Maybe you’ve heard of Ryo Fujimura through the band he started in 1999, called “AciD FLavoR”. In 2006 he debuted as the 7-strings guitarist and leader of the band from EMI in Japan, and he remained at this position until the band eventually disbanded in 2010. From that moment he has been focusing on his solo career, and writing songs for various other Japanese artists on the side. Many live shows followed, including countries in Europe and Latin America.
In 2020 Ryo figured it was time for a new project, and with the help of Syu “The Betrayed” was formed. The band played a live show in February of this year, and released an EP with “bootleg” songs from this show in June. An acoustic set was also released officially shortly after in that same month.
Crying with One Eye
By now we all know that 2020 has been nothing short of dominated by COVID-19, creating a difficult scene for both artists and fans alike. But it also opened doors: a lot of artists explored the possibilities of the internet and online distribution methods.
Some have decided to interact with their fans through special live performances, or even a live streaming with no audience. While Ryo has said he’s not particularly interested in joining this “scene” at the moment, The Betrayed did make an appearance at the online version of the Dutch convention “AnimeCon”, which was all streamed through Facebook so everyone in the world could watch the performance.
Japan has been in a state of high alert for months, and right in the middle of this period Ryo decided to create the very first studio EP of The Betrayed: Crying with One Eye.
Together with Syu (drums), HIROA (lead 6/7/8 strings guitar), Pippi (bass) and guest vocalist MAYA and a lot of improvisation the 6 songs on the very first EP came to life, officially released through Bandcamp on November 6 2020. You can get your very own copy of the release for only ¥500 through Bandcamp, which is also where you can find the other releases of the band. (The link to Ryo’s Bandcamp page is in the social media section!)
March Macabre & Silent Spring
Additionally, Ryo has also written a song especially for the charity album “Silent Spring”, released by the label HIGHFeeL.
Silent Spring was created with the intention to bring comfort and joy to the everyone confined at home all around the world during the pandemic. The album contains songs by Ekotumi, G.L.A.M.S, Galaxy7, GOOD THRU DATE, HITT, Ichion, Kihiro, Rie Fu, Ryo Fujimura, 砂月-SATSUKI-, Sho Kotani, ソメイヨシノ (Somei Yoshino) and Tezya for a total of 13 tracks. All songs have been selected by the artists themselves, and are a mixture of new songs and songs that have been released prior.
Ryo’s song is called “March Macabre”, an original song in which he put all his feelings regarding COVID-19.
This release has been created with the intention to bring comfort and joy to everyone at home, but also has a second intention: the profits from the album will be donated to local associations that help seniors and those who work on the front lines during this difficult time.
So you’re not just helping yourself, you’re also helping others by purchasing this release. You can find it on HIGHFeeL’s Bandcamp page here for €12, but also through major digital platforms.
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Top header photo credit: metro
雪 (Yuki) is the owner and driving force behind Arlequin.
She originally started the project in 2009 as a photographer under the name of Arlequin Photography, but developed an interest in journalism and translation ever since. Because of these interests interviews and reviews were added to the project, until it eventually hit the limits as a "photographer" in 2021, and Arlequin Magazine was added to the mix.
雪 (Yuki) is a native Dutch speaker with a graphic design degree, which means she is also the main person behind Arlequin Creations.
After all these years she is still the main person who does interviews the interviews and live photos that you see on Arlequin, but also a large chunk of the reviews and behind-the-scenes work and communication goes through her.
She speaks Dutch and English on a native level, but also understands Japanese and German.