The name of HIRΦNO KAMINOSE might be new for many fans of Japanese music, but the person behind this name is totally not new to the same music industry. For 16 years, this musician was known under a different artist name but last year he decided to say goodbye to it and start anew. That name was HITT.
Before saying goodbye to his former artist name, the singer-songwriter performed one more time in November of the last year and started working on new music to present it under his new stage name. It was time for a new start for the musician and thus on his birthday, 19th of April, he presented a full-fledged music video, titled 大和 THE MACHINE (Yamato The Machine), as the first official video as HIRΦNO KAMINOSE.
A new way
Under the name HITT, the musician has been active as a solo artist since 2004. Not only as a singer-songwriter, pianist, and bass player, but he also was known as a composer and arranger, worked with several music groups inside and outside Japan to produce music, and has been active as a model. Music is his life and his identity, he started with music when he was 21 years old, the musician shared in an interview with AVO Magazine in 2018. “I was never able to find a hobby that I enjoyed more than music.”
As the musician HITT, he became well-known over the world and was able to perform in different countries from Europe to North and South America, in addition to his home country Japan. In certain years, he was a frequent visitor in Europe conducting tours every 6 months. That was not the case anymore in the last few years, as he decided to take a different route on his own as the independent performer that he was and thus coming to Europe become more of a surprise for the fans than they were used to. The last time he was in Europe for a tour was in 2019 en then the difficult year of 2020 came by. Doing performances became more difficult and the musician started doing quite some Instagram lives to stay in contact with his international audience.
In September of that same year, he shared his decision to change the stage name of HITT. In a conversation with AVO Magazine, he said: “I have thought about it for a long time. Because of the situation created by COVID-19, it made me think about different things,” HIRΦNO shares. But it seems that the pandemic was not the reason for the musician to change his name and restart. “I just needed a new passion and more motivation. I got a lot of gifts from ‘HITT’ in many years, however, I had to find a new way to grow up more.”
Before the name change, the musician stated that it was the best decision he made to change his artist name. But does he feel more freedom now that he carries a new artist name? “I don’t feel any more freedom, because I just started as HIRΦNO KAMINOSE but I am excited to see what happens than before when I was known as HITT.” It seems that the singer-songwriter not only have changed his name but also the way he will make his music. He explains: “HITT is like forever youth, but HIRΦNO KAMINOSE is like forever genuine.”
First music video
In the meantime, the first music video of HIRΦNO KAMINOSE, titled Yamato The Machine, has been released to the public, as well as a digital single. The song gives a serious feel, while there are still elements of what the fans know of the former work of the musician. But you can see clearly a concept that has not been touched on in the earlier work of the singer-songwriter, his home country Japan. HIRΦNO explains: “I am a Japanese musician and I have travelled to 22 countries around the world. I also performed at many Japan-related events like Japan Expo, but I never had a concept for songs about Japanese culture. So I finally have written a song about Japan. This song has difficult Japanese lyrics but I am singing about my life.”
The music video is filled with elements associated with traditional Japan, think of the kimono, the music instrument koto, and sensu (folding fan), but HIRΦNO also thought of classical ballet dancers, dressed, as to how he described them, Oiran (meaning: high ranking courtesan, different than Geisha). The musician clarifies: “I thought that the concept of Japan with classical ballet would be out of balance, but it became such a cool movie. My idea became right. This is one of my best works in life.” It took six months for the musician from concept to the creation of this music video. But the musician reveals that while it was such a long time for him to work on his first video as the official introduction as HIRΦNO KAMINOSE, he will never regret making it.
Go with the flow
COVID-19 has also affected the work of HIRΦNO KAMINOSE. “Of course I had some problems regarding my work, it was the same as many other musicians but I didn’t stop. I did what I can do with all my might now. I have written many songs, recording and finally this new music video.” To keep on going and staying active needs motivation. HIRΦNO shares the secret of how he has been staying motivated all the time: “First of all, preserve my health and making myself stronger mentally and physically. When that is the case for me, I can have great ideas.”
The first year under a new artist name has just officially started with the release of the music video, HIRΦNO KAMINOSE’s focus at this moment is to achieve to reach as many people to watch this music video before he takes the next step. Although, it is a bit different than that as he reveals: “I don’t think about the next step, I go with the flow.”
Related links:
HIRΦNO KAMINOSE can be found on Instagram, Ameblo and Facebook.
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