SUGIZO and modular synthesizer player/music producer HATAKEN will release their first original album together under the name SUGIZO×HATAKEN on February 16th.
SUGIZO and modular synthesizer player/electronic music producer HATAKEN have announced that they will release their first original album together under the name SUGIZO×HATAKEN on February 16th.
This is far from their first collaboration, as HATAKEN was invited as a guest player for the 20th anniversary of SUGIZO's solo work, and he also remixed The Voyage Home for his remix album SWITCHED-ON OTO in 2018,
with the track being released under the name
The Eternity Voyage Remix by HATAKEN. HATAKEN had submitted multiple ideas for the remix, and SUGIZO felt that the other versions that were not selected were also very engaging, and he wished to compile them into a work.
Titled The Voyage to The Higher Self, the album will feature seven tracks, one inspired by each of the colours of the seven chakras. For example, the track Muladhara, which is described as "ambient but fleshy" in sound, represents
the red-coloured first chakra at the base of the spinal cord, which is connected to the ground. On the other hand, Svadhisthana, which represents the second chakra that is connected to sexual desire, is said to project sensual images.
This album is said to be a continuation of SUGIZO's previous release LOVE & TRANQUILITY, featuring the same themes of ambient, healing and meditation music, but with a completely different approach to production.
The seven tracks on The Voyage to The Higher Self were all based on existing songs by SUGIZO. HATAKEN started by dismantling them into pieces, and he then rebuilt them by processing and modulating almost all of the sounds
with modular synths. Then SUGIZO added more melodies and harmonies to the rebuilt versions, and the tracks were completed by recording and layering new sounds.
Sounds created by SUGIZO's guitar actually account for 70% of the materials used on the album. It was noted that the phrases from existing tracks give the release a sense of nostalgia, while the chemistry created by the modular synths
creates a new impression.
The album will be available for fan club members to pre-order on January 16th, and it will go on general sale on February 16th.
More information on the release is available on this special site.
Footage of SUGIZO and HATAKEN performing together during SWITCHED-ON OTO NIGHT, a concert held in 2018 around the release of SWITCHED-ON OTO, can be viewed below.
