.^[2]

Career

In 1977, Arai made his professional debut as the vocalist of the group Diary, leaving in 1979 to join the band Pal as their second lead vocalist.^[3] In 1986, he was approached to create an anime song for his debut solo career, with him debuting with the song "Anime ja Nai" for the anime Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. In 1993, Omega Tribe producer Koichi Fujita made him the vocalist for the project's final iteration, Brand New Omega Tribe, which lasted until 1994.^[4] After that, he continued his musical career, including providing songs for Kiyoshi Maekawa.

In 2015, he formed the band ST4 with Isao Taira and MIQ, holding shows in various places including nursing homes. In 2017, he became a part-time lecturer at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music.

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums with chart positions
Title	Album details
Masahito Arai	Released: October 21, 1987 Label: Humming Bird Format: LP, CD, cassette
Fuzzy	Released: September 21, 1988 Label: Humming Bird Format: LP, CD, cassette
Necessary	Released: May 21, 1989 Label: Humming Bird Format: LP, CD, cassette

Singles

List of singles showing year released and album name
Title	Year	Album
"Anime ja Nai"	1986	Non-album single
"Kimi wa Ima…"	1987	Masahito Arai
"His"	1988	Non-album single
"Suteki ni Teisuti"	1988	Fuzzy
"Lonely Girl"	1989	Necessary
"12-Ji-sugi no Shinderera"		Necessary
"Naito Mirāju"		Non-album single

References

^ Yamamoto, Kohei (February 6, 2023). ""アニキ"水木一郎さんに「マジンガーＺ」ささげる人気アニソンシンガーによる名曲カバー公演". Daily Sports (in Japanese).
^ Yamamoto, Kohei (December 26, 2021). "ガンダムＺＺ、オメガトライブ、パル新井正人の多彩な歩み「音は神様からのプレゼント」". Daily Sports (in Japanese).
^ "昭和アニメソングのカバーに特化したコンサート「TWENTY'S 20世紀のアニメソング」が2023年2月25日に開催へ！！". Middle Edge (in Japanese). November 10, 2022.
^ Mower, Kelly (May 10, 2019). "Omega Tribe is a Japanese act from the 80s that has Changed Faces and Forms a Number of Times". QTAQUEST.

External links

Official website

[1] Yamamoto, Kohei (February 6, 2023). ""アニキ"水木一郎さんに「マジンガーＺ」ささげる人気アニソンシンガーによる名曲カバー公演". Daily Sports (in Japanese).

[gundam-2] Yamamoto, Kohei (December 26, 2021). "ガンダムＺＺ、オメガトライブ、パル新井正人の多彩な歩み「音は神様からのプレゼント」". Daily Sports (in Japanese).

[3] "昭和アニメソングのカバーに特化したコンサート「TWENTY'S 20世紀のアニメソング」が2023年2月25日に開催へ！！". Middle Edge (in Japanese). November 10, 2022.

[quest-4] Mower, Kelly (May 10, 2019). "Omega Tribe is a Japanese act from the 80s that has Changed Faces and Forms a Number of Times". QTAQUEST.

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