BRATS Crowdfund Their Latest Release!

After a successful crowdfunding campaign earlier this year, Japanese girls rock band BRATS will release their new song "Spiderweb" on September 16. Promising a new, more aggressive sound, the band has released teaser videos for the new track on their YouTube channel, with more to follow on the road to release day.The music video was produced at Tokyo’s ultra-modern studio "BLACK BOX³", which houses cutting-edge technology and massive LED screens.

To commemorate the new song, BRATS will hold their second live show of the year at Shibuya Spotify O-WEST on Saturday, October 8, featuring new arrangements of previous hits like "Forget me not", "Ms. Downer", and "Dodatte Yokatta".

"BRATS-Spiderweb"

Saturday, October 8, 2022

Spotify O-WEST, Shibuya, Tokyo

Open 17:30 / Start 18:00

Be sure to check out the teaser for “Spiderweb” below!

Two Japanese “monster vocalists” collide! Da-iCE’s Sota Hanamura and FAKY's Lil’ Fang team up for anime series ‘Orient’ opening theme!

“Break it down” Jacket Cover

Da-iCE’s Sota Hanamura and FAKY’s Lil’ Fang have teamed up to release ‘Break it down’, their opening theme to the second season of anime series Orient and its Battle of Awaji Island story arc. The song was released along with a lyric video.

The second season of Orient, which also began airing back in July, is based on the manga series of the same name, created by Magi writer and illustrator Shinobu Ohtaka. 150 years after demons suddenly appeared during Japan’s Warring States period, protagonists Musashi and Kojiro form the Band of Bushi to confront the demons in Hinomoto and follow their dreams in this battle-action anime series.

The opening theme is an unmissable collaboration between two of Japan’s “monster vocalists”: Sota Hanamura from Da-iCE, who has an incredible four-octave high-tone voice, and Lil’ Fang from FAKY, who sings with overwhelming power. Excited music fans quickly flooded social media when the tag-team was announced, with comments such as, “This collaboration is more than I could have ever imagined!”, “This is too hot”, and “I can’t wait to hear those two sing together at full power”.

Hanamura’s group Da-iCE composed the music and lyrics to the theme song ‘Promise’ for the 50th-anniversary movie ‘Masked Rider: Beyond Generations’ and the opening theme ‘Break out’ for the first season of ‘Orient’, while Lil’ Fang composed the music and lyrics to ‘It’s a small world’ for the 36th East Japan Women’s Ekiden tournament as well as the lyrics to ‘99’ for the TV drama series ‘RIKA-rebirth-’ and the movie ‘Rika: Self-proclaimed 28-Year-Old Pure Love Monster’. Through such projects, both artists have earned great acclaim not only as performers but as creative artists too.

Hanamura composed the music for ‘Break it down’, and Hanamura and Lil’ Fang co-wrote the lyrics. This kinetic song has an intense band sound that carries the two singers as their high-tone voices reach all-new levels of power. The lyrics echo the atmosphere of the ‘Orient’ anime perfectly, with lines like “Dreams that are laughed off as mistakes” and “Screaming beyond the boundaries of death” – red-hot lyrics that could only have been written by these two artists who love the series from the depths of their hearts.

In addition, the lyric video rdepicts the brave figure of Musashi and his friends as they take on their most challenging battle ever. These visuals combine with music and lyrics that will fill you with the courage to stand firm and face your fears, creating a powerful and inspiring video.

Be sure to check out Orient Anime series on the following platform:

- Crunchyroll

- BiliBili

‘Break it down’, a collaboration between Da-iCE’s Sota Hanamura and FAKY’s Lil’ Fang, is available now on your favorite music download and streaming platform here and check out the lyric video below!

BACK-ON Bring Summery Pop-punk Vibes with the New Single ‘NOT ENOUGH’ Featuring Anime Anthem Heroes FLOW!

