Origa | en

Origa (Орига, also known as Olga Vitalyevna Yakovleva [Ольга Витальевна Яковлева]), born October 12, 1970 in Novosibirsk, Russia, was a Russian singer and vocalist. She passed away on January 17th, 2015 in Tokyo, Japan after succumbing to lung cancer.

After graduating from music school in 1990, she took an opportunity to visit Japan in 1991 and finally contracted with the ROAD&SKY Organization in 1993. Origa had since participated in several projects of various artists in addition to the Radio Japan Series and being part of the chorus for Kobe earthquake disaster charity single.

Origa released seven solo albums, two mini-albums, and three singles. She gained popularity outside of Japan and Russia with the release of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and the subsequent original soundtrack, written by long-time friend and composer Yoko Kanno (菅野よう子), hosting the theme song "Inner Universe" (featuring boy soprano Benedict Delmaestro). Origa first performed with Kanno for ∀ Gundam, singing Gabriela Robin's "Moon" with the Gey's AX chorus. An additional opening theme song from Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG, titled "rise," also gained acclaim. In 2005, Origa performed songs for the anime series Fantastic Children, most notably the ending theme "Mizu no Madoromi" (水のまどろみ). In 2006, Origa released 3 digital singles (Spiral, LELEYALA and Land of Love). She performed the opening theme, "Player", to the film of the series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society in 2007. She moved from Tokyo to Vancouver, Canada in 2011 but continued to create original works such as Amon Ra (2013) and The Annulet (2013) as well as collaborations with university students (the 2012 song "Ring/Kolechko") and for video game soundtracks (songs featured in FINAL FANTASY XIII-2, a character theme for the Korean game Herowarz, and two songs for the Russian game Allods Online). She additionally performed at conventions in Russia (2013/2014), The Netherlands (2014), Germany (2014), and Canada (2014). .