After his extensive tour through Australia, musician Kenta Hayashi, for some better known as the 444Hz Loop Pedal Ninja, was supposed to tour Italy in February and March. Due to the current situation around COVID-19, he had to cut this tour short and returned to his home country. Quite a new situation for the musician, as Kenta Hayashi normally travels all over the world to perform on the most interesting places. AVO Magazine had a chance to talk with the musician about what he is doing right now, his latest album and Italy.
AVO Magazine: If we look at what you’ve done in recent years, then we see that your focus was mainly on travelling around the world to showcase your music as a one-man band and find inspiration for new music. How do you like being a travelling musician?
Kenta: Yes, that’s right. However, my feeling towards my music tour has changed. How it got changed is as follows: At the beginning, I was looking for inspiration by going to new countries, seeing new places, meeting new people, eating exotic food (to me, since it’s normal for the local people). and also showcasing my music. Little by little, I started focusing on the energy and the frequencies between audiences and me, the nature and atmosphere. What I mean is that my state of mind and focus got changed from selling my name out there to sharing love and light purely with my soul brothers and sisters on the earth. I still love to travel, but I noticed that heaven is in our hearts. It’s been here from the beginning till the end. Nowhere else.
So it really doesn’t matter where you are and where I am. We are always here with the light of love.
AVO Magazine: Berliner Sparkler is your latest album, released in September 2019, the title might give the idea that it is a sort of tribute to the city Berlin. Considering you’ve been there many times, it might not be a strange conclusion. But instead, it does feel like an album filled with the flowy and dreamy vibes that I connect with the Summer. Was this something you wanted to convey with this album?
Kenta: Yes, I created and recorded the album in Berlin, so the album definitely got the Berlin vibes. Let me explain the whole process. I wanted to evolve myself. I was feeling this for years. I had been touring so much playing over 200 shows a year and I felt I didn’t have enough time to evolve. So I wanted to take 4 months off and do that. But no shows meant no income and this is why I started a crowdfunding in Japan. The crowdfunding was hard work, much more than I initially thought but we made it and it was, with 160%, successful. I was really thankful to all my friends and fans who supported.
Then I went to Berlin. It was February and it was super cold. I stayed in a room, writing songs and recording. At some point, I became really lonely and down. However, I kept writing and recording. The whole process can be seen like this: A seed in a Glacier in the winter was seeking the light of the Sun. When the spring came, and the seed finally found the light. And the album was completed. I feel the album is a mixture of Berlin and Japan, and all the flavours from around the world!
AVO Magazine: Last February and March you had planned an Italian tour which you had to stop halfway because of the rapidly changing situation around COVID-19. What was your experience of touring in Italy and eventually cutting it short because it was not possible anymore for you to perform, especially now that you look back on it with the knowledge that Italy has been severely affected by this virus?
Kenta: The whole Italy tour experience was epic and really beautiful even though my last 7 shows got cancelled. I had performed at Ferrara Buskers Festival in 2017, but it was the first time for me to be touring all over Italy this time. I saw so many beautiful Italian landscapes, nature, beaches, and met lovely people and ate delicious food. My image of Italy totally changed and now I love Italy so much.
It was really sad that I had to stop the tour earlier and had come back to Japan. However, I never saw anyone who was sick in Italy. Everybody was so sad and disappointed that my last 7 shows got cancelled. I knew that many people were looking forward to my shows. I felt the people in Italy are very strong. Even though the big COVID-19 impact, everybody was down to the earth, and I didn’t see anybody who was paranoid. I really respect that. I am looking forward to going back and performing in Italy in the future again!
AVO Magazine: Now we are becoming more and more aware that the COVID-19 pandemic currently affects a lot of people all over the world. These effects are felt in a lot of ways across all sectors of life, including those working in the cultural sector, such as musicians. How is this for you as a musician and how do you deal with it?
Kenta: I really hope everybody stays in healthy body-wise, and also mentally as well. No shows mean no income for musicians, so it’s a hard time, but I focus on what I can do now which is writing and recording. I started my new project -Delivering Love & Light to the World- with my healing frequency music. I started writing and recording in 432Hz, also in solfeggio frequencies such as 528Hz, 417Hz etcetera. I believe in the power of music. Each frequency has a different effect. I released my first healing tune in 432Hz last month and I am releasing my 2nd one on June 5th in 417Hz. I really hope these songs and this project deliver positive energy to the world!
AVO Magazine: The current situation means that a lot of things may not turn out as they were planned. It can be a challenge to remain focused with so much uncertainty around. How do you stay motivated to continue with your music project?
Kenta: I already answered that, but the world has been changing all the time. We need to absorb the situation at the same time we need to take a bird’s eye view as well. I will keep doing my 444Hz Loop Pedal Ninja project, and I also focus on my new healing project. I am getting great feedback from my healing project, so I am really motivated to keep spreading out positive vibrations to the world via music.
AVO Magazine: So far we can see on social media, you don’t seem the type to sit still at all as you recently have done a live stream and share videos of the time that you have been in Italy. Do you have plans for your musical project or maybe other projects that you want to focus on during this situation? Can you tell us anything about them?
Kenta: Yes, I will continue with my regular 444Hz Loop Pedal Ninja project and my new healing project. Furthermore, I will also do live streaming regularly.
AVO Magazine: What are the best ways to support you and your solo project right now?
Kenta: My plan is that I will be releasing new healing tunes every month from now on, so I’d much appreciate if you enjoy the tunes, and also share the tunes and positive vibes with your family and friends. I will also do my live streaming regularly, so if you enjoy, a donation will be really helpful so I can keep writing, recording and focus on my music.
AVO Magazine: Have you heard of the petition that was started soon after the decisions made by the Japanese government, under the name Save Our Space (abbreviated SOS)? What do you think about this project and do you think it will make a difference?
Kenta: I had seen and heard many similar petitions. I didn’t know this one, so I signed it right now. I think it’s awesome because I feel that Japanese people don’t say out loud or express what we need, compared to Western countries. I often see massive strikes and demonstration marches in the US and Europe, but not much in Japan. And this kind of official real and non-violent petition gets a big pure energy and it becomes a massive prayer. I hope it makes a big difference. In fact, it’s already making a difference because we decided/committed one theme together with many people. The energy has already been rolling.
AVO Magazine: Finally, do you have anything you want to say to the readers of AVO Magazine?
Kenta: Yes. I hope everybody listens to our own hearts to see the world, and find out what the truth is. There are tons of information flying around us now. And I really hope my music will help everybody to receive and focus on love, light and positive frequencies around the world, and also helps everybody’s transition/transformation to the positive new world. The mother Earth is still beautiful and sacred.
Many thanks to Kenta Hayashi for his time to answer the questions. Keep an eye on the next steps of Kenta Hayashi by following him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. On 5th of June, he will be releasing a new healing tune and will also do a live stream on Facebook or YouTube. All information can also found back on his official website.
