Work on our fourth original song has officially started. Titled “Journey’s Reflection”, the song was originally written and recorded by Zach as a punk rock instrumental in late 2017 under the title “Shinrin’yoku” (森林浴 - しんりんよく).

As Zach will be moving countries towards the end of the year, he expects to finish recording his bass and vocal parts over the next month.

“Journey’s Reflection” songwriting credits:

Music - Zachary Tan

Arrangement: Zachary Tan and John Jin

Lyrics: Tessie Corwin and John Jin

In addition, we do have a few messages and updates from some of the band members.

Thewhitewhale:

About “Journey’s Reflection”: I like the vibe, much more chill than the other songs we’ve done and I think I can experiment with some different styles along with it.

Other updates: Also, as for music-related updates - I officially joined an anime cover band IRL, and performed at a local con last week! Thanks to the songs they wanted to play, I was coaxed out of my comfort zone and learned to use my keyboard to its full potential (funny synth sounds on “Don’t Say Lazy”, simultaneous piano + strings on “This Game”).

John:

“Journey’s Reflection” is a precedent for the band as a whole, as an out-of-genre experience, and a good time for us to take stock of where we are as we forge forward.

Indeed, our first three songs have been uptempo, heavy rock songs with a few common denominators: a mix of “stillness and motion”, some parts moving faster than others; virtuosic piano lines underscoring the rhythm section; intertwined lead parts on both the piano and guitar. We also recorded our first ever cover to participate in a Love Live community event, which was a completely unexpected yet welcome move.

On my end, I’ve been through quite a few life changes since the last time I ever wrote an update, and somehow managed to gather a set of seemingly unexpected musical influences in the process, from such places as heavy metal pubs, the radio in a bicycle shop, and a harpist in a hotel. These influences are anticipated to play out in this work and more in the future.

While we have set down some “principles” and yet another precedent for our future work, some new changes are still afoot as we strive to maximise the potential of both musician and instrument alike.

Zach:

As stated in the admin message, I’ll be eventually moving back home to Australia after five long years in Japan. I’ll admit that I only intended to stay here for two years (three if possible), but due to circumstances ended up staying the maximum five years as permitted by my rolling contract. At least staying this long allowed me to finally come in contact with and own a Warwick bass, even if it’s from their budget brand.

I’m really excited to start work on “Journey’s Reflection” over the next month. It’s hard to imagine that it started life as the third (or fourth, I think?) full-length song I’ve ever written all the way back in late-2017/early-2018, and I’m glad to have shared it on our band’s Discord on a whim. I’d like to thank both John and Tessie for further developing the concept behind the song.

I’ve been listening to quite a lot of German punk rock recently, and I look forward to employing some of the tropes I’ve been acquiring here and there when I start writing music again after moving home at the end of the year.