INSOMNIAC SONG

ROCK

Spitz

Members: Kusano Masamune; Miwa Tetsuya; Tamura Akihiro; Sakiyama Tatsuo
Country: Japan
Genre: Rock, Pop
Years Active: 1987-
Status: Active
Notable traits: 
Recommended Songs: Spica; Ai no shirushi; Unmei no hito

Masamune Kusano met Akihiro Tamura in 1986 at Tokyo Zokei University. Their musical collaborations ended when Kusano transferred to Musashino Art College, but the pair remained friends and planned to form a new band. Tamura recruited Tetsuya Miwa, who brought Tatsuo Sakiyama with him. Spitz now had four members and began to perform together. Aside from a few self-produced demos, their first mini album, Hibari no Kokoro, was released in March of 1990. The mini-album saw a rerelease as a single in March of 1991. The single was released simultaneously with their first self-titled album. 

While these releases didn’t instantly catch the attention of the masses, the band wasn’t entirely overlooked. They continued to record releasing two more singles, Natsu no Mamono and Majotabi ni Deru, in 1991. The band closed out the year with the release of their second album Namae wo Tsueteyaru.

1992 saw the release of another mini-album, Aurora ni Narenakatta Hito no Tame ni, in April. Hoshi no Kakera was released as both a single and an album in during that year. The band continued recording and releasing their melodic pop-rock style to varying degrees of success throughout the following years. Between 1993 and 2013, the band has released 11 studio albums, 3 best albums, 3 special albums and 1 mini album. 33 singles were also released during that time period.

The height of their popularity in the early years came in 1995 with the release of Robinson and Hachimitsu. Their songs have been used for dramas and anime as well as Sora mo Toberu Hazu being used during school graduation ceremonies. During that time period, the band also changed record labels leaving Polydor Records for Universal Music Japan.

Masamune Kusano’s eccentric lyrics and soft voice is one of the defining characteristics of the band. In November 2007, their total sales of albums and singles were estimated to be more than 20 million units. There’s no doubt that the band is very popular with their music continuing to influence. Their songs have also been covered by other artists like BENI. Each of the albums in her COVERS series includes a song by Spitz.