JaME's Rising Stars of 2015: Silhouette from the Skylit

Introduction

Strong, energetic and melodious are the best words to describe the music of indie hard rock quartet Silhouette from the Skylit.

Bringing with him a knowledge of global music trends and the ability to deliver songs in Japanese and English, thanks to his stay in the US, vocalist Seishirox adds a global dimension to the band's music, without leaving out characteristically Japanese music stylings. It's this nuanced blend of styles, mixed with a healthy dose of dynamic guitar riffs, that has captured the hearts of fans both in Japan and abroad.

Being a winner of famous Japanese indie music band contest Red Bull Live On The Road 2013, the quartet had the opportunity to do a recording in New York as a part of the contest prize. After releasing their second full-length album The Reflection in June this year, Silhouette from the Skylit saw a surge in their exposure to a wider audience. In August, they had the opportunity to perform at Japan's largest summer music festival, SUMMER SONIC 2014. Just last month, the four-piece played as the opening act of Japan Knotfest 2014, sharing the stage with a host of major Japanese and international bands.

Six years into their career, Silhouette from the Skylit are showing no signs of slowing down, continually performing to sold-out crowds in their homeland and wooing overseas listeners one by one. If the band continues with the same fervor and passion that has driven them this far, a major international breakthrough won't be long in the making.


Interview

How did you choose "Silhouette from the Skylit" as your band name?

Silhouette from the Skylit: We found "silhouette" and "skylit" when we looked for cool-sounding words. Then, we combined them into Silhouette from the Skylit, because SeshiroX likes long names.

Please share an interesting fact about a bandmate.

Silhouette from the Skylit: We all like ramen because we're from Fukuoka*, but Rockwell doesn't like it because eating it gives him a stomachache.

*Fukuoka is famous for ramen production.

Which song of yours would you recommend to someone who hasn't listened to your music before? Why that song?

Silhouette from the Skylit: Blue Echo, because of the simplicity of the arrangement ... and it's a song where the listener can tell how good the melody and lyrics are. It's a recommendable song for people who don't usually listen to rock music.

Tell us more about your latest single Blue Echo / Closer.

Silhouette from the Skylit: It was a prize we won at Red Bull Live on the Road in 2013. The single was recorded in New York. We consulted an engineer who worked with Lady Gaga or Beyoncé. Three masterpieces were born in the history of our song writing. We titled Blue Echo / Closer as a double A-side single, but the third song Sheltered is a good song too. (laughs)

What are your plans for 2015 and beyond?

Silhouette from the Skylit: Nothing much fixed yet for 2015, but we'll hold the first one-man concert at Shibuya CYCLONE in Tokyo on February 21st. Of course, we'll release new works continuously, so please look forward to seeing our future announcements!


Review



Title of release: The Reflections
Date of release: 2014.07.02

With their latest album The Reflections up and coming band Silhouette from the Skylit (short SFTS) proved once more how they know to rock. The Reflections, released on July 2nd, 2014, is the second full album of the band and contains a total of ten songs. With lyrics in both Japanese and mainly English SFTS' music is easily accessible for an international audience.

The first song Unsheathed catches the attention of the listener right away. Though the lyrics are fully in Japanese, it is easy to get into the song and you will soon find yourself nodding your head with the beat. Clearly, it's a catchy tune and a great beginning for this album.

Next comes Confessions, rocking from the very first second. Lyrics and shouts are fully in English and the arrangements are generally slightly heavier than those of the first track. It's definitely a song for fans of rock music, because it has everything a great rock song needs. It's surely a good one for head banging on a live.

The third track, Total Mistake starts with rocking guitars blended with keyboard tunes, soon changing pace during the verses and chorus. It gives the listener the feeling of breaking out and getting over everything that troubles him or her.

In Two Left Feet, SFTS use more electronic elements, but still keep their rock base. Also in this song the lyrics are in both Japanese and English again. Despite the title, this track is quite well driven forward by fast drums and guitars.

Sonar is the first ballad on this album, using acoustic guitars and even violin arrangements. The main part of the lyrics is in Japanese, but vocalist SeishiroX blends them well with English lines. All in all, this song is a nice pause in the middle of this album.

With Sweet Misunderstanding, the just created calm mood is torn apart for the sake of rocking on. This song feels like a good choice for playing at a live, too, because it makes the listener want to bang his or her head. Providing no reason to stop head banging the following song Never Say Never is absolutely catchy and really rocks.

Hate This Place starts a bit heavier again and keeps the hard tunes until the chorus starts with quite a melodic arrangement. To sum it up, it's a heavy rock song with fast drums, some electronic elements and hard guitar riffs.

The last song, Live For The Night starts with drums only before guitars, keyboard and bass slowly join them, then finally vocals set in. The song is very electronic, yet still keeping its rock base. On this album, it's the song with most elements mixed in. Electronic dub step tunes blend in with violins, SeishiroX's first distorted then clear voice is supported by driving drums and keyboards as well as rocking guitars.

To sum it up, this album is perfect for you if you like rock music as well as some light experiments with electronic elements. SFTS are like the perfect mix of Japanese and Western music style. You should definitely give them a listen.