Changes for Night de Light after 10 years

Night de Light is a four-piece rock band, formed in Hokkaido in 2006, that sings about hope. After releasing their fourth album, SHIFT, this spring, they embarked on a national tour, performing live at Inochi no Kotobasha (Word of Life Press Ministries) in Tokyo on April 1. It was a free concert, originally open to the first 100 people to arrive, but that quota was exceeded and the venue was packed with excited fans.

Night de Light celebrated their 10th anniversary last year, and the title of their new album, SHIFT, reflects their determination as they look to the decade that lies ahead. Leader and bassist, Hironori Nagasawa, said, “We spent our first 10 years together building a solid foundation so that the band would not be shaken, no matter what happened. I feel that we’ve achieved that goal, and this year is the time for us to move forward. We want to take on new challenges, exploring new areas and making changes. Hence the name of the album.”

One thing that has shifted is their musical style. “In our new album we explored a wider variety of arrangement and performance styles, expressing our message in ways that we haven’t done before,” Nagasawa explains. Of particular note is the fifth song on the album, called “Let Every Nation”—their first song written in English, which they performed as part of the Israeli Independence Day celebrations last year. Lead vocalist Hirano sang it with all his heart, as a prayer for peace. The sixth song on the album, “Hakusui,” was written based on the story of a father who froze to death trying to protect his daughter in a fierce blizzard. Many people who empathize with Night de Light’s messages have supported their activities through crowd-funding, which enabled the band to produce this album, their best one yet.

Another kind of shift has taken place in Night de Light’s performances. They finished off their tour on July 30 with a performance at Zepp DiverCity Tokyo, a venue which can hold up to 2,500 people. It was the first time they had played independently to a crowd of that size. Before their performance, Nagasawa said, “It’s the biggest step forward for us this year, as a band from Hokkaido, to play a gig in Tokyo on a much grander scale than we have before.”

From Christian Shimbun, April 30, 2017
Translated by Grace Koshino