Tag Archives: Feature

Re:O Reverie

I’m still here, frozen alone.

Beginning with bittersweet tones, Re:O‘s 10th single Reverie signals the dawn of a new era for Re:O. Reverie portrays the story of missing someone you shared every moment after they are gone. Those who once spent time with us eventually disappear from your sight as time goes by, like snow falling on your hand, without a trace. The fragile snow, even when it piles up, will eventually melt away. In the same way, human connections are breakable and bound to fade.

Nonetheless, the memories of those we hold close remain eternal. Walking down this snowy path, glancing at the snow-covered buildings, such ordinary days bring back nostalgic memories of the times spent with you, and this song carries one wish: โ€œMay you always stay well.โ€ Reverie is not about loss, itโ€™s about reminiscing about those we encountered in our life, the special moments shared and the hope that not only could a friendship or relationship reignite but also the hope that those that we shared these memories with are safe, well and thriving.

Reverie is the first song written fully in Japanese since 2021. The track focuses on the relationship between the guitars and synths working with each other, to create an atmosphere of powerful, raw energy yet a mysterious, cold, distant but yet familiar and comforting overtones with the synths. Raw guitar riffs intertwine with gentle bells dancing like falling snow, highlighting Rio’s soft and tenderly persuasive voice captivating us, while the synths and guitars create a spacious, expansive sound. The melodies, both serene and powerful, are brought to life and flawlessly compliment the music by Rio’s soft, tender but yet powerful voice.

Reverie review by Just Panda

With that dark synth sound we know well from Re:O, the track starts with light but purposeful keyboards followed by some decent riffage that drives into the first verse, delicate tones and vocals from Rio sit aloft the guitars. The low register just as confident as the upper, you can feel Rios presence as she moves through the verse.

Theres a subtle hold back before the build up into the chorus, uplifting chord progression from the guitars are enjoyable and encase the vocals perfectly. The musicality captures the lyrics ‘Sail with the breeze, Snow falling down, Weaving, The dream you were in’, you can feel the chill.

The pace picks up as we move into the second verse, the drums leading with riffs on on the offbeat dark and heavy. Its a great feeling when you can hear a band fully in sync, each member having there place to shine whilst the others support.

I love the electronica touches that lighten the mood, they have that 1980s synth pop energy, subtle but deliberate. The heavy half time riffage before we enter the final chorus was welcomed, the band certainly know how to bring the heaviness but not allow it to take over.

The band really have grown together musically over the past few releases, and Reverie is certainly a top track for me. The chorus was uplifting, almost euphoric, and it works so well with Rios vocals. And the vocals in Japanese really brought the song into its own, I hope they write more tracks in Japanese.

For me this is a solid top tier track from the band, who are clearly growing in confidence musically, and will be a great addition to their live set, fans of the band will no doubt embrace it.

Reverie is available now.

https://linktr.ee/reo_o

Song Credits:

Composition: Re:O- Rio Suyama, James Wright, James โ€˜Jโ€™ Stevens, Alex Carli

Lyrics: Rio Suyama & James Wright

Produced by: Rio Suyama & Simon Jackson

Vocals: Rio Suyama

Guitar:Alex Carli

Bass: James Wright

Drums: James โ€˜Jโ€™ Stevens

Artwork Credits :Rio Suyama

Lyrics

Reverie
[Verse 1]
ๆœˆใŒ็…งใ‚‰ใ™
The moon shines bright on
็™ฝใ„่ก—ไธฆใฟ
A cityscape of snow
ใ‹ใ™ใ‹ใซ่žใ“ใˆใ‚‹
I can faintly hear,
ๅ›ใฎๅฃฐ
Your voice
้ ใๆ—ฅใฎ่จ˜ๆ†ถ
Our distant memories,
ใพใถใŸใซๆตฎใ‹ใถ
Floating in my mind
(Chorus)
้ขจใซไน—ใฃใฆ
Sail with the breeze,
่ˆžใ„่ฝใกใ‚‹้›ชใŒ
Snow falling down,
็ดกใ„ใงใ„ใ
Weaving
ๅ›ใŒใ„ใŸๅคขใ‚’
The dream you were in
[Verse 2]
้ ฐใ‚’ใ‹ใ™ใ‚ใŸ
Blowing on my cheek,
ๅ‡ใˆใŸ้ขจใฏ
A frozen glazing wind
ๅๆฎ‹ๆƒœใ—ใ„
Leaving
้ฆ™ใ‚Šใ‚’ๆฎ‹ใ™
A bittersweet scent
้™ๅฏ‚ใฎใ•ใ•ใ‚„ใ
My silent whispers
ๅ›ใ‚’ๅ‘ผใณใ‹ใ‘ใ‚‹
Calling for you
ๅƒ•ใŒใšใฃใจ
I will always
ๅฎˆใ‚ŠๆŠœใใ‹ใ‚‰
Support you
(Chorus)
้ขจใซไน—ใฃใฆ
Sail with the breeze,
Reverie Official Lyrics.docx

