Kishibe Seven Announce New Single 'Ahead of the Light,' Out on the 20th — Set for a Kishibe no Uta Debut Too

Shiosai Records held a press event at its Kyobashi headquarters on the 15th to announce that Kishibe Seven's new single, "Ahead of the Light," will be released and go on streaming on the 20th — the group's first new song in roughly five months, since April. The label's in-house songwriting team wrote and composed the track. Asked whether the title nods to the Lit City behind Stable Window 1, familiar to readers of the Dimensional Survey page, the producer said, "It's not a song about a specific place. Think of it as a song about a light that waits for someone."

All seven members attended the announcement. Center member Noa Kishiyanagi, 20, a third-generation Drifter, said, "When I first heard the title, I thought of the Shore Lullaby that the junior members of my old choir used to sing. I don't think the songs sound alike, but maybe the feeling of waiting for a light is the same." Another tailed member drew laughs by admitting there's a chorus dance move that uses her tail: "It's quietly difficult."

The new single is also expected to make its live debut at the Kishibe no Uta music festival on the 23rd at Kishihama Park. As previously reported, this year's festival marks the event's first outdoor staging, with advance tickets drawing lines at the box office before sales even opened. Yuki Shirase's official cover of the Shore Lullaby and rakugo performer Kishihachi's new piece "Madogei" are also on the bill. "It's precisely because this isn't a solo Kishibe Seven show that it's worth premiering the new single there," the producer said.

"Singing right after Master Kishihachi's set is nerve-wracking," Kishiyanagi said. "But he always says laughter doesn't dilute a celebration, so we're bringing our new song to add to it."

Behind the announcement lies the festival's previously reported surge in expected attendance — roughly triple last year's, at 5,000. A label spokesperson said the larger outdoor venue called for more to look forward to, but added there was another reason: the group is entering its fourth year, a time when individual members' outside work is expanding. "We wanted to make sure to put out a proper group single at this point," the spokesperson said.

On the entertainment calendar, nominations for the annual Torek Prize, announced every January, are due out in December. Kishibe Seven has been nominated for the song award before but has never won. "This single is the capstone of the group's year. If I'm honest, I'd love a nomination, but the priority is a successful stage at Kishibe no Uta first," the producer said carefully.

Streaming and sales begin at midnight on the 20th. At the close of the event, all seven members posed with light-wand props shaped like small lanterns, ahead of the 23rd. "It's called 'Ahead of the Light,'" Kishiyanagi said, "but first, past the lights of Kishihama Park, I just hope we can see the audience's faces properly."

The announcement drew enough traffic to briefly slow the label's official site. One longtime fan (a office worker in her 30s) reached by this paper after the event said, "It had been a while since the last single, so I'd been waiting. Getting a new song the same year we finally get to see Kishibe no Uta outdoors feels like good luck." Shiosai Records said it is also considering a bonus video to accompany the streaming release.

Reporters also asked about the choreography for the two tailed members. The other tailed member, not Kishiyanagi, revealed that the chorus includes a move where her tail sways slightly: "It's less a dance move and more turning what happens on its own when I get nervous into part of the choreography." The choreographer said the aim was "not to hide the members' physical traits but to build them into the song." This paper's entertainment desk sees it as characteristic of the group, which, as previously reported, was formed as a deliberate mix of Drifter-descended and non-Drifter members.