‘NOT ENOUGH’ Jacket Cover

Rock veterans BACK-ON bring summery pop-punk vibes with the new single ‘NOT ENOUGH’, featuring anime anthem heroes FLOW. The two-track single was released worldwide, and is the first single from BACK-ON during their 20th anniversary year.

Music from BACK-ON and FLOW, who are both no strangers to performing at anime and Japan festivals around the globe, has been streamed upwards of a mind-blowing 500 million times. Their songs have appeared in some of Japan’s most well-known anime franchises, including Naruto, Dragon Ball Z and Gundam, and featured in memes and viral videos around the globe.

Despite sharing a similar history and experiences in Japan and overseas, ‘NOT ENOUGH’ is the first time BACK-ON and FLOW have worked together on a track.  “As we were celebrating our 20th Anniversary, I felt honored to have KOHSHI and KEIGO from FLOW join us on this track,” states TEEDA of BACK-ON.  “We have so much in common as we have both done theme songs for various anime and have both been active overseas, I felt there was a good fusion of FLOW and BACK-ON's unique, refreshing and energetic feeling captured in the production of this track.  We really had a great time talking about the good old days and how we met, too.”

‘NOT ENOUGH’ featuring FLOW follows in the footsteps of BACK-ON’s 2021 single ‘Kill the Beat’ featuring JESSE, a rock icon known for shaping a whole generation of youth culture in Japan and whose band RIZE represented Japan on a global scale with performances at Live 8, Live Earth and the Vans Warped Tour.  The track was featured in numerous playlists across DSPs, including Deezer’s ‘Heavy New Rock’ and Spotify’s ‘J-Rock Now’ and ‘Loud Rock Japan.’  It’s also the follow-up to BACK-ON’s 2021 summer track ‘WAVES’, which was featured in one of Spotify’s ‘Pop Punk’s Note Dead’ playlists, its largest for the genre. 

The single also includes a new version of ‘SKY WALKER’, which originally appeared on BACK-ON’s latest album 'Still B/O'.  This new version, named ‘SKY WALKER (TEEDA’s BEAT JACK)’ takes the original’s high-energy electro-rap rhythm, that featured J-rock riffs, chilled beats and massive pop melodies, and reworks the lyrical content entirely to bring a fresh hip hop and urban flavour to the track.

“It might be a bit surprising, but this was actually my first time doing a solo all-rap tune, and doing it over an existing track,” explains TEEDA.  “I think it's impossible to make something better than the original track, so I tried to keep the concept of rapping in a different style than BACK-ON, and look back over the last 20 years until now.  I actually really enjoyed writing the lyrics and it was interesting how some words in the lyrics ended up being removed from the final version. I personally thought 'this kind of track ain't that bad too'.  Hopefully, you can figure out which part was censored and changed.”

Be sure to check out ‘NOT ENOUGH feat. FLOW” lyric video below, with the streaming link of the track here!

YOJI BIOMEHANIKA’s 1st & 2nd Albums that Fascinated the World with His Hard Dance will be Available on Digital Format.

“TECHNICOLOR NRG SHOW" and “TALES FROM THE BIG ROOM" Jacket Cover

YOJI BIOMEHAINKA is Japan’s world-class maestro who has been active since the early 90s, the dawn of the Japanese dance music scene, delivering world-class anthems to the world. YOJI BIOMEHAINKA will perform at the "Planetlove 2022" festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on September 10th. More than 30 years have passed since he started his career, but he continues actively making the world his stage. On August 10th, two of his albums started streaming:  YOJI's first original album, "TECHNICOLOR NRG SHOW," which was released in 2001, and his second album, "TALES FROM THE BIG ROOM," which was released in 2004.

