ROTH BART BARON (ロット・バルト・バロン) is a Tokyo-based musical project formed in 2008 with Masaya Mifune (vocal, guitar) and Tetsuya Nakahara (drums) but is currently a solo project headed by Mifune.[1][2] The band has released three EPs and six full-length albums along with one live album.[3] The group also composed and recorded the soundtrack for the Japanese film My Small Land.[4][5]
Masaya Mifune and Tetsuya Nakahara met in junior high school when they were partnered up to play tennis doubles.[6] They started the band in university and, in the beginning, spent most of the time rehearsing and home recording. The band's name, ROTH BART BARON, comes from the antagonist von Rothbart in Tchaikovsky's The Swan Lake. Mifune played the role in kindergarten which left a strong impression on him being the only antagonist at that time.
The band self-released three works including the EP "ROTH BART BARON"(2010), the five-track EP "Monster Mountain and Choirboys" (13 December 2012) and "Chocolate Demo" (21 September 2012). Songs from these early works, especially those in "Monster Mountain and Choirboys" are still often performed on shows.
ROTH BART BARON signed to Felicity and released their first full album ROTH BART BARON's THE ICE AGE in 2014. The album was recorded in Philadelphia with Jonathan Low and Brian McTear.[7]
A second album, ATOM. was released in 2015. The recording was done at Hotel2Tango in Montreal. The music video for the lead track, "bIg HOPe" was filmed with 360/ VR cameras.[citation needed]
In 2017, Roth Bart Barons started a crowdfunding project on Campfire for EP and music video production in UK.[8] With the success of the funding, the band took a short stay in London and worked with Bradley Spence for the EP.
The "Atom (UK Mix)" video, as part of the project, was filmed near Brighton with the German photographer Julia Schönstädt.[9]
On July 6, 2020, Masaya and Tetsuya announced that Tetsuya would be leaving the band.[1]
In 2022, Mifune Masaya of ROTH BART BARON was featured on the song "You to You" by Asian Kung-Fu Generation which later appeared on Asian Kung-Fu Generation's album Planet Folks.[10]
In 2023, the song BLOW was released in collaboration with the Thai indie-pop band Safeplanet, as well as a new album titled 8.[11]
| Title | Release Date | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ROTH BART BARON'S THE ICE AGE | April 16, 2014[17][18] | Felicity | |
| ATOM | October 21, 2015[19][20] | Ranked 222nd on the Oricon Albums Chart[21] | |
| HEX | November 7, 2018[22] | ||
| The Name of the Beasts | November 6, 2019[23] | ||
| Loud Color(s) & Silence Festival | October 14, 2020 | Space Shower Music | |
| The Name of the Beasts Tour Final - Live at Meguro Persimmon Hall | April 14, 2021 | A live album from the band's performance at Meguro Persimmon Hall | |
| HAKU's Resurrection | November 24, 2021 | ||
| My Small Land (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | April 27, 2022 | The soundtrack to the Japanese Film "My Small Land" | |
| HOWL | November 9, 2022 | ||
| 8 | October 18, 2023 |
| Title | Release Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| ROTH BART BARON | October 15, 2010 | Self-Released |
| MONSTER MOUNTAIN AND CHOIRBOYS | December 13, 2012 |
| Tile | Release Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate | September 20, 2012 | Self-Released |
