They have released three full length CDs, one EP and one single. They are most widely known for the song "Duvet", which was used as the theme song for the anime series Serial Experiments Lain. As a result, they are fairly popular among anime fans worldwide; in particular, they performed in a live concert at the anime convention Otakon in 2000.
Their first full-length album was released in Japan in 1998 and titled "The Race Of A Thousand Camels." In 2001, the album was released in North America under the name "Twilight." It contained extra songs not found in the initial Japanese release.
After long delays by Pioneer's record label, bôa set up their own record label, "Boa Recordings", in 2003 and began recording their new album, "Get There", released in February of 2005.
The band is currently on hiatus until further notice.
(Note that bôa is not to be confused with the Korean pop artist BoA.)
bôa was formed in 1993 by original drummer, Ed Herten. Ed had played in several bands including "Delirious Groove", from whom he recruited Paul Turrell (keyboards) and "Draggin' Bones", from whom he recruited Alex Caird (bass). Ed had also been to school with Steve Rodgers, who soon joined bôa on guitar and vocals.
"Fran", an early song penned by Ed and Paul, had a chorus which lent itself to a female vocal. Steve's sister, Jasmine Rodgers, then just 16 years old, was persuaded to record a vocal on an early recording. This happened a number of times until Jasmine was eventually persuaded to become a full member of the group.
bôa actually started out as a funk band and soon recruited Ben Henderson, who had played in the band "Doctor Sky" with Alex, on saxophone.
1994
After several months of intensive songwriting and practicing, bôa played their first gig at "The Forum" in London. The gig was the first of many great live successes (and a few early disasters!)
In summer 1994, Ed left the band to concentrate on his studies, but remains a good friend of the rest of bôa to this day. After a couple of drummers were tried out but, for one reason or another, didn't work out, bôa found themselves with a gig to play and no drummer. Alex persuaded the drummer of yet another ex-band, "Chapter 6", Lee Sullivan, to help out. Lee's debut was a great success and he soon became bôa's permanent drummer.
Ed's laid back feel had worked perfectly with bôa's early funk songs. However, Lee brought a more powerful, rocky feel to the band and the songs naturally followed suit. Consequently, saxophone became somewhat surplus to requirement and Ben switched to guitar.
1995
This was a good year for bôa - they played many successful gigs including a short tour of the South of England which ended in two performances at the Glastonbury festival, where they were chosen as the focus of a TV documentary about the festival that was shown on the London art/music magazine show, "Shift".
The members of bôa were so pleased with the way the band was going that Jasmine delayed studying for a degree, Alex dropped out of his and Paul quit his full time job as a computer salesman (he didn't like it much anyway!) and moved to the spiritual home of bôa, the incredible town of New Malden.
1996
A relatively quiet year for bôa in which they received considerable interest from British record companies but no actual offers of deals. Salvation came in the unlikely form of an offer of a deal from Japanese company, Polystar Records, which bôa signed.
In December, bôa went into Red Bus Studios, London with producer Darren Allison (who has also worked with Skunk Anansie and The Divine Comedy) and recorded three songs: "Twilight", "Deeply" and "Elephant".
1997
Production of the bôa album was delayed by Polystar but the remainder was recorded in September at "Monnow Valley Studios" with producer Neil Walsh. It was mixed at PWL studios (Manchester) in November by Neil Walsh and Jason Barren.
1998
The bôa album was finally released by Polystar in the second half of the year under the dubious title "Race of a Thousand Camels" (inspired by a dream of Jasmine and a computer game written by Paul). Jasmine and Steve went to Japan to promote the release with some TV and radio appearances though the rest of the band were not invited by Polystar. Polystar also failed to fulfil contractual obligations to release the album in America and Europe. The song "Duvet" was released as a single.
1999
Despite to this day owing money to bôa, Polystar finally did something to help rather than hinder the band when they secured the use of the song "Duvet" as the theme tune to Serial Experiments' anime "Lain". This led to DJ Wasei remixing "Duvet". The show won several awards in Japan and has become hugely popular with anime fans around the world, most notably the USA. This web site suddenly became inundated with notes of appreciation for the song "Duvet". Paul and Alex wrote to Pioneer-USA, distributors of Lain, and discovered they too had received many enquiries about bôa.
Meanwhile, bôa were working with producer Stuart Epps and recorded some new material including an acoustic version of "Duvet" and the song "Drinking". The "Tall Snake E.P." was released in Japan featuring all three versions of "Duvet" and two songs ("Little Miss" and "Two Steps") than had been intended as B-sides of further promotional singles in Japan that Polystar had failed to release.
2000
Ben left bôa to concentrate on his other band, "Moth", in which he plays with his wife, Tina.
2001
bôa's debut US album "Twilight" was released on March 27th 2001. bôa played a mini-tour of Los Angeles in April and hope soon to perform a promotional tour. They are well on the way to completing a second album. The future looks bright....