A Reason to Never Oshihen: An Interview with GARUDA, HALUKA and Satanic Punish at Ikigai Vol. 2

Kelly, Amanda
Translators: Justin, Baz

Hosted by The Chocolate Brothers and the Dutch Idol Community and held between September 20th in Arnhem, The Netherlands, and September 21st in Koln, Germany, Ikigai Vol. 2 saw the return of GARUDA and Satanic Punish on European soil, as well as marking the debut of DIABLEVOIX’s Haluka in her first overseas tour.

For these two evenings, fans of these three acts had the chance to experience a show filled with incredible vocals, relentless energy, and the possibility of a strained neck the following morning, thanks to all the headbanging that went on.

For some fans, however, the weekend did not end at the Blue Shell with a final song, as those who had purchased off-kai tickets had the absolute pleasure of joining GARUDA, Satanic Punish and DIABLEVOIX’s HALUKA for an off-kai event the following Sunday.

It is also that, on this day, Beyond Senpai’s Kelly and Amanda were fortunate enough to attend as well and, for the first time since this site’s inception, both Amanda and Kelly were given the opportunity to deliver their first in-person interview to these three legendary performers.

So, it was with a great amount of nerves and some shoddy Japanese pronunciation that our interview began. With the help of Justin and Baz, who aided in translating the performers answers for us, Beyond Senpai joined Yuffie, Haluka, Manamu and LinLin at the front of the event hall to deliver the Ikigai Vol. 2 Interview, right in front of the fans…

Continue reading A Reason to Never Oshihen: An Interview with GARUDA, HALUKA and Satanic Punish at Ikigai Vol. 2

Carnage Society: The artwork that makes the music. An interview with Yu-ki Iwata.

The creativeness of music takes many forms, from the audible to the visual. And the artwork presented to us on our favourite record sleeves tell just as much of the musical story as the songs themselves.

SERPENT

Illustrator Yu-ki Iwata, known as Carnage Society, is one of the creative souls who works alongside bands and musicians to bring to life those album artworks.

Working as a freelance illustrator since high school, Yu-ki has worked on artworks for many prominent metal and visual kei artists. And more recently, with influences from death metal and grind core, Yu-ki has developed their style further, fusing kawaii and gore to create the original character GORE-GIRL.

Yu-ki joined Beyond Senpai to tell us more about the creativity involved in being an illustrator.

Continue reading Carnage Society: The artwork that makes the music. An interview with Yu-ki Iwata.

MION: A Little Gem Amongst The Chaos

As the weekends since July 22nd pass us by, Hyper Japan continues to stand as more than just a memory to us all. The experience allowed us to reunite with friends old and new, and despite the stress that may have come with the bustling venue and the heatwave that pursued us all like the evil sun from Super Mario Bro’s, there has also been some undeniably incredible moments that we shall never forget.

One such memory comes in the form of MION, a singer-songwriter who hails all the way from Aichi, Japan, who currently resides in the UK in order to improver herself as a performer. With a sweet voice and powerful music that transcends the language barrier between us all, MION has been working hard since the beginning of 2022 to make a name for herself in the UK convention scene, and is only growing stronger the more she performs here.

With the memories of her music and personal interactions still fresh in our mind, Beyond Senpai’s Tom and Kelly are ready to reminisce about the heat of the Festival Stage at Hyper Japan Festival 2022, and talk about the impact that MION has had on them both.

Continue reading MION: A Little Gem Amongst The Chaos

Bridging The Gap Between Japan and The UK’s Music Scene: An Interview with MION

Born into a music background in Mie prefecture, Japan, and raised in Aichi, the award winning singer-songwriter, MION, has over 10 years of experience behind her, and a catalogue of songs to entertain fans both old and new. Now based in the UK in order to deepen her knowledge of music, MION is growing even more as a performer as she sets her sights on becoming the bridge between Japan and the UK, with a hope to see artists from both countries to collaborate and perform music together.

