The ROOTLESS

**The ROOTLESS**, later simply known as **Rootless**, was a Japanese Rock band formed by LDH in 2009.

They are most famous for their debut song "One Day" which was used as the 13th opening theme song for the anime series *ONE PIECE*.

In 2013, the band parted ways with LDH and became affiliated with Being Inc. in 2014.

## Members

### Final line-up

* Nobata Shin (vocals, acoustic guitar)
* Otsubo Yusuke (drums)

### Former members

* Ihara Takuya (bass)
* DURAN (electric guitar, chorus)

## History

### 2009

THE ROOTLESS was formed in April 2009 by four men of different ages and birthplaces. Nobata Shin graduated from EXPG in Tokyo and was a participant in the *VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION*, while DURAN (Naito Duran Haruhisa), Ihara Takuya, and Otsubo Yusuke all graduated from the Musicians Institute Japan. The band started performing in the Tokyo area at clubs and did street gigs.

On September 23, they released their indie-debut mini-album, *Essence*, which was sold exclusively at their live concerts. Included on the mini-album was THE ROOTLESS' version of "Kumo no Ue no Sekai", a song originally performed solely by Nobata. Nobata's version was used as the theme song for the film *Byakuya* starring EXILE's MAKIDAI. Starting in December, THE ROOTLESS appeared as the opening act for DEEP's tour *DEEP LIVE TOUR 2009-2010 "Endless road"*, at which they sold the single "Love e". The title track was used as the theme song for the BeeTV drama *Genryou Boxer*, starring EXILE members KENCHI and NAOTO.

### 2010-2011

In 2010, the band signed to the avex trax sub-label rhythm zone and changed its name to "The ROOTLESS". Their major debut single, "One day", was used as the 13th opening theme song for the anime series *ONE PIECE*. The song was a great success; it debuted at number #3 on the Oricon weekly chart after its release on October 20, the highest debut by a male artist in that year. It also debuted at number #1 on the RIAJ digital chart, beating out AKB48's hit "Beginner" at #2. The single was reissued four months later with a different cover and tracklist as a thank-you to their fans.

The band continued to release their 2nd single "Kawaritai to, Tsuyoku Nozome. Sore Igai wa, Iranai." on August 24, 2011 and their first studio album *The ROOTLESS* about a month later.

### 2013-2016

After over a year hiatus, The ROOTLESS announced on January 1, 2013, that they had left their initial management company LDH and their record label rhythm zone after their bassist, Ihara Takuya, withdrew from the band on December 31, 2012. The band went on to release the two indie singles "BLACK" and "WHITE" on March 10. At the end of the year, on December 3, it was announced that their guitarist, DURAN, had left as well.

On January 10, 2014, the remaining members of the band changed their name to "Rootless". In the same year, they became affiliated with the company Being Inc..

Despite their new management, the band never released any further music until the members announced Rootless' dissolution on December 28, 2015.

## Discography

### Singles

#### Indies

1. [2009.12.18] Love e (ラヴへ; *To Love*) (THE ROOTLESS)
2. [2013.03.10] BLACK
3. [2013.03.10] WHITE

#### Major

1. [2010.10.20] One day
2. [2011.08.24] Kawaritai to, Tsuyoku Nozome. Sore Igai wa, Iranai. (変わりたいと、強く望め。それ以外は、いらない。)

## References

1. ↑ ☆ニュースです！！☆
2. ↑ ☆札幌から大阪へ☆
3. ↑ The ROOTLESS、2010年デビューの男性アーティストシングル最高の初動売上
4. ↑ 皆様へお知らせ
5. ↑ The ROOTLESS を応援してくれている皆さんへ
6. ↑ 「ＯＮＥ　ＰＩＥＣＥ」主題歌歌った「Ｒｏｏｔｌｅｓｓ」が解散