In December 1998, SPARTA LOCALS was formed. For the next two years, they played only private, local gigs. But near the end of 2001, they played in a small competition and gained enough attention to pay for the creation of their debut album, Kanashii Miminari that was released in January 2002. Shortly after the release, they went on their first tour, This Sound is as Beautiful as a Rainbow. During that tour, their live at Fuji Rock Festival, which involved passer-bys, concert officials and a local famed musician, was deemed a 'spectacle' and gained them national attention.
They moved to Tokyo in May 2003 and signed with the Universal Japan label. They released their first live DVD together with the single Peace in November and toured into the next year. The year 2004 followed with two more full-length albums, Second Fanfare and Sun Sun Sun. Sun Sun Sun introduced brighter melodies than SPARTA LOCALS had ever produced before, showing their ability to change and grow overtime.
The fast pace continued in 2005 with two new singles released in the first half of the year and their fourth full-length album was released in July. The year 2006, however, brought many changes to the band. They moved to a new label, Tokuma Japan, participated in Summer Sonic and lost their drummer, Akihito. Akihito admitted to lacking confidence in his own skills and cited discontent among members due to his lack of ability as his reason for leaving. He left in the middle of their tour and was quickly replaced with multiple temporary drummers so that the band could complete the tour.
For their March 2007 tour, All-Star Classic -- Sparta , Takeshi Kajiyama joined as a support drummer. Their sixth album, Maborashi Forever, was released in April, only a few months before Kajiyama was made a permanent member in July.
In 2008, the band's forward momentum greatly slowed down. They produced only one album, Leecher, and completed no tours. They played a few individual gigs and nearly a year later, in 2009, they began what became their last tour, also performing overseas for the first time at South by Southwest's Japan Nite tour. On August 2nd, despite their popularity worldwide, they officially announced the dissolution of SPARTA LOCALS and played their last live on September 23rd. The last live was appropriately titled, The Last Dance For You, and filled Shibuya Ax with fans.
SPARTA LOCALS played together for nearly a decade, awing and enthralling people all around Japan. Their bright indie rock will keep people listening for many years to come.
