in 2008
2004–2005: Early years Birds of Tokyo formed in 2004 from a collaboration between members of the Perth bands Tragic Delicate and
Karnivool, from which Ian Kenny came. The group formed after guitarist Adam Spark asked Kenny to sing on a handful of commercial demos. The pair were happy with the results and decided to form a band to release the songs themselves. They took their name from an article one member had read about the absence of birds in Tokyo's high-density central business district due to pollution and overcrowding. "We thought that was interesting, no birds in Tokyo – we thought, we'll be the birds of Tokyo", he says. and the Blackjack 2007 (the relocated
Rock It festival). Birds of Tokyo were nominated for two awards in the
2007 AIR Awards for Best Performing Independent Album and Most Outstanding New Independent Artist. The song "Wayside" was voted in at No. 61 in
Triple J's
Hottest 100 of 2007. They were also recognized in
Rolling Stone magazine as Artists to Watch in 2007.
2008–2009: Universes Birds of Tokyo recorded their second album,
Universes, in
Margaret River, Western Australia, and it was mixed in Los Angeles by
Tim Palmer (
Pearl Jam,
Porcupine Tree). The debut single, "
Silhouettic", was released as a free download on 14 April 2008. The record came out on 5 July 2008 and debuted at No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart and at No. 1 on the AIR albums chart. The songs "Broken Bones", "Silhouettic", and "Wild Eyed Boy" were voted in at No. 20, No. 22 and No. 51, respectively, in the
Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008. The band subsequently played at the Big Day Out in 2009. Later that year, they embarked on the Broken Strings tour, which featured acoustic interpretations of a selection of their work, accompanied by a string quartet and grand piano and arranged by producer Anthony Cormican. They were supported by Glenn Richards, lead singer of
Augie March. A CD and DVD featuring recordings from the tour was available to preorder at the shows and was released in early 2010 as
The Broken Strings Tour. Birds of Tokyo were nominated for the 2009
Channel V Oz Artist of the Year.
2010–2011: Birds of Tokyo In early 2010, Birds of Tokyo returned to the studio to work on their eponymous third album. In March 2010, they released the single "
The Saddest Thing I Know" and announced an Australian tour by the same name, alongside the New Zealand band
Midnight Youth.The second single, "
Plans", premiered on 20 June, and the album came out on 23 July. The band subsequently toured with
Silversun Pickups in September and October 2010. "Plans" was voted at No. 4 in the
Hottest 100 of 2010, while "
Wild at Heart", the album's third single, and "The Saddest Thing I Know" also appeared at No. 47 and No. 87, respectively. The band also played at the Big Day Out in 2011, for their third time. In March 2011, Birds of Tokyo announced via their
Facebook page that bass player Anthony Jackson was leaving. Ian Berney from
Sugar Army later filled the position. The band were nominated in five different categories at the 2011
West Australian Music Industry Awards, including Most Popular Act, Most Popular Album, Best Male Vocalist, Best Instrumentalist, and Best Bassist. They won for Most Popular Album and Best Instrumentalist. They also received six 2010
ARIA Music Awards nominations. In late April/early May 2011, Birds of Tokyo played at the annual
Groovin' the Moo music festival alongside other Australian artists like
Gotye,
Washington,
Art vs. Science, and
Architecture in Helsinki. During an interview on Radar Radio, Adam revealed that the band would be heading back into the studio to record their new album over the summer.
2012–2014: March Fires On 1 February 2012, Birds of Tokyo announced that they had finished writing their new album and would start recording the week after. Creating the record was a journey of "exploration and reinvention" for the band, telling the story of burning down the old and coming together to build something new. In October 2012, they released an EP titled
This Fire, which featured the songs "This Fire" and "Boy". On 14 January 2013, "
Lanterns" was issued as a single, with its video coming out on 8 February. The album,
March Fires, came out on 1 March. It debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, making it the band's first No. 1 record. It was certified gold within four weeks of release, and the triple-platinum single "Lanterns" was the most-played song on Australian radio in the first six months of 2013. "
When the Night Falls Quiet" was later released as a single, with its video coming out on 22 April. Birds of Tokyo completed a tour of Australia to accompany the release as well as performing at the
2013 AFL Grand Final and Splendour in the Grass 2013. They were announced as the sole support for
Muse on their national Australian tour in November and December of that year.
2015–2017: Playlist and Brace On 24 April 2015, Birds of Tokyo released their third EP,
Anchor. This was supported by a national tour and a single of the same name. The band subsequently debuted a new song, "
I'd Go with You Anywhere", confirming the release of a compilation album, titled
Playlist, which came out in November 2015. The group issued their fifth studio album,
Brace, in November 2016.
2018–2020: Human Design In September 2018, Birds of Tokyo released "
Unbreakable". The song was chosen as the theme for the
2018 Invictus Games in Sydney. The band also performed the track at the closing ceremony of the event, on 27 October, at
Sydney Super Dome. In February 2019, they issued "
Good Lord" and followed it with "
The Greatest Mistakes" and "
Two of Us". In February 2020, the
AFL team
West Coast Eagles revealed a revamped official club song, which was produced by bass player Ian Berney and sung by vocalist Ian Kenny. In February 2020, the band announced the forthcoming release of their sixth studio album,
Human Design, which came out in April 2020. The album debuted at number one on the ARIA charts, becoming the band's second chart topper. That November, they released a standalone single entitled "Weekend".
2021–present: New singles On 17 September 2021, Birds of Tokyo released "Superglue" with
Stand Atlantic. The song was described as the "first taste of a new batch of tunes" the band have spent the past year working on. On 18 March 2022, the band released "Smith Street", a song written during the 2021
COVID-19 lockdowns; it is an ode to the street in Melbourne
of the same name. On 18 November 2022, the band released the song "
Daylight". They performed a run of shows with the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in September 2023. ==Band members==