Wagakki Band will provide the ending theme song for the upcoming kabuki play adaptation of manga series Naruto which will be performed in Tokyo at the Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre this August. It was announced back in April that the band would perform a song for the play, but new details have been revealed. The song is titled Hikari no Naka de (‘In the Light’).   Naruto was first serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999 and tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who trains in the art of ninjitsu, who must take out his enemies, and who ultimately aspires to be Hokage, the leader of the village. The series has brought in fans across the globe, with well over 220 million copies sold in over 40 countries outside Japan. Kabuki actors Bandou Minosuke and Hayato Nakamura will play the roles of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha respectively. Comment by Yuko Suzuhana (Wagakki Band Vocalist): “Collaborating with kabuki theater is something I’ve really wanted to do so we are extremely honoured that they called out to us. They said that Wagakki Band’s sound was necessary for the play, so our mutual love was realised. We wrote this new song for the production as [they said] it was something only we can do. I believe it’s a very bright and piercing song compared to the recent Wagakki Band. The composition and lyrics were written by our guitarist Machiya. He’s a fan of Naruto, so much so that he’s watched it 3 times. The song is packed with words like ‘hope’ and ‘light’ which align with the story’s final arc which rang together really well in our heads with the music when we were writing it. We also tried some new songs, like having multiple choruses. There’s also less sounds in the ensemble than we’ve ever had to bring more of a balance. I hope people enjoy this unique fusion of kabuki and Wagakki Band which has never been seen before.”   We look forward to hearing what kind of song Wagakki Band has in store for the play.    

Wagakki Band's premium live concert Wagakki Band Dai Shinnenkai 2018 Yokohama Arena - Asu e no Kokai - which took place at Yokohama Arena on January 27 will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 8. This is the fifth year in a row the band have performed this special New Year's concert. It first took place at Shibuya Club Asia in 2014 in front of 300 people. It then moved to Shibuya Public Hall where they performed for 2,000 people. Things got bigger in 2016 at the Nippon Budokan with 10,000 people, and again in 2017 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium for 15,000 people where they performed for two days. This year at Yokohama Arena marked the biggest yet.   Fans can now relive the grand night and thrilling musical performance that took place, including the diverse stage line-up that saw 44 people up there sword dancing, playing the taiko drums and the shamisen, and dancing. One of the biggest surprises of the evening was when Yo Hitoto stepped onto stage to perform Dong Feng Po alongside Wagakki Band. The sub-title of the concert's name, Asu e no Kokai ('A Voyage to the Morrow'), signalled a diving into a new deep ocean for this year's show. It displayed the skill the band have cultivated these past five year and their unrivalled power to progress to the next stage which was shown in numerous ways.

The first press limited editions of the DVD and Blu-ray includes a CD containing the tracks performed live that night as well as behind-the-scenes footage and commentary from the members.    

Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes is a popular mystery light novel series written by Mai Mochizuki. The series has sold over 700,000 copies and won the Kyoto Book Awards in 2016. An anime adaptation is slated for July 2018, for which Wagakki Band's new song Sasameyuki has been chosen as the opening theme.

The song is the lead track from the band's fifth album Otonoe which was released on April 25. It's a twist on the popular theme of 'separation' told through wabisabi, the Japanese aesthetic of transience and imperfection, and an orchestra. It's an intricate fusion of rock band power, traditional Japanese instruments, and orchestral instruments.

Sasameyuki will also be used as the main theme song for the upcoming movie Koi no Shizuku coming to theatres in Japan this autumn. Acting as the main theme song to a movie where the creation of sake is the theme―which is also part of traditional Japanese culture―as well as a theme song to an anime with Kyoto as the main location serves to only continue Wagakki Band's ability to spread the country's traditional culture to the world.

 

Comments from Morita (Anime Producer, Futabasha)
"The reason behind making this offer to Wagakki Band was because I felt a high affinity between them and the series. One of the themes of the 'Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes' anime is antiques being a memory from the past that link to our time. Wagakki Band are a hybrid of the good old traditional wagakki instruments and modern day music. I felt they were a perfect match for that theme."

