Singer-songwriter Shiena Nishizawa released her first album, Break Your Fate, in March. The album contains many of the songs that have defined her career such as: ‘Fubuki’, (the ending theme of the anime Kantai Collection); ‘Kikan’ (the theme song of KanColle: The Movie; Brand New World); ‘The Asterisk War’ (the opening themes of the anime The Asterisk War); ‘Piacere’ (the theme song of the anime ARIA The AVVENIRE); and ‘Break Your Fate’ (the theme of the video game Arad Senki).

More than 2 years after her debut, Shiena held her first solo concert, titled ’Break Your Fate’, at Akasaka Blitz on 30 April, featuring songs from the album of the same name. She has performed live overseas, so some of you may have heard of her. She intends to visit even more countries around the world in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for the name Shiena from now on!

The front lines where love rose like the coming tide

The venue was packed. As a siren went off, the venue went dark and a red light started blinking. As if they were guided by the light, the members of the band showed up one after another. The audience broke out cheering as Shiena appeared. As she came to the front and strummed on her guitar, the concert truly began. It started with ‘Break Your Fate’, the title song of the album and also the theme of the video game Arad Senki.

Her performance was thrilling and powerful. Shiena expresses the emotions from deep inside her soul with her wild voice and guitar strokes. The dramatic music gave the audience an ecstatic feeling. More than that, Shiena was flaunting her strong vocals like she was roaring. With their souls on fire, each member had to confront and release the trembling feelings that are so strong they feel as though they would burst from their bodies!!

‘This is too much. It’s so intense even from the beginning. I won’t hold back today and I’ll go full throttle!!’ Shiena’s fiery voice and her guitar’s aggressive sound guided the rock number, Shark. Some audience members broke out into screams. Shiena released her gallant and strong vocals in an explosive musical performance. Flames burst up one after another, as though to synchronize with her excited feelings. Heated emotions kept rising, with no limit in sight.

‘You guys can do more, huh?!; Shiena kept taunting. The musical performance heated up as it progressed. I was excited by the frenzy, so I couldn’t hold back my feelings. Shiena sang Gemini to us as if challenging the audience. I could feel a fever rising from within. This is truly the front lines with love that rose like the coming tide.

Her singing was so raw with emotion. I wanted to grasp the outcry of her soul.

Starting with rough guitar strokes, ‘Goodbye Graffiti’ began, her emotions lightly seeped out. The vocals and musical performance brought warm feelings to all the people who experienced them, giving an unexplained power to their hearts.

Next, ‘Meaning’ started with powerful singing. The verse built up our excitement to the point that it couldn’t help but burst when the chorus started. Guitar riffs that intensified our feelings tempted us for more. In that case, we went as crazy as we could!!

Just One started with an upbeat melody as it aroused our emotions. The enthusiastic atmosphere that dominated the musical performance until then changed into a soft feeling, and I felt my emotions lightly starting to come to the surface, touched by the song.

In Cross, the ending theme to the PS Vita video game BAD APPLE WARS that starts off with Shiena’s guitar riff, she sang with her warm voice to instill her thoughts into our hearts. The song and musical performance gently enveloped the soul, and gradually found its way into our hearts.

With sad and hard music in the background, Shiena sonorously sang the ballad Light and Shadow under the spotlight, venting her emotions. Her voice expressing her sincere thoughts can’t help but rock people’s souls. Her singing was so raw with emotion. I wanted to grasp the outcry of her soul.

At this moment I felt as if I were in a dream-like state.

‘For the album Break Your Fate, I put the songs in order as if I were making a set list for a concert. By playing them in a close structure today, I realize that it worked well. However, there was one song which I was hesitant about where to place. When I sang it, I struggled with how to express my emotions. But this is different from who I normally am, so I’m grateful for the event.’

Shiena said this, and then sang ‘Piacere’, the theme song of the anime ARIA The AVVENIRE. Her singing gently spread across the venue like ripples spreading across water. The vocals were spreading and rolling like the waves of the sea. I was absorbed into a blue ocean while connecting to her clear voice. It almost felt as if I were in a dream-like state.

As if it were guided by Shiena’s soulful singing, a wide-scale ballad embraced the venue with a feeling that relaxed the heart. The next song was ‘Yakusoku Dayo’, the theme song from ‘comico spring music festival 2016 “Hakoniwa Parade.”‘ Her painfully sad singing calmed our spirits.

Shiena started singing while linking each word on the piano’s melancholic tones. As if she were declaring her growing emotions, Shiena relished each one of the feelings that she had displayed and sang ‘Kikan’, the theme song to KanColle: The Movie, while being embraced by string music that kept increasing in magnificence. While she was singing, I felt as if I were being gently embraced by a warm voice. I forgot about time and kept merging with the grand thoughts that ‘Kikan’ created.

