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.
Fool
bôa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Interesting Facts ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As an eastern girl in a western world
I was told to choose
To choose to be what I chose to be
Speaking impartially
There doesn't seem to be a place for me
But when I look inside I find
A place to run to hide
I was born to love
A distant land and a rising sun
I was born to love this
Green and pleasant land
Which way should I turn?
'cause I seem to fall towards burning
But when I look inside I find the place
To cry, to fly, to die
You and I, born as fools now
You and I think, think we rule now
Now I see the world
As an ancient place as a smiling face
I can choose to be
What I want to be if I choose to be
Speaking impartially
If the smile grows cold without me
I know a secret place to cry, to fly, to try
You know I'm burning in a flame now
Now I see the world
As an ancient place as a smiling face
Now I see the world
As a place where I can run to hide to
Which way should I turn?
'cause I seem to fall towards burning
But when I look inside I find the place
To try, to hide, to fly
You and I, born as fools now
You and I think, think we rule now
You and I, born as fools now
You and I think, think we rule now
In Boa's song "Fool," she sings about her struggle to find her place in a world that seems to constantly push her away. As an eastern girl living in a western world, she feels torn between the two cultures, and she questions which way she should turn. Despite feeling like an outsider, Boa finds comfort in the fact that she was born to love both the distant land where she came from and the green and pleasant land where she now resides.
The lyrics "You and I, born as fools now / You and I think, think we rule now" convey a sense of humility and self-awareness. Boa recognizes that everyone is born ignorant and must learn to navigate the world through trial and error. Despite the challenges she faces, she remains optimistic and determined to find her place.
The song's chorus emphasizes the importance of self-discovery, particularly in times of hardship. Boa sings, "But when I look inside, I find a place to cry, to fly, to die." Her lyrics suggest that by turning inward, individuals can find the strength to overcome their obstacles and find their true passion.
Interesting facts about "Fool":
Interesting Facts
Note: This section uses generative AI, which can be inaccurate.
Line by Line Meaning
I was born and raised
I came into this world and grew up
As an eastern girl in a western world
As someone from one culture living in another culture
I was told to choose
I was taught to make a decision
To choose to be what I chose to be
To make a decision about who I wanted to be
Speaking impartially
To be objective and unbiased
There doesn't seem to be a place for me
There doesn't seem to be somewhere I fit in
But when I look inside I find
But when I examine myself more closely, I discover
A place to run to hide
Somewhere I can escape and be alone
I was born to love
I came into this world with the capacity to love
A distant land and a rising sun
A place far away from where I grew up where the sun rises
I was born to love this
I was meant to love this particular thing/place
Green and pleasant land
A place that is green and nice to be in
Which way should I turn?
What decision should I make?
'cause I seem to fall towards burning
Because I seem to be attracted to danger
But when I look inside I find the place
But when I examine myself more closely, I discover
To cry, to fly, to die
Somewhere to express my emotions or to escape or to contemplate my own mortality
You and I, born as fools now
You and I were born without all the knowledge we need so we make mistakes
You and I think, think we rule now
You and I believe we are in charge now, but we aren't really
Now I see the world
I now perceive the world in a different way
As an ancient place as a smiling face
As an old and wise place that is happy
I can choose to be
I have the ability to decide who I want to be
What I want to be if I choose to be
Whatever I desire to become if I make that decision
If the smile grows cold without me
If the happiness doesn't last or goes away when I am there
I know a secret place to cry, to fly, to try
I know somewhere I can express my emotions, escape or take risks
You know I'm burning in a flame now
You know I'm experiencing strong emotion or passion right now
Now I see the world
I now perceive the world in a different way
As a place where I can run to hide to
As a place where I can go to escape and be alone
To try, to hide, to fly
To experiment or take risks, to hide away or be alone, or to escape and be free
You and I, born as fools now
You and I were born without all the knowledge we need so we make mistakes
You and I think, think we rule now
You and I believe we are in charge now, but we aren't really
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aly
on Twilight
i love this song sm