Today, we’re excited to announce that the band has teamed up with the German record label Black Screen Records to release their latest studio album “FOREVER DAZE” on vinyl in Europe and North America on April 14th. The album will be available in two audiophile editions: a special edition on 180g blue vinyl and regular edition on classic 180g black vinyl. Both editions come in a gatefold sleeve and include a 4-page 12" booklet complete with lyrics.
Originally released in November 2021, “FOREVER DAZE” was written and recorded throughout the pandemic and speaks to the musical challenges the band faced, their hopes moving forward and features a diverse group of collaborators and experimental elements. The album welcomed guest artists including the famous actor/singer Masaki Suda, as well as two of the most up-and-coming artists, Awich and iri.
“Forever daze. Making music under pandemic, for the last 18 months, was like feeling constant dizziness. As a result, we ended up with music that is so future-forward and open to the Sun which made me happy. Life can be very difficult at times. But I’m sure I will keep making music as I sway and drift about this journey of life.” – Yojiro Noda
“FOREVER DAZE” is composed of 14 songs including the singles “Blame Summer”, “Iron Feather”, “TWILIGHT” (from “WE ARE ONE”, the special project commemorating vol. 100 manga and 1000th episode of anime “ONE PIECE”), “Utakata-Uta” (theme from the film “It’s a Flickering Life”) and “SUMMER DAZE 2021”. The newly recorded full orchestra version of “Nekojarashi”, now titled “Inujarashi”, and RADWIMPS version of “Grand Escape” from the film “Weathering with You” are also on the album.
RADWIMPS have also recently teamed up with highly acclaimed film music composer Kazuma Jinnouchi to create the soundtrack and score for award-winning director Makoto Shinkai’s latest film “Suzume” which hits theaters in North America and Europe in April, distributed by Crunchyroll. "Suzume" opened in Japan on Nov. 11, 2022. It was #1 for 3 consecutive weeks and saw 9.39 million tickets sold with a gross of over 12.48 billion Yen at the box office in just over 2 months! It was also recently announced that “Suzume” has been included in the competition line-up for this year’s 73rd Berlin International Film Festival held from Feb. 16 through 26, 2023.
Formed in 2001, Japanese 4-piece band RADWIMPS made their major label debut in 2005. Soon after, they garnered a broad fan base, with the younger generation at the core. The band has released nine studio albums thus far. The band’s creation of music for Shinkai’s previous record-breaking animated feature films “Your Name.” and “Weathering with You” led to recognitions at the Japanese Academy Award for Best Original Score. Their musical activities go far beyond Japan, including touring extensively around the world.