Akihito Okano of PORNOGRAFFITTI, who is currently pursuing his Walk To The Song In My Heart Project, has announced his first streaming live performance titled DISPATCHERS to be held on Sunday 11th of April.
The stream will start at 19.00 Japanese time, which means that it will be an early lunch stream for Dutch viewers (12.00 PM) and late morning for the viewers in the United Kingdom (11.00 AM). If you are not able to watch it live, then it is possible to view the archive until at the end of Wednesday (Japanese time). Tickets are available now.
Okano has been hosting the DISPATCHERS programme for the past year in conjunction with YouTube and Space Shower TV, following the unprecedented pandemic which struck the world in 2020.
In the 22 years of PORNOGRAFFITTI vocalist Akihito Okano’s musical career, this was the year when he faced his ‘past’ and ‘future’ as a musician, artist, and vocalist. At the beginning of 2020, just as Okano was about to start a new chapter in his career, a state of emergency was declared due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Okano, like many across the world, was forced to stay home, and he could not find a way to carry out the activities he had envisioned.
Okano decided to do something to help those who are also struggling and trying to move forward by starting the DISPATCHERS programme on YouTube.
Okano says: “I hope that the message and energy that I send out through my voice will help people. Also, if I work together with fellow musicians whom I respect, we can surely create great possibilities and overcome any difficulties. With this in mind, I decided to start the Walk To The Song In My Heart Project with those closest to me to become DISPATCHERS and take our message further.”
What is the Walk To The Song In My Heart Project?
Akihito Okano, who has spent more than 20 years as a musician in the band PORNOGRAFFITTI, said, “I want to try singing. When I was 16 years old, I was told, ‘Try singing for us.’ Since that day, I have been singing. Just by singing, I met many friends. Just by singing, I was able to go to places I had never been before. From now on, I’d like to walk this road that the songs have brought me on, carrying the songs with me.”
This is a project where Akihito Okano stands on the line of ‘now’, between ‘past’ and ‘future’, and joins forces with his friends who stand on the same line to deliver music that breathes the air of ‘now’ to those who are fighting together.
Early this year, Okano released the digital single Hikari Are (Let There Be Light) as the first step of the Walk To The Song In My Heart project, with lyrics by Yorushika’s n-buna and music by Hiroyuki Sawano, a composer who is very popular not only in Japan but also throughout Asia.
For the music video, he collaborated with the popular YouTuber Y’s Rebellion, who has been practising soccer kicks for several years in a project called What If Someone Like Me Practiced Kicking a Million Times?. In the music video, Y gradually improves over time. The collaborative music video encourages viewers to keep moving forward toward their goals with confidence and positivity.
Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Despite this, Okano hopes to send a message of ‘Let There Be Light’ to those who are stepping forward.
During the DISPATCHERS streaming concert, Okano will perform PORNOGRAFFITTI’s songs and his own solo songs, as well as covers of songs from various artists as he does in the DISPATCHERS programme.
Akihito Okano New Project special site: https://www.pornograffitti.jp/akihitookano/
