SCANDAL - Tag-teaming with RADWIMPS and Chiaki Sato for their new work!


We asked SCANDAL their thoughts on their new album Kiss from the darkness.

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We weren't afraid to try out all sorts of things.

Kiss from the darkness, their first album from their private record label "her," is a very extensive and free piece, with a simple band sound as its axis. They took on a new approach by tag-teaming with musicians they hang out with on their own time: TOMOMI and Yusuke Takeda from RADWIMPS with the acoustic-like "Laundry Laundry," and HARUNA and Chiaki Sato with the 90s urban soul-like "NEON TOWN ESCAPE" that included horns.

"Even the range of the older songs that we always play have has broadened, so we're looking forward to our tour. We've assembled songs that are worth doing live arrangements for." (TOMOMI)

"We felt free after starting "her." I think that's exactly why we've included not only the positive parts we've shown so far, but also our humanity." (HARUNA)

Their lyrics are filled with their a determination to powerfully head forward after standing at their second starting line. "YOU GO GIRL!", the bonus track found only on the physical editions of the CD, is a positive song that declares during a goodbye, "I want to hold my head high - I won't give in to my tears."

"Even though we started a label, I truly didn't think the four of us could do it; I couldn't see the vision of what kind of band we should be in the future—that's what I personally worried about. I messaged the other three in the middle of the night, met up in a hurry the next day, and exchanged our thoughts. We talked about things like feeling like we've come to a halt and can't try new things. The words the members gave me were so memorable that I turned them into lyrics the next day." (RINA)

"We all felt the same anxiety... We talked about how we had been in the same place for 10 years, but we didn't know if whether it was right to keep going on like that, or if we should make a new start. The lyrics RINA wrote saved us and we were able to put it on this album. It feels exactly like we too, who had come to a halt at that time, were saved." (HARUNA)

Currently, it's been about 15 years since their formation and about 10 years since their major label debut. What conclusions do they have about their vision for the future?

"We've always said that whatever the band itself can do, we'll do it. With this album our musicianship has been expanded, we're able to do more things, and we're not afraid to try out all sorts of things." (MAMI)

"In deciding on a label name, we had the opportunity to talk about our objective. The name "her" means that we can include this slogan: 'We want to play cool music while enjoying being women.'" (RINA)