Their debut single oblivious, which contained the first three Kara no Kyoukai themes, was released on January 23, 2008. Re/oblivious, a remix mini-album, followed exactly three months later. Kalafina’s second single and first double A-side sprinter / ARIA consisted of the fifth and fourth Kara no Kyoukai theme songs, respectively, along with an instrumental version of oblivious. Their third single fairytale includes the sixth Kara no Kyoukai theme, a non-anime tie-in song, serenato, and an instrumental version of sprinter. Their first album, entitled Seventh Heaven, consisted of 13 tracks featuring the seven Kara no Kyoukai theme songs and was released in March of 2009 along with their fourth single Lacrimosa (Kuroshitsuji ED2 Theme). Their fifth single, storia, the theme song for NHK show Rekishi Hiwa Historia, was released in July of 2009. Their sixth single, entitled progressive, was released on October 28, 2009. They have released four full albums to date: Seventh Heaven (2009), Red Moon (2010), After Eden (2011), and Consolation (2013). Their next single will be featured in the third Madoka Magica movie.
In addition to their numerous Japan tours, Kalafina has begun performing internationally, primarily as guests of honor at anime conventions. So far they have held concerts and panel discussions in the United States (Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago), Hong Kong, Germany, and Malaysia, and will be performing in Indonesia this summer.
They officialy disbanded in 2019.
Monochrome
Kalafina Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
色はまだ見えない
散り散りのイメージだけ
あてどなく集めて
動かない時計の音
白い闇の影
気怠い声
君は歌う
言葉にしたくないものだけ
言葉にしてみたい
水のかたちの歌になって
透明に流れる
夜のリズムが君の胸を揺らす
埒も無い事だけで泣けて来る
まだ白いだけの頁が目を焼いた
眠れなくて誰かと遊びたい
削ぎ落とすモノも無くて
しどけなく語りすぎて
欲望の騒ぎ立てる
君だけの歌は何処に
窓からの風が君の頬に触れた
眠れなくて誰かと遊びたい
曖昧に光る音符が手に触れた
眠らない音たちと遊びたい
The lyrics of Kalafina's song "Monochrome" tells the story of a person who is feeling overwhelmed and lost. The opening lines "With only monochrome breaths, I still can't see any colors. I collect scattered images aimlessly, and the sound of a motionless clock, along with the shadow of white darkness and a languid voice, you sing." implies that the singer is trapped in a monotonous and colorless world, trying to seek solace by collecting and piecing together fleeting memories and images that occur to them with no particular reason, accompanied by the ambient sounds of their surroundings. The phrase "With only monochrome breaths" also represents their loneliness as it suggests that they are not breathing in or participating fully in the world around them. The singer then turns to music, as a release and escape from their isolated surroundings. They have some feelings or thoughts that they do not want to express through speech alone, which they hope they can turn into music, whose form it takes being as fluid and flowing as water, able to convey emotions and thoughts seemingly in a more deep and ambiguous way than words alone. The night's rhythm is also significant, as it represents the passing time that they wish to escape, but it still has an emotional hold on them.
The singer's desire for comfort and companionship is seen in the lines "It's a hopeless thing, but it makes me cry. The white page just burns my eyes. I can't sleep, and I want to play with someone." They express their wish for someone to be with, as their mind is restless, and they are not able to find peace. As the song continues, there is a sense of resignation that comes through in the tone, as they speak of being lost and not having anything to cut away to find a path, feeling overwhelmed by their own conscious desires and wishing they could find relief in sleep, or by having someone to be with. Perhaps the most poignant of all the lines is "I want to play with the sounds that don't sleep," which suggests a poignant longing for some kind of constant and ever-present peace that cannot be found in human company.
Line by Line Meaning
モノクロの吐息だけで
Breaths of monochrome alone
色はまだ見えない
Colors are still unseen
散り散りのイメージだけ
Just scattered images
あてどなく集めて
Gathered aimlessly
動かない時計の音
Sound of a still clock
白い闇の影
Shadows of white darkness
気怠い声
Lethargic voice
君は歌う
You sing
(窓辺の感傷で)
(By the sentiment at the window)
言葉にしたくないものだけ
Only things you don't want to put into words
言葉にしてみたい
But you want to try putting into words
水のかたちの歌になって
Becoming a song of water
透明に流れる
Flowing transparently
夜のリズムが君の胸を揺らす
The rhythm of night shakes your heart
埒も無い事だけで泣けて来る
You cry over nothing
まだ白いだけの頁が目を焼いた
Only white pages still glare at you
眠れなくて誰かと遊びたい
Unable to sleep, wanting to play with someone
削ぎ落とすモノも無くて
Without anything to pare down
しどけなく語りすぎて
Talking too incoherently
欲望の騒ぎ立てる
Raising the noise of desires
君だけの歌は何処に
Where is your song
窓からの風が君の頬に触れた
The wind from the window touched your cheek
曖昧に光る音符が手に触れた
Vaguely shining musical notes touched your hand
眠らない音たちと遊びたい
Wanting to play with the sound of wakefulness
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Kajiura Yuki
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind