''Neo Fascio'' is the second album by Japanese singer

Kyosuke Himuro is a former Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was lead vocalist of the rock band Boøwy from 1981 to 1988. After the band disbanded he started a successful solo career, becoming one of Japan's best-selling artists. In 2003, HMV Japan ...

. The album explores the theme of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

through music, emphasizing the dangers associated with it.

Musicality and Themes

The concept work for the album was inspired by the song "Hitori Fascism" with lyrics by Shigeru Izumiya from his previous album

Flowers for Algernon ''Flowers for Algernon'' is a short story by American author Daniel Keyes, later expanded by him into a novel and subsequently adapted for film and other media. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of '' ...

. Around the same time, after watching the film "Pink Floyd: The Wall," Himuro was deeply moved and formed a strong belief in the close connection between rock music and fascism. A particular scene that caught his attention was the imitation of Hitler's speech at the Nazi party convention, to which Himuro became truly appalled by the acts committed by the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. Himuro wanted to express the brazen diffusion effects Hitler's speeches had on the masses throughout his music and concerts. Himuro was also influenced by the worldview of George Orwell's novel "1984" as well as

David Bowie's David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

interpretation of 1984 through his album

Diamond Dogs ''Diamond Dogs'' is the eighth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 24 May 1974 through RCA Records. Bowie produced the album and recorded it in early 1974 at Olympic and Island Studios in London and Ludolph Studios i ...

Due to the difficult theme in fascism and the

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

nature of it dealing with someone like

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, it is a concept album. "Maybe it won't sell. However, I want to focus on something more important than the result of that." said Himuro.PATi PATi 1992 , p. 144- From Konmachito "Ring the 7th Bell! VOL.2 Another MASTER PIECE" Director Jiro Koyasu, who heard about the theme, said that normally it would be difficult to sell this kind of work, but at the time Himuro did not see it as a major problem because he had built up a relationship of trust with fans.

Track listing

#Overture #Neo Fascio #Escape #Charisma #Cool #Summer Game #Rhapsody in Red #Misty #Camouflage #Calling #Love Song

Singles

*Summer Game — #1 *Misty — #2

References

{{Authority control Kyosuke Himuro albums 1989 albums