Paul Turrell
Sadly, after much soul-searching, Paul has deciced to leave the band in order to pursue other interests. We wish him all the best and ask you all to wish him congratulations for his wedding to Jai-un and further congratulations for their forthcoming little one!
In August, bôa were tempted away from songwriting for a moment when they were invited to play at the Animefest in Dallas, Texas where they were treated to a fantastic audience and good Texan Beer, all in all a good one.
2002
bôa were scheduled to record their second album for Pioneer but due to a series of re-shufflings in the record company the album has been delayed for the moment. bôa, however have enjoyed writing more and more songs, only stopping for a break in June when Alex went to Australia for a couple of months travelling and Jasmine went to the Far East.
In September bôa supported Bad Company on their UK tour playing in Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester, London, Birmingham,Sheffield, Nottingham and York. The tour was brilliant and bôa are back in gigging mode and planning many for the next year!
2003
BOA record the new album in Southampton, England. The album is entirely self-funded and the band set up a record label, Boa Recordings.
2004
The album is then mixed and mastered and finally titled Get There!
2005
Boa have finally accomplished what they set out to achieve.
Originally, this was just a simple wish like all bands to record the next set of songs that all musicians feel compelled to write. However, like all bands again, Boa met with a series of delays and eventually decided that doing it on their own would be the best course of action.
As a result, a record label, Boa Recordings was set up and Get There was recorded, mastered and is out on the 1st. We wish to thank all of you for waiting so patiently and supporting us so marvellously.
Anna Maria
bôa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Interesting Facts ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I felt the heat
A million faces stared at me
I felt the earth, move to a beat
A million ways in which to sing, ah
And in the mist I saw the mayor
He looked at me with such a glare
A million angels sang to me oh
Make sure she will be all right
Make sure she will be fine
A million voices will leave her
And then the crowd began to sway
A million eyes looking my way
I felt the sun beat on the earth
A thousand ways in which to play, ah
And then I felt one hundred hearts
A million angels smiled at me
And then I danced another dance
As people started to begin
Tell her she will be all right
Tell her she will be fine
A million voices will leave her
Boa's "Anna Maria" is a song that speaks of the experience of being on stage and performing in front of a massive audience. The opening line of the first verse sets the tone of the song by uttering the phrase "I know the dance," which implies that the singer is familiar with performing on stage. The verse continues by describing how the singer feels the heat from the crowd and the earth moving to the beat of the music, which makes for a fulfilling experience.
The second verse of the song focuses on the aspect of fame and the pressures that come with it. It describes how the mayor, who may represent the public or media, glares at the singer. The singer, on the other hand, has her own secret dance, which is hers alone, perhaps representing her own individuality that may not resonate with all her fans. The chorus shifts the focus from the singer onto someone else, whom the singer asks to be taken care of. The million voices are possibly the fans, who are shown as protective of the subject of the song.
The final verse of the song is a continuation of the excitement of the first verse but with more focus on the energy of the crowd. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus in which the singer again implores someone to tell the subject of the song that she would be all right, a message of hope and reassurance. Overall, the song speaks of the energy that comes from performing on stage and how it can be both a positive and challenging experience.
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts
Note: This section uses generative AI, which can be inaccurate.
Line by Line Meaning
I know the dance
I am familiar with the dance moves
I felt the heat
I experienced the warmth of the moment
A million faces stared at me
I was the center of attention and many people were looking at me
I felt the earth, move to a beat
The ground was vibrating with the rhythm
A million ways in which to sing, ah
There were countless melodies to be sung
And in the mist I saw the mayor
In the fog, I caught sight of the city's leader
He looked at me with such a glare
He gave me a stern and disapproving look
And then I danced my secret dance
I performed a personal and secretive routine
A million angels sang to me oh
I felt inspired and uplifted by the singing angels
Make sure she will be all right
Ensure that she is safe and well
Make sure she will be fine
Ensure that she is happy and healthy
A million voices will leave her
Many people will depart from her life
And then the crowd began to sway
The spectators started moving to the beat
A million eyes looking my way
Many pairs of eyes were focused on me
I felt the sun beat on the earth
I sensed the rays of the sun heating up the ground
A thousand ways in which to play, ah
There were numerous approaches to having fun
And then I felt one hundred hearts
I felt the presence of many individuals' emotions
A million angels smiled at me
I felt the support and approval from many angels
And then I danced another dance
I performed another dance routine
As people started to begin
As the crowd started to move to the rhythm
Tell her she will be all right
Assure her that everything will be okay
Tell her she will be fine
Assure her that everything will turn out well
A million voices will leave her
Many people will leave her behind
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Alex Caird, Ben Henderson, Jasmine Rodgers, Steve Rodgers, Lee Sullivan, Paul Turrell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aly
on Twilight
i love this song sm