Shingetsu ( ja, 新月) is a Japanese

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band from the 1970s. A band with an originally short career, they have typically been categorised as one of the most notable Japanese progressive rock bands. Shingetsu ('new moon') arrived in the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese music scene on the late 1970s. Led by the "Japanese

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

", Makoto Kitayama (recognized for his deep, wavering, mournful vocals), Shingetsu's cinematic progressive sound gained comparisons to peak-time

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

and recognition overseas. Consisting of Kitayama, Akira Hanamoto, Naoya Takahahi, Shizuo Suzuki and Haruhiko Tsuda, the band only produced one studio album in their first run, followed in later years by two live albums, which nevertheless featured some unreleased performances. In 2015 they released an album titled From A Distant Star (originally recorded in 2005), which features songs they had written before breaking up in 1981, and a studio demo they had recorded after completing their first album in 1979. Their studio album, the eponymous ''Shingetsu'', often considered as a masterpiece of symphonic prog, is abundant in musical arrangements: the tasteful use of soft organ/synth soundscapes,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

, and

12-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

passages reminiscent of the UK bands of the 1970s, while Kitayama's vocals give Shingetsu a distinctive edge from western bands. The band resumed touring sometime around 2014, under the name "Shingetsu Project". While Makoto no longer tours with the band, he does still engage in studio projects with the band.

Disambiguation and meaning

Disambiguation for the word ''shingetsu'': Shingetsu is a

shakuhachi A is a Japanese and ancient Chinese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

honkyoku piece from the Dokyoku repertoire. The word ''shin'' means heart, mind, or spirit. The word ''getsu'' means moon, which is a

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

for enlightenment or perfection. Thus, the name of the piece can be taken to mean ''heart moon'' or ''spirit perfection'' or ''enlightenment of the mind''. The piece is the slowest and most quiet in the Dokyoku repertoire. "Shingetsu" has been recorded by many shakuhachi artists, including

Watazumi Doso Roshi (November 20, 1911 - December 14, 1992) was a master of the end-blown Japanese bamboo flute. He studied Rinzai school, Rinzai Zen, attaining the title of rōshi. Born as Tanaka Masaru, he was also known as Tanaka Fumon, Itcho Fumon, Wataz ...

Yokoyama Katsuya was a Japanese musician who played the '' shakuhachi'', a traditional vertical bamboo flute. Early life He was born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1934 and studied Kinko-ryu and Azuma styles of music with his father, Rampo Yokoyama, and grandfather ...

, and Alcvin Takegawa Ramos.

References

External links

"http://shingetsu.tv/"
Official site.
"Shingetsu's"
discography, mp3 and reviews.
"Shingetsu's"
site with downloable mp3 and information. Japanese progressive rock groups Japanese symphonic rock groups Musea artists Victor Entertainment artists Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Musical groups reestablished in 2005 {{Japan-band-stub

Disambiguation and meaning

See also

References

External links