Super Mountaineering Club's "2nd EP Release Traverse" live report of the Tokyo show on July 4 is now available!

On July 4, "2nd EP Release Traverse (tour)" was held at Shimokitazawa ADRIFT by Super Mountaineering Club, an up-and-coming five-piece band that is rapidly gaining popularity and making music lovers and mountain lovers feel good. Super Mountaineering Club was formed in 2023 by Tomoyuki Oda (Key), who loves mountain climbing, Hina (Vo), Yuu Ishima (G), Shotaro Kaji (B), and Yuichi Fukaya (Dr), and is based in Nagoya, Japan. With music and mountain climbing as the basis of their activities, they have been increasing the number of people attending their live shows with their high level of musicality.

This was their first one-man show in Tokyo. The venue was filled with excitement and thrill as fans who had heard the rumors rushed to the venue. The opening number was "hatoba. The sound spread quietly, and Hina's soft and elongated voice overlapped with the song. The rhythm changed from the middle of the song, and the band played a seven-beat rhythm that was perverse in a good way without missing a beat, and Hina's voice intersected with the rhythm, creating a nostalgic atmosphere of quality pop music. The dramatic development of this song alone conveys the "awesomeness" of this band. The piano tone that seems to bring hope flows through the song, "Tracing the Wind. The refreshing melody and vocals reflect the trees in the clear sky and wind in the listener's mind.

Do you all climb mountains?" Oda's customary words were thrown to the audience, and many raised their hands. Oda's vocal started the song "Will Pick Up". The combination of Oda's soft voice and Hina's clear voice created a comfortable atmosphere. This song, too, was in seven beats and had a precise rhythmic structure, but it was conveyed with depth. Oda enjoyed the call and response of applause from the audience. Oda asked for complex rhythms, and the audience responded with handclaps, an "instrument" that played the song together.

To be in the mountains is to face nature. The mountains are a place where you can be yourself, a place where you can find friends, and a place where you can be yourself - I feel that this band gently conveys these things through their music, starting with "picking up willpower. Oda's words, "Are you climbing mountains? Oda's words, "Are you climbing the mountain?

In August 2024, they climbed the Northern Alps with their instruments on foot and performed live at Hakuba Sanso (2,832m), one of the largest mountain lodges in Japan. The video of the live performance can be viewed on YouTube, and you will feel as if the songs are blending into the background of the magnificent and fantastic scenery that can never be seen on earth.

Oda sang the main vocal for "Autumn Seaweed," and the audience swayed to the comfortable rhythm. Oda's grainy piano graced "Water Lilies in the City" with an intense guitar solo by Isshihama, and Hina's vocals were dignified and strong. The strong rhythm section of Kaji on bass and Fukaya on drums reminded the audience of the band's strong presence.

The "2nd EP," released on June 20, shows the character of this band, which is to stick to physicality and book style in the digital age. Ishihama did all the artwork, and the book conveys the band's desire for people to get to know the Super Mountaineering Club better, to learn more about the members' characters, and to feel their music more deeply.

Hina's voice penetrates deep into our hearts, reminding us once again of the penetrating power of her voice. The rhythm, melody, and song made me want to stay wrapped up in it forever. The same is true of "Spark," the next song she performed. The melody and song are beautiful and fragile to the end. Hina carefully sings the lyrics word by word with emotion, and her singing enriches the hearts of everyone who hears it.

Before performing "Kigarashi," for which Hina wrote the lyrics for the first time, she explains how the song came to be. I broke up with someone I loved, and at that time I felt like I had lost everything. But when I saw the audience gradually increase at the shows, I gradually regained my confidence." She spoke honestly and straightforwardly about her feelings at that time with tears in her eyes, and many of the female fans in the audience were also shedding tears. Ishihama immediately followed Hina, who was choking on her words due to tears. The atmosphere as a band was endlessly gentle.

The song "Kigarashi" is a sad, yet upbeat song that makes you feel the desire to move forward, as if you were a fallen leaf dancing in the withering of the trees. The accompanying piano and the experimental zones were also captivating. The intense guitar solo seemed to capture the "passion" that lurks deep within.

The last song of the main program was "Itare", one of their best-known songs with a shining happy aura. Oda said that the flow from "Kigarashi" made him "emotionally crazy (laugh)," but the weather in the mountains is changeable. The lyrics and familiar melodies were like honest sketches of the emotions one feels when climbing a mountain. The wonderful band ensemble grabbed my heart. The chorus is layered by all the members, and a picture of all the members climbing a mountain together seems to come to mind.

The encore was "There's a Super Public Bath," which Oda said "I want to go there when I get off the mountain. Hina's elongated voice spread to every corner of the venue. The melody, which evoked a sense of nostalgia, was combined with reggae, dub, and other sounds, giving the song a full-blown "character".

The music, which freely crosses and fuses genres, is overwhelmingly popular and has a broad range of appeal, but it also possesses a high level of performance ability that will convince even core music fans who are particular about sound, and everyone who hears it can share its technique, passion, and tenderness.

The "2nd EP Release Traverse (tour)," which started in June, will be held at Banana Hall in Umeda, Osaka on July 11, and the final stop will be at Hakuba Sanso in Nagano, which was also held last year, from August 20 to 24. The final stop will be at Hakuba Sanso in Nagano, where the band held the same event last year, from August 20 to 24.

Article: Hisakatsu Tanaka
Photographer: Maho Tomono