Beacon (Susumu Hirasawa album)
Beacon is the fourteenth solo album by Susumu Hirasawa.
| Beacon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 28, 2021 | |||
| Studio | Studio WIRESELF | |||
| Length | 46:07 | |||
| Label | Chaos Union, TESLAKITE CHTE-0085 | |||
| Producer | Susumu Hirasawa | |||
| Susumu Hirasawa chronology | ||||
| ||||
Overview
Beacon is Hirasawa's first mainline solo album since The Man Climbing the Hologram. The six-year gap between both broke a pattern existent since 2000 of one such album every three years (Kaku P-Model's Kai=Kai maintains it if counted; previous releases under that moniker did not follow that schedule).
Two of the album's songs, "COLD SONG" and "The End of TIMELINE", were made public ahead of its release: first performed at the 24 Mandala shows in April 2021, then studio renditions were published on his official YouTube channel in 21 July.[1][2]
Due to the "deteriorating international postal situation" as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the album was not available for international shipping through the album's label, TESLAKITE.[3] In response, both Beacon and Kai=Kai were also made available as digital downloads through Bandcamp.[4]
Members of Hirasawa's official fan club, Green Nerve, could additionally download karaoke versions of the album's songs and a second version of "The Man Who Falls Down" for free, even if they had not bought the album.[5]
"COLD SONG" is the first cover to be included in a mainline Hirasawa solo album. An adapted rendition with new lyrics of the song of the same name by Klaus Nomi (originally on 1981's Klaus Nomi), itself an adaptation of the aria "What Power art thou, who from below..." from Henry Purcell's 1691 semi-opera King Arthur.
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Susumu Hirasawa; all music is composed by Hirasawa, except "COLD SONG", by Henry Purcell.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "BEACON" | 3:46 |
| 2. | "The Cognitive Another World of the Logical Coterie" (論理的同人の認知的別世界 Ronri-teki Dōjin no Ninchi-teki Bessekai) | 4:24 |
| 3. | "Disappearing TOPIA" (消えるTOPIA Kieru TOPIA) | 5:54 |
| 4. | "The Man Who Falls Down" (転倒する男 Tentō Suru Otoko) | 3:43 |
| 5. | "Ranks of Burning Flowers" (燃える花の隊列 Moeru Hana no Tairetsu) | 6:18 |
| 6. | "LANDING" | 4:00 |
| 7. | "COLD SONG" | 3:37 |
| 8. | "Ghost Train" (幽霊列車 Yūrei Ressha) | 3:44 |
| 9. | "The End of TIMELINE" (TIMELINEの終わり TIMELINE no Owari) | 5:02 |
| 10. | "ZCONITE" | 1:15 |
| 11. | "BEACON of Memory" (記憶のBEACON Kioku no BEACON) | 4:24 |
| Total length: | 46:07 | |
Personnel
- Susumu Hirasawa - Vocals, guitar, keyboard, personal computer, digital audio workstation, synthesizer, sampler, sequencer, programming, production
- Masanori Chinzei - Recording, mixing, mastering
- Toshifumi Nakai - Design
- Syotaro Takami - Translation
- Presented by Chaos Union/TESLAKITE: Mika Hirano, Rihito Yumoto, Kinuko Mochizuki and Kenta Kogure
References
- "COLD SONG / 平沢進 (Susumu Hirasawa)". YouTube. hirasawasusumu. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- "TIMELINEの終わり / 平沢進 (Susumu Hirasawa)". YouTube. hirasawasusumu. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- "Notice of Temporary Suspension of Product Shipment". TESLAKITE online shop. Archived from the original on 2021-07-10. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- "Beacon_en". SusumuhirasawaOnline. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- "BEACON". SusumuhirasawaOnline (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- "Beacon | 平沢進". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- "Oricon 2021 Week 32". JaME WORLD. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
