Special Others

A Japanese post-rock/jazz crossover band, Special Others had been around for a long time before finally making headway with their career around 2004. The group was founded in 1995 but toiled for several years, playing clubs and spreading demos, until debuting on NMNL Records with the EP Ben (2004), which topped the indie chart. Two EPs followed in 2005 and 2006 and Special Others finally released its debut full-length album, Good Morning, on the major-label Victor Entertainment and entered the Oricon album chart at number 29. After that, Special Others settled into a stable release schedule, releasing their second album, Star, in 2007; its follow-up, Quest, in 2008; and the Top Ten-breaking PB in 2009. ~ Alexey Eremenko