Boom Boom Satellites is a popular electronic/rock due who has seen substantial success in their home country and some success globally for almost 20 years. On the bands official Facebook page a post was made on May 31st 2016 stating that with the completion of their latest EP, Lay Your Hands On Me, the band would be calling it quits. The reason for this is due to singer/guitarist Kawashima Michiyuki's deteriorating health from his forth time battling brain cancer. Over the years BBS has been one of my core favorite bands and I am sad to see them retire. But what does that have to do with anime? If you are unaware, as some are, they have provided a number of songs to various anime soundtracks.
The band hit international music recognition in 1998 when they released their first singles under the Belgian techno label R&S Records. I was introduced to them in 1999 with their first full length album Out Loud and instantly became a fan. This album merged jazz elements with rock and electronic dance music. In my personal opinion the best song is the combination of Intruder and An Owl. They toured the US that Fall supporting Moby. I still regret I used the excuse of being too poor to pass up the show when a number of my friends went. I also didn't really want to see Moby. Due to pass up this appearance in my town I have never been able to see them perform.
Their next album, Umbra, released in 2001, continuing the style from Out Loud. It featured a guest appearance from Public Enemy's Chuck D on the song Your Reality Is Fantasy but Your Fantasy is Killing Me. The next album, Photon, came out in 2002 and saw a massive shift to a more rock orientated style that would come to define their style for the rest of their career. The bands next album, Full of Elevating Pleasures saw their emergence in the world of anime soundtracks. Prior to its release two songs, Dive for You and Anthem were showcased on the 2004 movie Appleseed. This exposure pushed them to more pronounced popularity in the west. My favorite track off of this album is the epic show opener, Rise and Fall.
Not wanting to sit idle, 2006 saw their next album, On, which is probably my least favorite. The track Girl was used in the live action Death Note: the Last Name movie. They more than made up for it, in my mind with 2007's Exposed. One of the best tracks on it, Shut Up and Explode, was used as the intro theme for the PSN released anime series Xam'd. Two tracks, Easy Action and Friends were part of the soundtrack to the movie Vexile 2077. The band cooled down for a bit and returned with a new album in 2010 called To the Loveless. This was the first album with their new drummer, the amazingly talented Fukuda Yoko. That same year a song titled Broken Mirror, was used in the OAV series Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. The song would eventually appear on their 2013 release, Embrace.
Shine Like a Billlion Suns came out in 2013 as the band discussed Kawashima's long battle with cancer. The album it's self felt like a soliloquy. The song Back in Black was used as the opening theme for 2015s ONA series Ninja Slayer. Not long after the announcement of the bands retirement their final EP will be released which includes the song Lay Your Hands on Me, which is used as the theme for the 2016 anime Kiznaiver. The band has a solid catalog of work, but with any artists that you deeply admire it's never enough. They have done well to straddle the worlds of rock and electronic music while carving out a unique place in the industry for them selves. Talented, innovative and special. The will be deeply missed.
The band hit international music recognition in 1998 when they released their first singles under the Belgian techno label R&S Records. I was introduced to them in 1999 with their first full length album Out Loud and instantly became a fan. This album merged jazz elements with rock and electronic dance music. In my personal opinion the best song is the combination of Intruder and An Owl. They toured the US that Fall supporting Moby. I still regret I used the excuse of being too poor to pass up the show when a number of my friends went. I also didn't really want to see Moby. Due to pass up this appearance in my town I have never been able to see them perform.
Their next album, Umbra, released in 2001, continuing the style from Out Loud. It featured a guest appearance from Public Enemy's Chuck D on the song Your Reality Is Fantasy but Your Fantasy is Killing Me. The next album, Photon, came out in 2002 and saw a massive shift to a more rock orientated style that would come to define their style for the rest of their career. The bands next album, Full of Elevating Pleasures saw their emergence in the world of anime soundtracks. Prior to its release two songs, Dive for You and Anthem were showcased on the 2004 movie Appleseed. This exposure pushed them to more pronounced popularity in the west. My favorite track off of this album is the epic show opener, Rise and Fall.
Not wanting to sit idle, 2006 saw their next album, On, which is probably my least favorite. The track Girl was used in the live action Death Note: the Last Name movie. They more than made up for it, in my mind with 2007's Exposed. One of the best tracks on it, Shut Up and Explode, was used as the intro theme for the PSN released anime series Xam'd. Two tracks, Easy Action and Friends were part of the soundtrack to the movie Vexile 2077. The band cooled down for a bit and returned with a new album in 2010 called To the Loveless. This was the first album with their new drummer, the amazingly talented Fukuda Yoko. That same year a song titled Broken Mirror, was used in the OAV series Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. The song would eventually appear on their 2013 release, Embrace.
Shine Like a Billlion Suns came out in 2013 as the band discussed Kawashima's long battle with cancer. The album it's self felt like a soliloquy. The song Back in Black was used as the opening theme for 2015s ONA series Ninja Slayer. Not long after the announcement of the bands retirement their final EP will be released which includes the song Lay Your Hands on Me, which is used as the theme for the 2016 anime Kiznaiver. The band has a solid catalog of work, but with any artists that you deeply admire it's never enough. They have done well to straddle the worlds of rock and electronic music while carving out a unique place in the industry for them selves. Talented, innovative and special. The will be deeply missed.
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