TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA released new album ‘SKA=ALMIGHTY’ on March 3, their first studio album since November 2019’s ‘Tsugihagi Colorful’.
Download/ streaming: link
The album includes ‘Ribbon feat. Moral Distraída’, a globally minded collaboration with Chilean band Moral Distraída, whom the members of TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA met by chance when they performed at Lollapalooza Chile in 2019. The song is a new version of ‘Ribbon feat. Kazutoshi Sakurai’, which the Tokyo band had previously released in 2019 to commemorate their 30th anniversary; Moral Distraída reinterpreted an instrumental version of the song and added new lyrics sung in Spanish.
Also on March 3, TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA released a brand new music video for ‘miss you｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡ feat. Hakushi Hasegawa’, a collaboration with breakthrough young prodigy artist Hakushi Hasegawa that features on the new album.
TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA have worked with many artists over the years, but this is their most diverse collaboration so far –in fact, you could call it an evolution. The band came across Hasegawa about two years ago, when trumpet player NARGO heard the intro to one of the young artist’s songs on his car radio and, amazed by what he was hearing, immediately pulled over to check who it was. On hearing the song, NARGO felt as though “a door to a new kind of music has opened!” He quickly messaged the other members of TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA over LINE to tell them to check out this amazing new artist.
The music for ‘miss you｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡’ was initially written by bassist Tsuyoshi Kawakami, with lyrics cowritten by baritone sax player Atsushi Yanaka, and the track features vocals by Hasegawa and drummer Kin-ichi Motegi. Kawakami’s version of the song was deconstructed and rebuilt by Hasegawa, who added lyrics, new melodies and more.
Meanwhile, the video is a fusion of animation and live performance that breaks the conventional conception of TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA. The music video is a collaboration, too: It was directed by Hidenobu Tanabe, who is familiar to TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA fans for the videos to ‘ALMIGHTY – The Masked Promise feat. Yoohei Kawakami’, ‘Good Morning – Blue Daisy feat. aiko’ and ‘Ribbon feat. Kazutoshi Sakurai’, while the animation was created by Shu Yonezawa, a regular illustrator on Hasegawa’s work.
The video references the current situation where many of us are forced to connect remotely, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It begins with a laptop being started up; in one desktop window after another, the members of TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA play separately but together, giving dynamic individual performances, while Hasegawa appears in animated form, like an apostle who connects the virtual and the real. It is a must-see video that symbolizes the remote era, while presenting all 10 performers in the same virtual space – a sight that is becoming increasingly common in these unusual times.
Just as NARGO felt when he first heard Hasegawa’s music, the sound and visuals of ‘miss you｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡’ will make you feel as though “a door to a new kind of music has opened”. Check it out and see for yourself!
Comment from Atsushi Yanaka (TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA)
“It was a real pleasure to see Hakushi Hasegawa take the song written by our bassist Tsuyoshi Kawakami and build upon it, add new melodies and arrangements, write lyrics and sing them. For me, while cowriting the lyrics and communicating over email, I became a burning spirit. ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡ I’m so happy to have the chance to work together with such a rare talent, and I want as many people as possible to hear it. In the video, the members of TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA were sucked into Hakushi’s world – I hope you will take a look!”
Comment from Hakushi Hasegawa
“This song has an unbelievable amount of light and chaos. ‘When distance and time converge, even when you feel lost, to be confident we will meet.’ Together we were able to find the perfect expressions, and make everything many times greater, which impressed me deeply. ‘A burning spirit’! Wow! Thank you so much! ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡”
Release information
Download and streaming links: here
Tracklist
- Salvation Ska
- 9
- Great Conjunction 2020
- ALMIGHTY – The Masked Promise feat. Yoohei Kawakami
- JUMON feat. AiNA THE END (BiSH)
- miss you｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡ feat. Hakushi Hasegawa
- Together Again
- Kamen Rider Saber
- This Is My Life
- Multiple Exposure feat. Yoohei Kawakami
- A Touch Of Spring
- Standing Dominoes
- (Everybody is a) SUPERSTAR
- Ribbon feat. Moral Distraída
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