Ryugin no Yoake

[Machine Translation] Rika Sakurai is a martial singer-songwriter, or a female swordsman with a guitar, or the Miyuki Nakajima of 2025 who sings with a snarl of strong resentment, or the Rika Sakurai, a swordsman who plays and speaks variously. When the guitar and thunderous voice of Rika Sakurai, who is known for her slender and girlish looks, strike the hearts of listeners, they are moved to tears by a new song, "Ibuki. That's right. This is what rock is all about. This simple, yet powerful song, played and spoken by Sakurai alone, is his second album as a singer-songwriter, vacuum-packed in a single shot. His voice and chi as he sings with his life on the line will force the listener to be prepared. Listen with your eyes and heart. Before dawn, when the dragon soars to the earth and roars, its song, which shakes the air and rings out, will reach everywhere and anywhere, carrying your heart, to show you a distant view, to make you realize who you really are. There is no need for any adaptation. M1 "Ryugin no Yoake" Title song. A good song that expresses Sakurai as he is today. The image of a dragon spiraling up to the sky at dawn with the lightning in its wake comes to mind, with its drama and strength of feeling. It is the starting point of a great story that begins from here. M3 "Kagefumi" This song is like a prism of the heart, expressing the heart of thinking of others from multiple angles using only one's own mental image. M7 "Whatever Happens" To live means to fight, and to fight means to live. What is left in his hands when he grows old and decays? No matter what, no matter what. Sometimes gently spoken, sometimes strongly shouted, the drama of a lifetime is incorporated into a single song, an emotion similar to the feeling after reading Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea". Shokichi Ishida: Production, engineering, piano (M3), guitar (M6) <profile> Rika Sakurai 27 years old, born and living in Annaka City, Gunma Prefecture. This is her second album, even though it has been only three years or so since she started composing. She has been called "the female swordsman with a guitar" and "Miyuki Nakajima of Reiwa" because of her strong songs that seem to cut down on the listener and her attitude of not hesitating to ask artists of a higher rank to play opposite her. Ishida Shokichi, who had been pushing her to perform live opposite artists for a long time, highly appreciated her attitude, and she was awarded a contract with SAT RECORDS to perform live opposite artists on their label.

武闘派シンガーソングライター、或いはギターを持った女剣士、或いは強い怨念を唸るように歌う令和の中島みゆき、様々な呼び名で語られる弾き語りの剣客・櫻井里花。華奢でおしゃまな少女的ルックスから振り下ろされる一太刀のギターと雷鳴のような歌声が聞き手の心を突き刺す時、新しい歌の伊吹を感じ涙する。そうだ。これがロックというものだ。一人で弾き語るこのシンプルかつ剛腕な歌のつぶてを一発撮りで真空パックした本作品は、櫻井がシンガーソングライターとして立脚した2枚目の作品。命懸けで歌うその声と気は聴く者にも覚悟を迫る。刮目し心して聴かれよ。天を舞う竜が大地に舞い降り咆哮を放つ夜明け前、大気を震わせ鳴り響くその歌はどこまでもどこまでも届いていく、君の心を乗せて、遠い景色を見せるために、本当の自分を気づかせるために。脚色など何一つ必要ない。なぜなら歌とは自身そのものなのだから。M1 「竜吟の夜明け」タイトルソング。今の櫻井を等身大で表す佳曲。稲光のさす夜明けの空を螺旋を描きながら天に登っていく竜の姿が眼に浮かぶ、ドラマ性と想いの強さ。今の自身の立ち位置、舞い上がる天を見据えた視線、ここから始まる大いなる物語の起点。それが今。M3 「かげふみ」人を想う心を己の心象風景だけで多角的に表現した、まるで心のプリズムのような曲。ピアノ(アルバム中唯一ギター以外の楽器)と歌う様が、相手の影を踏みながらも寄り添うことはできずに歩いた柔かい後悔、そんな思い出と今をイメージさせる歌。M7 「何があろうとも」生きていくということは戦うということ、闘うということ。老いて朽ちる時にその手に残っているものは何か。何があろうとも、何もなかろうとも。時に優しく語りかけ時に強く叫び上げ、生涯というドラマを一曲に落とし込んだ、ヘミングウェイ「老人と海」の読後感に似た感動。石田ショーキチ:プロデュース、エンジアリング、ピアノ(M3)、ギター(M6)<プロフィール>櫻井里花 群馬県安中市生まれ在住の27歳。作曲をはじめてまだ3年そこらにも拘らず2枚目のアルバムとなる。聴き手に斬りかかるような念の強い歌や格上のアーティストに躊躇なく対バンを申し入れる下剋上的な姿勢から「ギターを持った女剣士」「令和の中島みゆき」などと呼ばれる。かねてから対バンライブを突きつけてきた石田ショーキチにその姿勢を高く買われ、SAT RECORDSから