Who falls first? A true place of rock was born that night

‘Now I’ve sung all the ballads. We’re gonna up the ante from now on, can you make some noise?! C’mon!!’ Ripping off the calm atmosphere, Shiena started screaming again. Following the crowd-hyping was ‘Fubuki’, her debut song and also the ending theme of the anime Kantai Collection. The intro consisted of her emotional singing exploding with feelings. The audience spurred on by the scream burst into a big mass of energy. Shiena gallantly and powerfully sang to them as she poured more enthusiasm into her shouts. She wildly strummed the guitar as she exposed her true feelings to us all, shivering with excitement. This rocked. It was bound to break my emotional barriers. Actually, the moment ‘Fubuki’ played, I felt those barriers get torn away.

An aggressive performance that rocked our souls was coming from the stage. What amazing singing and a musical performance that passionately shakes emotions. The audience were exhilarated by back-to-back songs, ‘Reason To Scream’ and ‘Brilliant Star’, the theme song of the PS Vita game The Asterisk War: Houka Kenran. I couldn’t help shouting as my emotions were riled up. The shock that blew away my rational mind was controlling my whole body.

Heated emotions reached their peak. ‘Come at me at full strength!!’ A thrilling yet dramatic symphonic rock number bursted forth. It was ‘Brand New World’, the first opening theme of the anime The Asterisk War. Afterwards, ‘The Asterisk War’, the second opening theme of the same anime, was played. Shiena didn’t ease her attack but kept up her wild singing and musical performance. This was exactly like a battle. Back to back flames were shooting up along with with her excited singing. Since we all have burned up our souls, we’ve got to push them to the limit!! Who falls first? A true place of rock was born that night.

‘Feel This Moment’ is the best rock anthem that confirms the firm bond between Shiena and her fans.

At the end, Shiena slammed ‘Feel This Moment’, a rock tune in which her mellow singing also touched the heart. While releasing heated thoughts, the performance embraced the venue. During the chorus, the packed audience was holding up their right hands above their heads and strongly sang along with Shiena. They were creating excitement and passion together and kept raising the venue’s fervor. ‘Feel This Moment’ is an anthem. The best rock anthem that confirms the firm bond between Shiena and her fans.

Amidst never-ending enthusiastic cheers. Shiena plays ‘Break Your Fate’ again as an encore. The venue was spurred on by ‘Break Your Fate’ and went even crazier than when she’d played it at the beginning. Some small mosh pits opened up on the floor and people moshed to their heart’s content. That was how much we were affected by the bursting song and performance. We couldn’t help but make noise and mosh to the music.

This excitement will be passed on to her solo tour that will have a total 12 performances this summer. I’d like people who can go see it to experience her concert in person.

Shiena Nishizawa 1st Live Concert ‘Break Your Fate’

30 April 2017 @ Blitz Akasaka

SET LIST

1. Break your fate (Arad Senki Tie-in Song)
2. Shark
3. Gemini
4. Goodbye Graffiti
5. Meaning
6. Just One
7. Cross (PlayStation®Vita BAD APPLE WARS Ending Theme Song)
8. Light and Shadow
9. Piacere (Anime ARIA The AVVENIRE Theme Song)
10. Yakusoku da yo /Promise (Comico Spring Music Festival 2016 ‘Hakoniwa Parade’ Image Song)
11. Kikan (KanColle: The Movie Theme Song)
12. Fubuki (TV Anime Series Kantai Collection – KanColle – Ending Theme Song)
13. Reason To Scream
14. Brilliant Star (PlayStation®Vita The Asterisk War: Houka Kenran Theme Song)
15. Brand-new World (TV Anime Series The Asterisk War Opening Theme Song)
16. The Asterisk War (TV Anime Series The Asterisk War 2nd Season Opening Theme Song)
17. Feel This Moment
En. Break your fate (Dungeon Fighter Online Tie-in Song)

Shiena Nishizawa 1st Nationwide Live Tour ‘Break Your Fate’

★At 12 venues nationwide!
★Door open 17.30, Show Starts 18.00

<Schedule>
Sat 8: July Drum Son Fukuoka
Sun 9: July Kumamoto B. 9 V2, Kumamoto
Sat 15: July Colony, Hokkaido
Sun 16: July Kobe Varit, Hyogo
Mon 17: (National Holiday) July Abeno Rocktown, Osaka
Sat 29: July Red Seven, Aichi
Sun 30: July Casper, Gifu
Sat 5: August Club Change, Iwate
Sun 6: August space Zero, Miyagi
Fri 11: (National Holiday) August Hiroshima Cave-Be, Hiroshima
Sat 12: August Matsuyama Salon Kitty, Ehime
Sun 13: August Crazy Mama 2nd Room, Okayama

Price: All Standing 3000 yen (Including tax, excluding drinks)
* Sorry, no children under 6

First Full Album ‘Break Your Fate’

Fist Press Limited Edition CD & DVD 3500yen (excluding tax)/VTZL-124/POS:4580325 32380 1
*DVD includes ‘Break Your Fate’, ‘Fubuki’, ‘Brand-new World’, and ‘The Asterisk War’ Music Videos