 

Wagakki Band are in the midst of their 2018 Oto no Kairou tour to promote their latest album Otonoe. The tour will see them perform in 25 places around Japan in 26 concerts. Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes begins this July, so be sure to catch the song when it airs.

 

 

A kabuki adaptation of Naruto is slated for August later this year at the Shinbashi Enbujō theatre in Ginza.

 

It has been unveiled that Wagakki Band will provide a song for the production.

Naruto was first serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999 and tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who trains in the art of ninjitsu, who must take out his enemies, and who ultimately aspires to be Hokage, the leader of the village. The series has brought in fans across the globe, with well over 220 million copies sold in over 40 countries outside Japan. Kabuki actors Bandou Minosuke and Hayato Nakamura will appear in the new kabuki adaptation where they will play the roles of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha respectively.9

 

Comment by Bandou Minosuke (Naruto Uzumaki):
"On this occasion we will be borrowing the power of Wagakki Band. It's very encouraging! No other music is better to combine the unique perspective of the original Naruto work which has spanned all ages and nationalities, and the purely Japanese image of kabuki!"

Comment by Hayato Nakamura (Sasuke Uchiha):
"I am so happy for Wagakki Band to be kindly providing a song for the new Naruto kabuki play. Wagakki Band's sound, which combines traditional Japanese instruments and Western instruments, though new, has a sense of nostalgia within it, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing how that ties in with the kabuki."

Comment by Yuko Suzuhana (Wagakki Band):
"I really wanted to do a kabuki collaboration, so I am humbly honoured for my voice to have been heard. That Wagakki Band's sound was said to be a necessary element has realised our mutual love. We have felt the overwhelming popularity of Naruto when we have been overseas, so to be associated with such a representative piece of work from Japan through music has all of us, who have been fans of Naruto since long ago, very excited."

The chemistry between the world created by the new Naruto kabuki play and Wagakki Band is something to very much look forward to.

 

 

Wagakki Band uploaded a video to YouTube showing them performing alongside The WGB Symphonic Orchestra, the first time they have collaborated with a full orchestra live.

 

 

The video includes footage of the second act of Wagakki Band Premium Symphonic Night, a one-night only premium live show that took place in February this year.

 

The footage from the night is also available on the live concert edition of Wagakki Band's upcoming fifth album, Otonoe, set for release on April 25.

 

Wagakki Band entertain their fans with a multitude of different projects. Stay up to date to see what they get up to next!

 

Wagakki Band have released a new music video featuring two new songs: Sabaku no Komori Uta (Lullaby of the Desert) and an orchestral version of Sasame Yuki (Light Snowfall).

 

Sabaku no Komori Uta / Sasame Yuki for Piano and Symphonic Orchestra - Music Video

 

The two new tracks were both made in collaboration with an orchestra, with close to 20 orchestral members featured in the video. Sabaku no Komori Uta is a majestic rock ballad written and produced by the band's vocalist Yuko Suzuhana. To better express the 'dry' world of the song, the music video was shot at a cave in Tochigi Prefecture surrounded by sand and rocks

The video was shot at the end of February, so the staff were well prepared for the harsh -2°c weather, turning up to the set dressed in down jackets and scarves. On the other band, Beni Ninagawa who plays the tsugaru-jamisen for the band was exposed from the shoulders, and most of the members wore short sleeves. The supporting orchestra were also exposed to the bitter cold in their short-sleeved performing outfits. You can see their white breath exhale into the air.

 

For the other song, Sasame Yuki for Piano and Symphonic Orchestra, we see Suzuhana playing on the piano for the first time and backed only by the members of the orchestra.

Looking back on the filming of the clips, both taken in the same situation, Suzuhana commented:

"Wagakki Band's music videos are constantly shot in rigorous locations, but this was the harshest in the band's history (laughs). But then again, we were able to shoot our best video. Some of the supporting members of the orchestra went to my alma mater, Tokyo College of Music, which was heartening."

 

The music videos for these new songs are included on the music video version of Wagakki Band's upcoming new album Otonoe, set to hit shelves in Japan on April 25th. You can also see behind-the-scenes footage of the harsh conditions they worked under on there.

 

Make sure to check out their fantastic new videos!