With her guitar in hand and a passion for music that could rival the British heatwave of ’22, MION has been taking the UK convention scene by storm since the beginning of the year, and shows no sign of stopping any time soon.

Continue reading Bridging The Gap Between Japan and The UK’s Music Scene: An Interview with MION

Welcome To Kaepyon’s World: An Interview with Tsukimori Kaede

A financial office worker during the week, and an Idol at the weekend, Tsukimori Kaede – also known by her nickname, Kaepyon – is a self-produced idol that has been making waves within the overseas idol fandom since her solo debut back in 2020.

From desk work to live streams, Kaepyon works hard to make her dreams come true, and encourages her fans – whom she affectionately calls ‘Kaepyonists’ – to also pursue their own dreams, no matter how old they might be! With a cute voice at her disposal and an ever-growing, loyal fanbase, Kaepyon is ready to welcome you into her sparkling world of colour and happiness.

Image from Tsukimori Kaede’s official Twitter
Continue reading Welcome To Kaepyon’s World: An Interview with Tsukimori Kaede

This Is My Love For Houkago Princess

A personal reflection by Kelly

Idols bring us hope, happiness and a drive to continue with our daily lives, no matter how mundane a day might be, or how weary we feel after the work has been done. Come rain or shine, the joy that an idol creates is second to none, and a core point of our fan journey.

Looking back at my own journey as a fan, there is one group that comes to mind when I think about the love I hold for Idols and Japanese music, and the role they have played in my life as an Idol fan.

So, let’s talk about Houkago Princess.

Continue reading This Is My Love For Houkago Princess

Why LOVEBITES are the most important Japanese band, to me.

A personal reflection by Andrew Goodhew.

On August 17th, 2021, the news that Miho – founding member and now former bassist of all female metal band LOVEBITES – was leaving the group was released, along with the announcement that the rest of the group would be going on hiatus. It sent shock waves through the metal scene in Japan and around the world. For me as one of their biggest fans in the UK, the announcement saddened and deflated me. It just feels so raw that a band that has meaningful lyrics, that sing to you about what you feel and inspired myself to be who I am today has gone on hiatus, and yes it hurts at times.

Here are my thoughts on why LOVEBITES are an important band to me.

Continue reading Why LOVEBITES are the most important Japanese band, to me.

The Heana Cat In-Between the Lines

Gothic-romantic songwriter and multi instrumentalist The Heana Cat returns with an epic re-recording and international release of The In-Between.

The Heana Cat

A cult favourite on the live Japanese music scene since 2013, The Heana Cat has turned classic J-Rock and J-pop on its head thanks to lead Hi-chan, who brings with her a dark and stylish fusion on the gothic-romantic genre.

With the long awaited release of mini album THE HEANA CAT to, moshimasu back in March – the first release in two years – Hi-chan has been busy on the live circuit and as well as being newly signed to Setsuzoku Records.

Now, the exclusive international release of The In-Between will be available on CD and digitally from December 10th, featuring 10 rerecorded songs along with an exclusive bonus track, Asobitai.

To celebrate this anticipated release, Hi-chan has joined Beyond Senpai to talk about the album, her inspirations and plans for the future.

Continue reading The Heana Cat In-Between the Lines

BRIDEAR shine in the dark: An Interview with BRIDEAR

Bridear

After what feels like a lifetime of lock-downs and restrictions, it goes without saying that what transpired this past October was an event that had been a long time coming for fans of the Japanese live music scene. Of course, whilst things have not quite returned to complete normality, here in the UK and Europe music has made its triumphant return with the explosive tour from BRIDEAR.

Bringing their Into The Dark Forever tour to several cities across the UK and Europe, BRIDEAR delighted the fans who travelled near and far for what was the first (of hopefully many) Japanese tours in almost 2 years. It goes without saying that this was more than just the music; this was a reunion of fans and friends, a reason to rock out and enjoy themselves after enduring many months without leaving their homes, let alone their counties. This was about everyone embracing their love for the music, the band and the metal that they bring.

Now that a few weeks have passed since BRIDEAR graced us with their incredible performance, the girls have since returned to Japan, but Beyond Senpai’s team were able to catch up with the members and reminisce about their time touring overseas. So, please welcome Kimi, Haru, Ayumi, Natsumi and Misaki as they join Beyond Senpai for a post-tour chat.

Continue reading BRIDEAR shine in the dark: An Interview with BRIDEAR