Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~/Hisōbi

"Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~/Hisōbi"
Cover of the regular edition
Single by Luna Sea
from the album Cross
ReleasedMay 29, 2019
GenreAlternative rock
Length9:00
LabelUniversal
Songwriter(s)Luna Sea
Producer(s)Luna Sea
Luna Sea singles chronology
"Limit"
(2016) 		"Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~/Hisōbi"
(2019) 		"The Beyond"
(2020)
Music video
"Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~" on YouTube
"Hisōbi" on YouTube
"Sample of the "Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~" Gundam music video" on YouTube

"Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~/Hisōbi" (Japanese: 宇宙（そら）の詩（うた） ～Higher and Higher～/悲壮美, "The Song of the Cosmos -Higher and Higher-/Tragic Beauty") is the twentieth single by Japanese rock band Luna Sea, released on May 29, 2019. It is their second double A-side single and reached number 7 on the Oricon chart and number 20 on Billboard's Japan Hot 100.[1][2]

Overview

Both songs were used as opening themes for the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin - Advent of the Red Comet anime; "Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~" was used from episode one until episode four, and "Hisōbi" was used from episode five until episode eight. A fan of the Gundam franchise since childhood, lead guitarist Sugizo was in charge of all of the anime's theme songs.[3] Ryuichi also grew up watching the franchise and said he wanted the songs' lyrics to fit the story. After discussions with the staff and Sugizo, he borrowed scripts from the show, watched videos over and over, and wrote down words that caught his attention. The vocalist recorded his parts for "Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~" before having surgery in January 2019 to remove adenocarcinoma of the lung, while "Hisōbi" was recorded after.[4]

The music video for "Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~" utilizes footage from the anime as its lyrics feature connections to the fictional world of Gundam.[5] A different music video for the song using footage of the band performing it live at the Nippon Budokan was also released. The music video for "Hisōbi" features the band performing the ballad in sand dunes with footage shot via a drone by a Japanese drone racing champion.[6]

Release

The single was released in three editions; a regular edition, a Limited Edition A and a Limited Edition B, each of which features a different cover. The covers of the latter two were illustrated by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko; Limited Edition A features characters from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, while Limited Edition B features the members of Luna Sea. Two additional versions of the limited editions were sold exclusively via the Universal Music Store and include a T-shirt of their cover illustrations, with Limited Edition A also including a DVD of the music video for "Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~".[7]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Luna Sea.

  1. "Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~" (宇宙（そら）の詩（うた） ～Higher and Higher～) - 5:07
    Originally composed by Sugizo.
  2. "Hisōbi" (悲壮美) - 4:43
    Originally composed by Sugizo.

References

  1. ^ "LUNA SEAのシングル売上ランキング 2ページ目". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  2. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  3. ^ "SUGIZO、GLIM SPANKY＆miwa＆コムアイ＆BiSHアイナと共に『ガンダム』を彩る". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  4. ^ "LUNA SEA／RYUICHI　結成からの30年間バンドに宿り、5人にこのバンドを続けさせた精神とは何か？". Spice (in Japanese). 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  5. ^ "LUNA SEA、新曲｢宇宙の詩 ～Higher and Higher～｣MV公開 全編ガンダム映像で構成". Real Sound (in Japanese). 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  6. ^ "LUNA SEA「悲壮美」MVは奇跡の天候で撮影「30年やってて初めてかもしれない」". Natalie (in Japanese). 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  7. ^ "安彦良和がLUNA SEAのジャケでメンバー描き下ろし、SUGIZO「光栄の一言」". Natalie (in Japanese). 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-07-07.