News

In a surprise announcement, it has been revealed in its first airing that a brand-new, previously-unheard B’z song entitled “Still Alive” will soon be serving as the theme to the new TBS medical drama A LIFE ~Itoshiki Hito~. The drama stars well-known actor and singer Takuya Kimura of SMAP fame. In commemoration of the announcement, B’z also released a message about its creation:

We started working after having received an offer for the theme song. We also took the chance to talk with the drama’s production team. After some trial and error, we were able to produce a track we were content with. We’d be glad if this song contributed to the atmosphere of the drama. —B’z

This is the second time B’z have contributed to a Kimura-starring drama. In 2000, one of the band’s best-known singles in “Konya Tsuki no Mieru Oka ni” accompanied Beautiful Life which went on to sweep the Television Drama Academy Awards for the year and net B’z a win for Best Theme Song.

Whether the song will be released as a digital exclusive single in the near future or issued as a physical release has not yet been announced. In the meantime, check out “Still Alive” as it aired during the first episode today!

News

We at OFF THE LOCK wish everyone a happy new year! Per usual, B’z have released a message for their fanclub members to celebrate the beginning of a new year. It appears that this year we’ll be able to look forward to a new B’z album! But first, Tak and Koshi will be embarking on their solo collaboration projects. On September 21st, 2017, B’z will celebrate their 29th anniversary since their formation in 1988, and enter their 30th year as a band. For sure, preparations for the 30th anniversary Pleasure 2018 tour are already underway and will be announced around that time.

Check out the subtitled video below for more details!

News

With this weekends’s release of the Shippuu Rondo film for which it serves as a theme, there is no better time for the band to release 「Fukiarenasai」 (フキアレナサイ, Blow Violently) to the masses—and they’ve done just that! The song, envisioned as a winter version of “ultra soul” as requested by the film’s producers, was announced in September and previewed in a trailer for the film, but with the band’s impending solo activities, fans were unsure when it would see a proper release. After the comparatively late release of 「Sekai wa Anata no Iro ni Naru」 when it came to digital form last month, it was unknown if B’z would be experimenting with further digital releases in the future. With today’s release of  「Fukiarenasai」 on iTunes Japan and all digital music platforms in the country, we now have our answer.

News

Koshi Inaba has this week announced his plans for a 2017 tour with Stevie Salas dubbed 「INABA / SALAS “CHUBBY GROOVE TOUR 2017”」. The tour will include mostly small club venues, with a capacity of about 2000 people each, and will be in support of Koshi’s and Stevie Salas’ yet to be announced collaboration album. The album is scheduled for a December release, pending an official announcement in the coming weeks.

While we already knew Koshi was working with Stevie Salas on a new record, with a tour planned for early 2017, Tak’s solo project was largely unknown. Tak will be touring with Hawaiian multi-instrumentalist Daniel Ho. Just like with Koshi’s tour, the tour will include small club venues by the likes of the BLUE NOTE.

Given that both Tak and Koshi now embark on another solo project, we probably won’t see any new B’z activities until at least March/April 2017. But most definitely in 2018 for their 30th anniversary Pleasure tour.

Here are the tour dates at a glance:

INABA / SALAS “CHUBBY GROOVE TOUR 2017”

January 25 – Zepp Nagoya (Aichi)
January 26 – Zepp Namba (Osaka)
January 27 – Zepp Namba (Osaka)
January 30 – Zepp Sapporo (Hokkaido)
February 3 – DRUM LOGOS (Fukuoka)
February 6 – Zepp Tokyo (Tokyo)
February 7 – Zepp Tokyo (Tokyo)
February 8 – Zepp Tokyo (Tokyo)

Tak Matsumoto & Daniel Ho Live! 2017 -Electric Island, Acoustic Sea-

February 25 – Blue Note Tokyo (Tokyo)
February 26 – Blue Note Tokyo (Tokyo)
February 28 – Nagoya Blue Note (Aichi)
March 1 – Nagoya Blue Note (Aichi)
March 2 – Nagoya Blue Note (Aichi)
March 4 – Billboard Live OSAKA (Osaka)
March 5 – Billboard Live OSAKA (Osaka)
March 6 – Billboard Live OSAKA (Osaka)
March 10 – Blue Note Tokyo (Tokyo)
March 11 – Blue Note Tokyo (Tokyo)
March 12 – Blue Note Tokyo (Tokyo)

News

Amidst Koshi’s solo efforts and the recent tie-in B’z song announcement「Fukiarenasai」 comes a surprise: 「Sekai wa Anata no Iro ni Naru」 as a digital-only single! This marks the first time a Japanese song by B’z was released exclusively in digital form. The Detective Conan movie theme song and current  Detective Conan anime series opening song 「Sekai wa Anata no Iro ni Naru」 is available now on digital music services such as iTunes Japan for 250 Yen.

This release comes at a very strange timing, only allowing us to speculate why B’z have not released this song earlier, if they considered releasing it in digital form. The best time to release the song in digital form was while the movie was fresh in theatres. Instead, they chose to release it to tie it in with the upcoming release of the Detective Conan movie on DVD & Blu-ray originally slated for a October 5th release, but got delayed to October 26th due to production issues. Furthermore, this suggests that 「Sekai wa Anata no Iro ni Naru」 will not be collected on the next B’z album or physical single, and was released in digital form such as to save on marketing efforts and the like.

News

After several quiet months on the B’z front spent in and out of the studio, the first of their latest efforts has finally been unveiled in the form of a new song entitled 「Fukiarenasai」 (フキアレナサイ, Blow Violently). The decidedly hard-rock number will serve as the theme to the new action-comedy film Shippuu Rondo which is due for release nationwide in Japan beginning November 26th. The first sample of the song may be heard in the film’s trailer embedded below.

The movie is based on the novel by famed Japanese mystery writer Keigo Higashino and stars acclaimed actor Hiroshi Abe. Production on the film began in February and ran through mid April of this year. Of the project and its tie-in theme, B’z shared the following message:

Having read the novel Shippuu Rondo, which this movie is based on, while it is an action movie that has its extravagant and sometimes funny moments, the thing that stood out the most is that every character believes in their own way. The resulting conflicts are portrayed in great detail. We have made 「Fukiarenasai」 as the product of this state of mind overlapped with the fiercely dancing snow. Please enjoy the story along with its intense visuals.

「Fukiarenasai」 itself does not yet have a release date but is could appear on the next B’z studio album alongside 「Sekai wa Anata no Iro ni Naru」.