As one of Japan’s premier math rock acts, Paranoid Void needs little introduction. The band’s 2017 debut Literary Math left a permanent mark on countless instrumental acts with its towering post-rock passages and sizzling jazz undertones, they’ve been staying busy since with live sessions, tours, and festivals. But after five years, longtime fans have been itching for new music.
Today, that day has finally come. Having just announced their second album Travels in My Universe, we’re excited to share with you the true first taste of what’s to come. It’s a vibrant, futuristic world of a record, and we can’t wait for you to hear it. Before we get into that, we think it’s high time you checked out the premiere of “Masayume” and it’s mind-boggling video below.
The band released a brief, 20-second trailer for the video a few days ago, featuring a number oddly textured geometric planes converging in a watery digital background. It might not make sense on the surface, but trust us, it actually makes sense. Especially after hearing the song.
The album’s first single serves up a tantalizing taste, solidifying the return of the melodic sensibility we’ve come to love from the band, complete with some spicy new layers of free-form, psychedelic textures. “Masayume” displays a mystical sense of freedom in the way it surrounds its ‘choruses’ with airy, otherworldly drops into various soundscapes, some even bordering on the electronic.
It’s a supremely gratifying step forward for Paranoid Void, not that we expected any less. True to form, the band also recently announced a slot at Arctangent Music Festival, which should fit in nicely on their upcoming UK tour. Travels in My Universe is due out August 26th. You can expect a full length review from us on it on or around the same day.
Special thanks to the band and our longtime contributor Tak for coordinating this exclusive – we’re honored to have the chance to present new music to new people in any capacity, and that goes double when it’s this level of quality. We’ll give you another earful on the album when it’s out – other than that, coming up we’ve got Delta Sleep, Ando San, standards, and more. Thanks for reading – if you want to shoot us a caffeinated beverage sometime, you can do so here, and don’t forget to check out Paranoid Void’s website here.