When we introduced you to the Wagakki Band last year, we were pretty sure they might end up being a big deal. And, as it turned out, we were definitely right about that! After releasing a full album to rave reviews earlier this year, the band has been on the road touring both in Japan and at the Japan Expo in Paris. But despite their busy schedule of rehearsing and performing, they’ve had time to work on a new, original song. While they haven’t released a full video yet (you’ll have to wait a few more weeks), you can check out the short version below!
Called “Hanabi,” which means “fireworks,” the song is an original–a first for the band, whose debut album was all covers, mostly of vocaloid songs. In case you ever wondered if they had the musical chops to write their own music, wonder no more–they definitely do!
The full song and accompanying video will be released on August 27, when DVDs and Blu-rays will become available. There will be two different versions–regular and an Amazon exclusive–of the final release, with each version including the full-length video and a making-of video in addition to a version-specific live performance. Each disc will also come with a randomly selected member trading card.
But enough talk, let’s get to the music! Here’s the short version of “Hanabi.” We can’t wait to see the full video!
And in case you missed it earlier this month, here is the strangely melodramatic commercial for the song. It provides some (possibly unnecessary) background for the single–and movie-trailer English narration.
Finally, if you ever wanted to know what it would be like to actually see the band live and you don’t happen to be living near any of their planned tour spots, here’s a video of the band performing their cover of “Kagerou Days.”
We’ve also included the original vocaloid version below for comparison.
If the wait for the new, original song is killing you, we recommend following them on Facebook, where they post updates in Japanese and occasionally English. Otherwise, come back on August 27 to check out the full song!
References: YouTube, Facebook
Images: YouTube