UNDER17

Biography

UNDER17 or "Ansebu", was a duo consisting of singer Haruko Momoi (桃井はるこ, nicknamed "Halko") and guitarist Masaya Koike (小池雅也, nicknamed "Aniki" meaning "Big Brother"). The duo was officially founded in 2002, although the pair had worked many times before since the late 1990s. The band is known for its distinct cute vocals as heard in many anime and games, and has been an influential force in "moe song," a category of music that focuses on cute female vocals and pop beats. According to H...

UNDER17 or "Ansebu", was a duo consisting of singer Haruko Momoi (桃井はるこ, nicknamed "Halko") and guitarist Masaya Koike (小池雅也, nicknamed "Aniki" meaning "Big Brother"). The duo was officially founded in 2002, although the pair had worked many times before since the late 1990s. The band is known for its distinct cute vocals as heard in many anime and games, and has been an influential force in "moe song," a category of music that focuses on cute female vocals and pop beats. According to Halko, the term "moe song" itself was coined by UNDER17, and on their second album, they boasted the label "World Famous Moe Artist."

During their existence, the band produced in total over 20 singles and 3 compilation albums, and their music was featured in animated TV series such as Popotan, DearS, and Genshiken.

On September 27, 2004, UNDER17 announced its breakup via a handwritten letter posted on their website. This came as a shock to many fans, as the band had been rapidly gaining popularity and only just began touring for the first time. The band remained together briefly to finish their first and final tour, culminating in an emotional last performance on November 20, 2004 at Yokohama Blitz. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.