It has been announced that bird will release their new album “Reconnect” on Wednesday, March 12th.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of their debut, they released “25th anniv. re-edit best + SOULS 2024” as a 2024 best album in September this year. bird has been involved in various initiatives such as appearing on “THE FIRST TAKE” and opening an official YouTube channel. On the other hand, this work, “Reconnect”, which is the 12th original album, was carefully and carefully produced.
As the title suggests, this work has the theme of “reconnecting” and is proof that bird has continued to sing since entering its 25th anniversary, and has repeatedly expressed its gratitude to its fans and the honor of being able to continue singing in the future. It is said to be a collection of works by.
This theme runs through all of our initiatives in 2024, and in this modern society full of complexity and diversity, we must face music, people, generations, and the world with a single-minded focus, and strengthen the connections we have made up until now. , and the album’s message is the deep importance of connecting with new people and unknown things, and has completed a work consisting of 10 songs. Keiichi Tomita, also known as Tomita Labo, is in charge of full production of all songs. This is his fourth full album collaboration with bird, following “BREATH” (2006), “Lush” (2015), and “Waveform” (2019).
The CD and LP limited to the first edition will come with “Special liner notes for “Reconnect” written by Keiichi Tomita/bird” with a total of more than 10,000 characters and extensive content written by each of the two artists. If you want to make sure you get it, make your reservation early.
In addition, although bird has been featured more often in the past, in his new work, he has been singing for 25 years, and in order to give form to the encounters he has had, he has created a new song as a proof of “connection” across generations.ARIWA(ASOUND) andSucha Dara ParrIt also includes works created together with . In conjunction with this announcement, the music video for the preceding song “Maitai Sekai e feat. ARIWA” was released.
[ARIWA (ASOUND) Comment]
When I heard about this story, I was just surprised and thought, “Why me?” The demo sound source I received already had a provisional song by bird, but it didn’t seem like it was a demo, it was powerful and supple, and there were phrases that required high technique such as high notes and violent jumps, but I couldn’t believe it was a demo song. Bird’s singing voice was included, singing perfectly and calmly without giving any hint of ambivalence. The track produced by Mr. Tomita, which is full of Bird’s charm, is both urban and new, and it was my first time trying music, and I remember being so excited. I am truly happy and feel privileged to have been able to share my voice with bird, one of Japan’s leading female singers, on their 25th anniversary.
Congratulations on your 25th anniversary, bird!
Reconnect!!
[bird comment]
The fast-paced melody is cool! With Mr. Tomita’s advice, it was exciting and a lot of fun to create the lyrics while focusing on the groove, rhyme, and word play.
ARIWA-san, I thought it would be nice to sing with her someday. The voices overlap to make “To the World Again” a powerful song!
Thank you, ARIWA-san.
“To the world with you, until love dances, singing voices that overlap, to the world again.” Some of the lyrics of this song are some of my personal favorite phrases. I hope that I can connect with you again and again through music.
[Comment from Keiichi Tomita (Tomita Lab)]
This is the first song I composed for this project. When composing the song, I was thinking of something that would take full advantage of Bird’s singing and would be suitable for a lead role, and Amapiano came to mind. Amapiano is South African house-derived dance music, and around 2023, I used to watch 30-minute DJ mixes on YouTube. I was very fascinated by the tonal structure and rhythmic structure, but the melodies ranged from primitive to sophisticated, and I never got tired of listening to them. In terms of me and African music, I started with the local recordings of African indigenous people that I bought in high school, and then went on to Salifu Keita and Mori Kante in the 1980s, and Fela Kuti, whom I discovered in the 2000s. I was familiar with Amapiano, but while it has a completely different sound image, there are many similarities in rhythm and melodic form, which is probably why I was drawn to it. I was convinced of the affinity between Bird’s singing and African melodies, and started with that as my starting point. However, since producing completely in Amapiano form would be a departure from the purpose of this event, which focuses on live drums, I decided to include live drums and bass from the 1B section. There, he experienced the similarities between African and South American music, which he had only known as knowledge, and decided to use songo (a form of rhythm in Cuban music) for the rhythm of the B section. After going through the texture and modulation of the pre-hook, and the four-voice harmony, I think we were able to create a novel yet natural and beautiful composition with a single Fm (F minor chord) hook. And in this song, guest ARIWA’s singing is amazing. I want you to enjoy both the difference and affinity with bird, but the improvisation on the final hook is very exciting. At the time of recording, I was amazed by her traditional knowledge of singing and the techniques used to achieve it.
*Explanatory comment by Keiichi Tomita on “Return to the World feat. ARIWA” (partial excerpt from “Reconnect” special liner notes written by Keiichi Tomita/bird)
[Release information]
bird 『Reconnect』
Release Date：2025.03.12 (Wed.)
(CD)
MHCL-3096 / ¥3,500 (Tax in)
(LP)
MHJL-415 / ¥4,620 (Tax in)
Tracklist:
01. Silence
Composer: Keiichi Tomita
Lyrics: bird
Arrangement: Keiichi Tomita
02. Back to the world feat. ARIWA
Composer: Keiichi Tomita
Lyrics: bird
Arrangement: Keiichi Tomita
03. Interlude Reconnect 1
Composer: Keiichi Tomita
Lyrics: bird
Arrangement: Keiichi Tomita
04. My Rainbow
Composer: Keiichi Tomita
Lyrics: bird
Arrangement: Keiichi Tomita
05. How’s it going?
Composer: Keiichi Tomita
Lyrics: bird
Arrangement: Keiichi Tomita
06. Light and light
Composer: Keiichi Tomita
Lyrics: bird
Arrangement: Keiichi Tomita
07. Interlude Reconnect 2
Composer: Keiichi Tomita
Lyrics: bird
Arrangement: Keiichi Tomita
08. Sense and Humor feat. Sucha Dara Par
Composition and lyrics: Keiichi Tomita, bird, Bose, ANI, SHINCO
Arrangement: Keiichi Tomita
09. Seaside town
Composer: Keiichi Tomita
Lyrics: bird
Arrangement: Keiichi Tomita
10. Outro Reconnect
Composer: Keiichi Tomita
Lyrics: bird
Arrangement: Keiichi Tomita
*Limited to the first edition of the CD: Three-way back box specification, special liner notes for “Reconnect” written by Keiichi Tomita/bird included.
*LP: 33 1/3 RPM, limited edition, special liner notes for “Reconnect” written by Keiichi Tomita/bird included.
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