On December 23, renowned guitarist SUGIZO will release his first original solo album in three years titled LOVE & TRANQUILITY (愛と調和).

Feeling the impact of the ongoing pandemic, SUGIZO sought inspiration from the altruistic Jomon civilization, the earliest historical era of Japanese history which began around 14500 BCE. Influenced by the spirituality of the ancient Japanese who respected nature and harmony, he began working on this album in July. Using the power of music, he hopes to use instruments, sounds of nature of the Yakushima Island, bells, and purifying chants to emphasize the spirituality of this album.

What I valued was love, not hostility. Harmony, not division. A quiet but strong and vibrant album will soon be completed to heal the injured and even encourage awakening. —SUGIZO

The photos on the album cover and promotional materials you see were taken on Yakushima Island—most famous for its hauntingly beautiful forests and home to ancient Japanese cedar trees which are thousands of years old. Shot by photographer Tatsuo Hata, the visuals of SUGIZO amongst the old branches of the peaceful forest seamlessly flow into the theme of this album, offering refuge for those who listen.

The regular edition of LOVE & TRANQUILITY comes with a 20-page booklet with liner notes, but if you fancy the premium edition bundled with an additional CD and a special 100-page photo booklet, you can only order this online via HMV.co.jp.

If you’re aching to see him perform after this wonderful news, his improvisational project SHAG will be performing for the first time in 12 years at Blue Note Tokyo and this concert will be live-streamed via ZAIKO. On top of this, LUNA SEA will also be performing on December 26—27 at the Saitama Super Arena for their LUNA SEA -RELOAD- shows, so there’ll be a lot for you to keep up with. Thoughtfully, the band chose the word “RELOAD” to symbolize the revival of concerts in time for the LUNA SEA 30th Anniversary Tour 2020 -CROSS THE UNIVERSE- which had to be been postponed to 2021. It’s time to limber up and give those concert muscles a good stretch. Looks like we can go back to real-life gigs soon.

Photo by Tatsuo Hata.

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LOVE & TRANQUILITY

愛と調和

Premium Edition

HMV

View details

Nova Terra
Nova Terra
Childhoodʼs End
Childhoodʼs End
A Red Ray feat. miwa
A Red Ray feat. miwa
Tsuioku
追憶
ENDLESS ~Toki wo Koete~ feat. Maki Ohguro
ENDLESS ～闇を超えて～ feat. 大黒摩季
The Gates of Dawn
The Gates of Dawn
Mindfulness
Mindfulness
CHARON ~Sanskrit~
CHARON ～四智梵語～
Hikari no Hate feat. Aina The End (BiSH)
光の涯 feat. アイナ・ジ・エンド(BiSH)
So Sweet So Lonely
So Sweet So Lonely

Bonus Disc

S.T.K. - Rokkasho from SUGIZO HALF CENTURY ANNIVERSARY FES.
SUGIZO×HATAKEN - Multiverse Traveler from SUGIZO HALF CENTURY ANNIVERSARY FES.

Goods

100-page B5 sized photobook - includes photos taken on Yakushima Island and at the recording studio, an instrumentation list, English translations of the liner notes, a long interview, and track description.