BRAHMAN

BRAHMAN was formed in Tokyo in 1995 and soon began playing live shows around Japan. They quickly established a following with their individual rock/punk style and, in November 1996, the band released the mini-album GROPE OUR WAY.

Their popularity throughout Japan blossomed, enabling them to tour the nation extensively and quickly follow up with another high quality mini-album titled WAIT AND WAIT in October 1997.

1998 was an exciting year for BRAHMAN as word of the band spread and kids flocked to see their shows. The highlight of their career to date came from playing at the legendary AIR JAM show in Tokyo in front of 30,000 people. Bands such as Hi-Standard, Husking Bee, Rude Bones and Garlic Boys also played at AIR JAM and the show heralded the arrival of a new wave of indie music in Japan.

Also in 1998, aside from playing countless sold-out shows throughout Japan, BRAHMAN released their chart topping first full-length album, A MAN OF THE WORLD.

The band gained the attention of heavyweight label Toys Factory, signed with them in 1999 and, in September of that year, released the single DEEP/ARRIVAL TIME. They also continued touring and playing at big events in Japan, including the Tibetan Freedom Concert alongside bands such as Audio Active, Buffalo Daughter and Hi-Standard.

1999 also saw their first performance at the internationally recognized Fuji Rock Festival 1999 where they shared the stage with bands such as Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Atari Teenage Riot and Eastern Youth.

With the wheels fully in motion, BRAHMAN once again played AIR JAM in 2000 and continued touring extensively in Japan. They also released their first live VHS (later on DVD) titled CRAVING.

Late 2000 through spring of 2001 saw BRAHMAN playing with international bands such as Shelter and Snuff, who were touring Japan, and BRAHMAN themselves began playing shows overseas in Hong Kong, Spain and Italy.

BRAHMAN, through talent and hard work, were now firmly entrenched as the leading alternative rock/punk band in Japan, and in June 2001 their second full-length album, A FORLORN HOPE, sold well over 500,000 copies. The hard work did not stop, however, and they continued to play a rigorous schedule of over fifty shows all over Japan to support the release via the Hope Against Hope tour. They also began playing more shows with high profile international bands, culminating in their appearance at the Fuji Rock Festival 2001 where they shared the green stage with bands and entertainers such as Eminem, System of a Down, Tool, Alec Empire and Xzibit.

2002 saw BRAHMAN continue to tour harder and further with overseas shows in Taiwan and a performance at the huge Street Beat Festival in Italy. Once again, they performed at the Fuji Rock Festival.

The band slowed down a little on domestic touring in 2003, but still played a nationwide series of shows on the sold-out Hands and Feet tour and embarked on a number of international shows in China, Italy, The United Kingdom and France.

Early to mid-2004 had BRAHMAN working hard on new songs, but the band also found time to play some shows and even supported the legendary UK band GBH on their Japan tour. In late 2004, they released their first full album in three years, THE MIDDLE WAY, a release that highlighted the band's progression with an exciting mix of genre-busting songs, which received widespread acclaim in Japan. Following the release, BRAHMAN again embarked on a rigorous touring schedule in Japan. They performed fifty-six shows with a record number of sold-out lives. BRAHMAN's current popularity in Japan is such that their live shows sell out large venues in just a few hours, if not minutes.

Legendary USA hardcore label Revelation Records was highly impressed with BRAHMAN's sound and hard working ethic, which led to a worldwide release of A FORLORN HOPE in January 2005.

They finished up their 10th anniversary year with another successful tour and their way of life on the road has been compiled in their live DVD THEORIA, which was released in June 2006.

It took the band some time to release new material, but their eagerly waiting fans were finally treated to a new release in April 2007 with the single Handan's Pillow/gyakkou. Approximately one year later, in February 2008, the band released their highly anticipated fourth full-length album, ANTINOMY. The album was received very well and ranked fourth on the Oricon charts. Soon after the release of the new album, the band started to tour again. That summer, BRAHMAN performed at various events and was able to perform in front of a crowd of more than 50,000 people. A DVD of the tour was released in November 2008.

The year 2009 brought a new release, ETERNAL RECURRENCE, a best-of compilation album featuring re-recordings of their best known older songs. Of course, a tour accompanied this release as well. In August and September, BRAHMAN returned to Europe but instead of hitting a number of big cities, they held a small tour in the Basque Country, Spain, where they performed at various local festivals.

In 2010, the band started a collaboration with the jazz duo EGO-WRAPPIN', which featured an interesting mix of punk and jazz with TOSHI-LOW's vocals mixed with EGO-WRAPPIN''s female vocalist Yoshie Nakano. The two bands released the mini-album Sure Shot in May. They also performed together, which was documented on the live DVD BRAHMAN/EGO-WRAPPIN' Special Live Sure Shot which came out later that year.

The year 2011 brought various performances at events all across Japan. Next to that, the band finally announced a new maxi-single, Hekireki, to be released in September. This will be their first original release since 2008 and surely something for the fans to look forward to.

BRAHMAN will continue into the future, looking to further establish their growing international reputation by regularly playing overseas and also continuing to play in Japan. In time, they sincerely hope that people worldwide will be able to see and hear the phenomenon known as BRAHMAN.