The second and final album from guitarist Ryogen, PHOENIX IN THE SPACE, was released on digital platforms worldwide on December 1st.
Ryogen was nicknamed "the solo guitar orchestra" for his unique playing style that could make a single guitar sound like multiple instruments. He began working on his second album with friends at the end of 2015.
While he was battling cancer at the time, he refused to abandon his music and kept performing live and recording while he was undergoing treatment. In fact, he took advantage of the hair loss he experienced as a side effect of his cancer treatments,
beginning to experiment with body paint and adding video elements to his work to enhance his creative expression even further. In 2016, Ryogen performed his song DEEP BLUE at TEDxTokyo, and the video has since been viewed over 2.5 million times on
YouTube.
While Ryogen passed away on September 18th, 2017, his friends continued working on his album. It was released on CD this January, and links to download and stream PHOENIX IN THE SPACE on Spotify, Apple Music and other music platforms are available here.
In addition, to help as many listeners as possible experience Ryogen's music, his friends have launched a TikTok account for him for a limited period of three months. The account will be updated roughly every Saturday at around 18:00 (JST).
It will feature exclusive off-shot videos and photos.
Ryogen's performance of DEEP BLUE at TEDxTokyo, the music video for Phoenix In The Space, and a trailer for the album can be viewed below.
