Legendary Japanese rock band THE BACK HORN are experiencing some long-awaited international recognition with their iconic track ‘Cobalt Blue’, originally released in 2004, taking social media by storm.

Following THE BACK HORN’s 25th-anniversary concert at PACIFICO Yokohama National Hall on March 23rd, the band have been sharing snippets of music videos from early in their career via their Instagram profile. However, it was the music video for ‘Cobalt Blue’, featuring the band’s raw performance against a nighttime seaside backdrop, that caught the attention of international listeners.

Notably, renowned American singer-songwriters Patti Smith and Erykah Badu have shown their appreciation for the song, with Badu sharing it on Instagram to her 6.5 million followers. Since its posting on March 21st, the Instagram reel has racked up over 14 million views, with the band gaining tens of thousands of followers in the process.

In response to the overwhelming support, THE BACK HORN released a message of gratitude in both Japanese and English, emphasising the significance of ‘Cobalt Blue’.

“’Cobalt Blue’ is one of THE BACK HORN representative songs that we have performed at numerous live shows for nearly 20 years since its release in 2004. It is an important song for us that made us meet so many people, becoming the reason to get to know us and get to come to our shows.

We think we developed this song together with each and every one of our fans as we excitedly performed it at our live shows.

We are very happy that this song is spreading to people overseas at the timing of the 25th anniversary of the band, and we feel joy at the power of music that allows us to feel each other’s feelings beyond the borders of countries and languages.

Together with all of you who have always supported THE BACK HORN, and with all of you whom we will meet in the future, I would like to continue to see the scenery that can only be seen through music.

Thank you for your continued support.”

Who are THE BACK HORN?

Formed in 1998, the band’s mission revolves around the theme of ‘KYO-MEI’, delivering resonant music to listeners. They gained prominence with the major release of their single ‘Sunny’ in 2001 and solidified their position as an essential live act at renowned rock festivals like FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL and ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL.

Their raw sound, inspired by bands like Nirvana and Radiohead, and lyrics that explore themes of decadence, war, peace, isolation, love, and death with profound intensity, immediately stood out.

The band, peaking in popularity in the early to late 2000s, have gone on to release 13 albums so far, and partake in numerous collaborations with big name anime and film releases in Japan. Album such as ‘Ningen Program’ (2001), ‘Headphone Children’ (2005), and ‘Pulse’ (2008) have carved out a distinctive place for the band in the country’s rock music history.

Still nurturing their raw and authentic sound, the band dropped their latest album ‘Anthologia’ in 2022, and celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2023 with shows up and down the country, maintaining their reputation as a never dwindling force of Japan’s live music scene.

THE BACK HORN
Anthologia

Release Date: 13/04/2022
Label: Victor Entertainment
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music |
CD: CDJapan