“TECHNICOLOR NRG SHOW" includes "LOOK@THE HEAVEN," a big anthem representing YOJI's career. It also includes "SEDUCTION" and "GO MAD!” which are popular in Japan and other countries. In particular, "LOOK@THE HEAVEN" was such a big hit at the time. Every time it was played in clubs across Japan, the young people filling the floor would scream in excitement, and it remains one of the best-loved pieces of domestic dance music. This album includes the version that was played at Holland’s famous Dance Valley 2001 festival, LOOK@THE HEAVEN (THE REMIX DEDICATED TO IMPULZ × DANCE VALLEY), and this was also a version that was played by the most number of DJs.

“TALES FROM THE BIG ROOM" also includes "HARDSTYLE DISCO," "SAMURAI (THE KEYBOARD COWBOYS)," and "NEVER END," which were famous hard dance classics in the 2000s that attracted music lovers of all ages and generations, both in Japan and abroad. The album contains precious music with melodies that never fade away.

These two milestone albums by YOJI BIOMEHANIKA have been digitally reissued RIGHT NOW, when dance music from the 90s to the 2000s is being appreciated again, with the next generation actively playing and expressing their respect for it. We hope you will listen to them regardless of your generation.

In addition, "DING A LING (2022 REWORKED MIX)," the latest track, is scheduled to be released on August 19th. Evolution continues and be to check out the release of “TALES FROM THE BIG ROOM”  here!

BACK-ON Celebrate 20th Anniversary with TOTALFAT Collab Single ‘1994’!

Popular rock band BACK-ON continues its 20th anniversary celebrations with the release of new single ‘1994 featuring TOTALFAT’. The release is the second within as many months to feature a band of similar age, style and history as BACK-ON. As with last month’s single with FLOW, both bands have experienced millions of streams, had songs featured in well-known anime’s franchises, and have fans all over the globe. The single is available to download and stream now.

TOTALFAT, whose vibe METAL HAMMER describes as containing “the best parts of 90’s skate punk”, are of the same generation as BACK-ON. Members of both bands hold fond memories of 1994 and bonded over the music and street culture of the time. The results found their way into the song’s music and lyrics.

The single is coupled with ‘WAVES (TEEDA’s BEAT JACK)’ and sees BACK-ON’s MC TEEDA rework the entire lyrical structure of the song. The original version of ‘WAVES’, found on latest album Still B/O was picked by official editors at Spotify for the platform’s Pop Punk’s Not Dead playlist, which has over half-a-million likes.

BACK-ON guitarist KENJI03 comments, “1994 was the year of Green Day’s ‘Basket Case’, Oasis’ ‘Supersonic’ and countless other tracks that would shape a generation. Times may have changed, but I’m glad we could share our timeless connection to this era alongside TOTALFAT.”

BACK-ON MC TEEDA comments, “It was a ton of fun to make a song with TOTALFAT, especially in the same year as our 20th anniversary. We could record while reminiscing about all the bands and fashion of when our bands first started. It felt like we were back in those days again! I think the end result is packed with references to our roots, while also full of playfulness.”

On the single’s coupling track ‘WAVES (TEEDA’s BEAT JACK)’, TEEDA also comments, “there was a lot of skate culture mixed with other cultures in the early 2000s, so I thought it would be interesting to mix that sound with contemporary rap. I also played around with the song’s hook, and worked it to have a West Coast vibe. Both tracks on this single are perfect for summer, I hope they’re the soundtrack to yours!”

Shun from TOTALFAT says, “The longer we go on, the more we look back and realise how important our roots are. Creating ‘1994’ helped to remind me that BACK-ON and TOTALFAT have been able to keep going strong because our foundation never fades. Above all, the joy of celebrating the 20th anniversary of BACK-ON by collaborating with our dear friends of the same generation is something special. BO and TF never die! Happy 20th anniversary, from the bottom of my heart!”

Jose from TOTALFAT adds, “I really enjoyed singing with BACK-ON because the sounds and words they create are filled with many elements that resonate with me because of being the same generation and having similar roots. I think this song is truly a song filled with the stuff us 1994 kids can connect with. I hope you enjoy this song this summer!”