Standard Edition (CD) 3000 yen (excluding tax)/VTCL-60447/POS: 4580325 32381 8

<Track Listing>
1. Break your fate (Arad Senki Tie-in Song)
Lyrics by Shiena Nishizawa, Music & Arrangement by West Ground
2. Shark
Lyrics by Shiena Nishizawa, Music by Loth, Arrangement by West Ground
3. Gemini
Lyrics by Shiena Nishizawa, Music & Arrangement by Ryosuke Shigenaga
4. Goodbye Graffiti
Lyrics & Music by Shiena Nishizawa, Arrangement by ezora
5. Piacere (Anime ARIA The AVVENIRE Theme Song)
Lyrics by Syunsuke Matsui, Music & Arrangement by Takuro Iga
6. Light and Shadow
Lyrics by Shiena Nishizawa, Music & Arrangement by Naoki Ito
7. Brand-new World (TV Anime Series The Asterisk War Opening Theme Song)
Lyrics by Shiena Nishizawa, Music & Arrangement by West Ground
8. Reason To Scream
Lyrics by Siena Nishizawa, Music by LOTH, Arrangement by West Ground
9. The Asterisk War (TV Anime Series The Asterisk War 2nd Season Opening Theme Song)
Lyrics by Shiena Nishizawa, Music & Arrangement by West Ground
10. Fubuki (TV Anime Series Kantai Collection – KanColle – Ending Theme Song)
Lyrics by minatoku, Music by High Driver, Arrangement by Yuya Saito
11. Kikan (KanColle: The Movie Theme Song)
Lyrics by minatoku, Music by West Ground/High Driver, Arrangement by West Ground/Natsumi Kameoka
12. Feel This Moment
Lyrics by Shiena Nisizawa, Music & Arrangement by West Ground

The CD album contains 12 songs including 7 new songs.

Break your fate Music Video (2 Chorus)

Watch Original Songs from 1st Album ‘Break Your Fate’ Sample Video

1st Break
‘Reason To Scream’
Lyrics by Shiena Nishizawa, Music by Loth, Arrangement by West Ground

2nd Break
‘Goodbye Graffiti’
Lyrics & music by Shiena Nishizawa, Arrangement by ezora

3rd Break
‘Gemini’
Lyrics by Shiena Nishizawa, Music & Arrangement by Ryosuke Shigenaga

4th Break
‘Light and Shadow’
Lyrics by Shiena Nishizawa, Music by Loth, Arrangement by Naoki Ito

5th Break
‘Shark’
Lyrics by Shiena Nishizawa, Music by Loth, Arrangement by West Ground

6th Break
‘Feel This Moment’
Lyrics by Shiena Nishizawa, Music & Arrangement by West Ground

Shiena Nishizawa Profile

Birthday: 23 February 1997
Horoscope: Pisces
Blood Type: B
Hight: 148cm
Hometown: Saitama
Favorite Food: Rice Balls, Curry, Honey
Hobby: Side trips, Video games (especially ‘Dragon Quest Series’)
Good at: Improvising songs, Balancing a long and narrow object on her palm
Guitars: Fender/Telecaster、Paul Read Smith/S2 Vela

Shiena started playing guitar with the same instrument that her father used to play when she was in middle school. She was instantly into music. Her passion towards music naturally led her to sing with the aspiration to one day sing on a big stage as a music artist. She won the grand prix at ‘1st Flying Dog Audition’ in 2014, and then made her debut with ‘Fubuki’, which was used as the ending theme song for TV anime series Kantai Collection – KanColle– when she was 17 years old. She has been continuously releasing smash hit CDs since then: her 2nd single ‘Brand-new World/ Piacere (TV anime series The Asterisk War Opening/TV Anime series ARIA The AVVENIRE theme song), 3rd single ‘The Asterisk War’ (TV anime series The Asterisk War 2nd season theme song), 4th single ‘Kikan’ (KanColle, The Movie theme song). The videos of these four songs on YouTube have amassed 11.5 million hits so far.

Her first album Break Your Fate released on 15 March 2017. The album is based on rock sound and demonstrates her further progress. Shiena Nishizawa is a talented singer who represents the next-generation music scene in Japan.

Shiena Nishizawa Official Website: http://shiena-nishizawa.com/
Flying Dog Website: http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/flyingdog/-/Artist/A024998.html
◆Shiena Nishizawa Official Blog ‘Shiena Diary’: http://ameblo.jp/shiena-nishizawa/
◆Official Twitter Account: @Shiena_tw
Regular Radio Program: ‘A&G ARTIST ZONE Shiena Nishizawa The Catch’
Broadcasting: Bunka Housou super! A&G+ 18.00-19.00 Wednesdays, Live-broadcast show with videos (Rebroadcast 6.00-7.00 Thursdays)
NB: The broadcasting schedule may change in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
‘A&G+ ARTIST ZONE THE CATCH’ official blog: http://www.joqr.co.jp/blog/2h/

TEXT: Tomonori Nagasawa