In May 2013, My Bloody Valentine announced they will headline the Tokyo Rocks festival in Japan, showcasing exclusive tracks from their forthcoming album.
This album, which has been highly anticipated as the sequel to the classic ‘Loveless’ from 1991, has taken 21 years to create. It is set to be launched on frontman Kevin Shields’ website before the year’s end, and will be accompanied by an additional EP featuring all-new material.
Kevin Shields assures fans of ‘Loveless’ that the new content will not disappoint. “With this record, I believe that those who appreciate us will instantly connect with something. Based on the very few who have heard it…some engineers, the band, and that’s pretty much it…some say it’s even weirder than ‘Loveless’. I don’t think so. I feel this really liberates us and, looking at the bigger picture, it’s absolutely essential.”
Shields also discussed the festival: “Tokyo Rocks will be intriguing as it’s set to take place in a new venue,” he mentions. “Primal Scream performed there last year, and Debbie Googe (MBV bassist) played alongside them; she had great things to say, so we thought, ‘Cool, let’s do it’. It’s in a baseball stadium, marking our largest semi-enclosed gig to date.”
My Bloody Valentine will take the stage at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo for the Tokyo Rocks festival, which holds a capacity of 60,000, in early May, with support from Illion, the solo initiative of Yojiro Noda, the frontman of Japan’s prominent rock band Radwimps.
Noda has achieved sales of three million albums with Radwimps in Japan, yet he seldom participates in interviews. However, he expressed, “If I’m going to pursue music, I want to do it outside Japan as well, and I aim to start that while I’m in my twenties. I want this to represent Japan,” says Noda. “Performing internationally is my aspiration, my objective, but not necessarily the dream of the band.”
Furthermore, Noda elaborated on his elusive nature in Japan. “It wasn’t my aim to be an enigma, but my lack of interviews has led people to find me mysterious. I don’t mind if listeners aren’t aware of me; I manage my blog and I’m quite honest…I even write about arguments with my girlfriend.”
by Wallace McTavish
