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.
Believe Me
bôa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the way that you talk and the things that you do
'Cause you're failing to convince me
Your tired eyes are no disguise to the lies that you give
When you try to supply a truth you see
I don't know why
Well you're lying again
Makes me question what we're fighting for
When the truth seems clear and the proof is near
There's no need for war anyway
Your tired eyes are no disguise to the lies that you give
When you try to supply but you're failing
To surprise me
Well you're lying again
Well you're lying
'Cause believe me, all the things I've seen before
And the things I've been
Believe me, there is so much to see in the world that's free
Believe me, there is no such room for things like greed you see
Believe me, all you need to do is change your reality
Believe me, there is no such thing as greed in reality
Believe me, all the things I have foreseen and I do believe
Well you're lying again
Well you're lying
Tired eyes are no disguise to the way that you move
And the things you do when you're failing to improve
'Cause believe me, there is no such thing as truth in reality
Believe me, all the things I have foreseen and I know I've been
Believe me, there is no such thing as truth in reality
Believe me, there is no such room for this in reality
The lyrics of bôa's song Believe Me are a reflection of the singer's disbelief in the words of another. The opening line "Must be something in the way you move" sets the tone for the entire song. The singer is convinced that the other person is lying to her/him, despite their attempts to convince her/him otherwise. The tired eyes of the other person are no disguise to the lies that they give, which only makes the singer more suspicious.
The lyrics suggest that the singer is tired of fighting and just wants to find the truth, but the other person's lies make that impossible. The line "There's no need for war anyway" implies that the situation between the two parties has escalated to a point where they are at "war".
The chorus of the song, "Believe me," is a plea from the singer to the other person to change their reality. The singer believes that the world is full of wonder and abundance, and there is no need for greed or lies. The final line "there is no such room for this in reality" sums up the singer's belief that the truth will always come out in the end.
Line by Line Meaning
Must be something in the way you move
Your actions and body language indicate that something is off
And the way that you talk and the things that you do
Your words and actions contribute to the feeling of suspicion
'Cause you're failing to convince me
Your attempts to persuade me are not successful
Your tired eyes are no disguise to the lies that you give
Your physical exhaustion doesn't hide the dishonesty in your words
When you try to supply a truth you see
Even when you try to provide a truthful explanation
I don't know why
I cannot understand the reason for the deception
Makes me question what we're fighting for
This situation prompts me to reconsider our motives for conflict
When the truth seems clear and the proof is near
If the truth is evident and accessible
There's no need for war anyway
There is no justification for conflict
To surprise me
To make me believe something unexpected
'Cause believe me, all the things I've seen before
I have encountered similar situations in the past
And the things I've been
I have experienced dishonesty and conflict previously
Believe me, there is so much to see in the world that's free
There are countless things to enjoy in life that are not associated with greed or deception
Believe me, there is no such room for things like greed you see
Greed and other negative behaviors have no place in a fulfilling life
Believe me, all you need to do is change your reality
To improve your circumstances, you must change your mindset and lifestyle
Believe me, there is no such thing as greed in reality
Greed is a destructive and inaccurate aspect of human behavior
Tired eyes are no disguise to the way that you move
Exhaustion doesn't conceal the signs of deception in your behavior
And the things you do when you're failing to improve
Your actions are not productive when you are unable to better the situation
Believe me, there is no such thing as truth in reality
Truth is subjective and elusive in the real world
Believe me, all the things I have foreseen and I know I've been
I have predicted and faced the consequences of dishonesty and conflict
Believe me, there is no such room for this in reality
Dishonesty and conflict have no place in achieving a fulfilling life
Contributed by Michael S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Aly
on Twilight
i love this song sm