BOH plays a bass with six strings, two more than the usual four. He has spent a career using it in other people’s bands and one of his own.
Asahikawa
BOH was born on 14 August 1982 in Asahikawa, on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. His main instrument is a six-string bass made by Atelier Z, sold as a signature model under the name BOH’S CUSTOM.
He joined the band BINECKS in 2007. It made its major-label debut in 2008 and went on hiatus in 2010, the year he started working in earnest as a solo artist and session player. In 2013 he joined the Kami Band, the backing group for BABYMETAL, alongside guitarist Takayoshi Ohmura.
The Temporary Band
In November 2015, a session event brought three players together: BOH, guitarist Mikio Fujioka and drummer Yuya Maeta. They carried on, and the name they gave the project was 仮BAND, which means “provisional band” or “temporary band.” A first mini-album, 仮音源-DEMO-, came out in April 2017. Even the title is a shrug: “provisional recording.”
Then the band lost a third of itself. Mikio Fujioka died on 5 January 2018, at thirty-six, after a fall on 30 December 2017.
The Second One
A trio that loses its guitarist has good reason to end. BOH and Maeta did not end it. The band restarted, and on 29 January 2020 released a second record, 二枚目, a title that simply means “the second one.” The guitar parts were played by guests.
The name never changed. A project christened as a placeholder turned out to be the thing its members kept.
Why It Matters
Session players are often described by the famous names they have backed. BOH’s story is better told through the small band with the modest name: three friends, then two, who kept playing the music they had written together.
Start with 仮音源-DEMO- to hear all three, then 二枚目.
