Boris and Coaltar of the Deepers (COTD) began at the same time in the early 1990s. Takeshi of Boris was heavily influenced by Coaltar of the Deepers, and they followed each other with reverence. In fact, they first collaborated on Boris’ tears e.p. back in 2019, where Boris covered COTD’s ‘”To The Beach” (Tortoise EP – 2007) and Narasaki, vocalist and guitarist of COTD, produced the sound for this release. Both bands have performed together in Japan numerous times and ideas for collaborating on a split release have gradually been materializing over the years, resulting in hello there which is set for release on March 22, 2024 via Dog Knights Productions.
Both bands have a 30-year history of crossing over genres with their unique methodologies. The concept of hello there is to “present newly recorded self-covers of past songs to today’s listeners,” as well as “a new attempt to specify songs to the other band and cover each other’s songs,” comments Boris. The end result is a split album that highlights the two bands’ stance of linking the past to the future and their shared aesthetic.
COTD is not well-known outside of Japan, although they have had a profound influence on Japanese music and anime culture. This album will finally give COTD the chance to introduce their relatively-unknown history to people outside of Japan. This work will be the beginning of another update of extreme/heavy music.
This collaborative masterpiece features Boris’ expanded, mesmerisingly spaced-out version of Coaltar of the Deepers’ “Serial Tear” (Tortoise EP – 2007), alongside Coaltar of the Deepers’ stunning interpretation of Boris’ “Melody” (Noise – 2014).
