Special Others is a Japanese band that blends improvised jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 with post-rock

Post-rock

Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...

 influences. The members of the band met in high school and formed the group in 1995. They began performing in earnest in 2000, and their first major release, Indy-Ann, remained in the CRJ-tokyo charts for seven weeks.

Their first release on NMNL Records was the EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 "Ben" which entered the Tower Records

Tower Records

Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....

 Shibuya

Shibuya, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....

 indie chart at #1, and #2 in the national Tower Records chart. After releasing their second EP, "Uncle John", in June, 2005, the band played at the Fuji Rock Festival

Fuji Rock Festival

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The 3 day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japan...

 in July.

In June, 2006, they released "Idol", which was followed by a sell-out gig at Daikanyama UNIT in July, the release "Aims" at Tower Records

Tower Records

Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....

 in October, and the release of their long-awaited first full album, "Good Morning", on November 22. The band toured with Asian Kung-Fu Generation

Asian Kung-fu Generation

, typeset as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, is a Japanese rock band formed in Yokohama, Japan in 1996. For nearly its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotō, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyoshi Ijichi...

from late 2006, with guest appearances at five performances across Japan.

Band members

(b. 1979) - Drums, vocals (b. 1979) - Bass (b. 1980) - Guitar, vocals (b. 1979) - Keyboard, vocals

Studio albums

• Ben (2004/08/18) EP/Mini Album
  1. Ben
  2. Ngoro Ngoro
  3. Peacefultree
  4. Cacao
  5. Khechi Khechi

• Dubwise (2005/06/10) Limited edition 12" single
• [Side-A]
  1. Mellotron
  2. Khechi Khechi (Uchida Naoyuki Dub mix)
• [Side-B]
  1. Mellotron (Iwaki Kentarou remix)
  2. Random

• Uncle John (2005/06/22) EP/Mini album
  1. Sunshine
  2. Random
  3. Uncle John
  4. Meal
  5. Mellotron

• Idol (2006/06/07) EP/Mini album
  1. Idol
  2. Aului
  3. Saudade
  4. Mambo No.5
  5. Quinto

• Quinto Limited edition 12" single
• [Side-A]
  1. Saudade (Kl mix)
  2. Mambo No.5 (Milch of Source remix)
• [Side-AA]
  1. Mambo No.5
  2. Quinto

• Aims (2006/10/11) Tower Records limited-edition single
  1. Aims
  2. Mambo No.5 (live)
  3. Mellotron (live)

• Good Morning (2006/11/22/)
  1. Aims
  2. Good Morning
  3. Circle
  4. Yagi&Ryota
  5. Around the World
  6. Session
  7. Koya
  8. Comboy
  9. KHN
  10. Door of the Cosmos (The Stars Are Singing Too)

• Surdo (2007/04/27) Tower Records limited-edition single
  1. Surdo
  2. Aims (live)
  3. Meltoron (live)

• Star (2007/05/23)
  1. Star
  2. Surdo
  3. When You Wish upon a Star
  4. All Things - Part 1
  5. All Things - Part 2
  6. Aului 80 - Self remix

• Laurentech (2007/11/14) Tower Records limited-edition single
  1. Laurentech
  2. Star (live)
  3. Ben (live)

• Quest (2008/02/06)
  1. Night Paradise
  2. Laurentech
  3. Ovelia
  4. Quest
  5. Bump
  6. Johnson
  7. Apollo
  8. Ubiquitous
  9. ACN
  10. Hankachi

• PB (2009/04/01)
  1. Title
  2. PB
  3. Stay
  4. SP in Wednesday
  5. Charlie
  6. Silent
  7. Potato
  8. Twilight
  9. Life
  10. Sunrise

• The Guide (2010/10/06)
  1. Wait for The Sun
  2. It's my house
  3. Parabola
  4. The Guide
  5. Luster
  6. Draft
  7. Tomorrow
  8. RCA (MONO)
  9. Go home
  10. Ido

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Victor Entertainment Special Others page (Japanese)
• Special Others Myspace page