SLOW

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Item Details

Genre

Japanese Pop

Catalogue Number

HRLP370

Number of Discs

Label

Lawson Entertainment, Inc.(HMV record shop)

Release Country

Japan

Format

Vinyl

Product Description

Small Circle of Friends' 13th album "SLOW" their first release in three and a half years, is now available in analog form!

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Album "SLOW"
After about three and a half years since our previous work "CELL" Small Circle of Friends is releasing their 13th album "SLOW".

During those years, we witnessed and felt sadness, malice, anxiety, and despair unfolding around us and across the world. Searching for hope amidst it all, we lived our lives and created each song from those daily emotions. Thinking back, this may be the most “current world” conscious album in the history of Small Circle of Friends.

The title "SLOW" reflects the time and care we took in creating this album more than ever before. What we need now for the future is to apply the brakes to the uncontrollable speed of desire. Broadly speaking, those are the two meanings behind the title.

Azuma
Small Circle of Friends

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We’re not sure how much we were able to convey what we began to realize with our previous album "CELL" but now, "SLOW" is complete.

In fact, about a quarter of this album already existed during the time of "CELL" So in a way, it’s been about seven years in the making. During those years, the world changed in ways we had never experienced before—emotional turbulence, a sense of urgency that outpaces our breath, and indescribable, almost insane noise that seemed to shape the world.

Before we could even correct our ignorance by asking, “Has the world always been like this?”, pandemics, disasters, conflicts, wars, massacres, and severe discrimination and xenophobia erupted and spread at a pace matching the chaos of society. The reality was nothing short of terrifying.

We believe we’re not the only ones who feel this sorrow. I believe that some people will experience this turmoil but will be too busy with their daily lives or will not even notice it. And in truth, no matter how much sorrow we feel, we are often overwhelmed by a world we cannot change.

Still, to prevent this broken world from completely falling apart, we chose to believe in the power of our words, actions, and music our craft. Even if it’s just a few millimeters forward, we hoped to help move the world ahead. With that hope, we continued creating.

Gathering the remnants of kindness left behind, we passed through "CELL" observed the changing world, and slowly shaped "SLOW".

Even now, as I write this review, the world is witnessing genocide in real time.

We no longer need stories of success. We don’t even see action as hope anymore. Perhaps we’ve already passed through despair. But still, even if it’s just the two of us, we will continue making music and resisting. We deeply respect all the activists in Japan and around the world who continue to protest.

SLOW DOWN

Satsuki
Small Circle of Friends