Forever (Spring 2023)

[bachmahlerfan]

Libera Records has published on its site and on socials a 46 seconds long extract of '永遠の絆' - 'Eternal Bond' , which is track #1 on the Japanese version of the 'Forever' album.
This track will not be present on the Western version of the album.



Reminder of release dates:
Japanese release: 17 May
International release: 23 June
USA Release: 7 July

I'm actually looking forward to this one. I see they include a nice key change in the excerpt. Someone needs to notify kinda_k00l because I know he loves those key changes, and I do too.

[filiarheni]

I'm actually looking forward to this one. I see they include a nice key change in the excerpt. Someone needs to notify kinda_k00l because I know he loves those key changes, and I do too.

Add me to that club. And I love music with unforeseeable turns. - I like what I hear and I'm already jealous that this will specifically be on the Japanese album ... why?

As for the lyrics, can anyone understand them throughout the snippet? I get something like (many doubts ...):

"searching far beyond eternity.
And so we sing ? a song that's never ending
And so it dreams of the ? that stays ?
And all we dream to the past,
to the future of the heart
For we know we'll always have peace of mind.
We'll never ? with a song that lasts ?
eternally ..."

Certainly the native speakers get them, but it's fun to try and see where I error.

[justin]

Far Away an Angel sings, a Song of Life that's never ending, with Eternal Light For The Future, Forever more.

Thanks Muramatsu-san

[filiarheni]

Um, I seem to hear a repetition of the words rather than what I posted before, so again it would be

"....For we know we'll always have peace of mind.
We'll ??? with a song that's never ending,
eternally ..."

[Padmachou]

Oh I like this one !
I love key changing too

[Surpinto]

Far Away an Angel sings, a Song of Life that's never ending, with Eternal Light For The Future, Forever more.

Thanks Muramatsu-san

EXACTLY! Especially this song which seems especially so an amalgamation of the previous ones.

If I'm being fair most of his songs are fine and some I like, but it's not my favorite Libera song type/style.

[bachmahlerfan]

Far Away an Angel sings, a Song of Life that's never ending, with Eternal Light For The Future, Forever more.

Thanks Muramatsu-san

EXACTLY! Especially this song which seems especially so an amalgamation of the previous ones.

If I'm being fair most of his songs are fine and some I like, but it's not my favorite Libera song type/style.

What you say is certainly true of the excerpt of this 'new' song, but if you hear the original "Eternal Bond" you'll see that other parts of it are different from Muramatsu songs previously recorded by Libera.

[fan_de_LoK]

Libera Records has posted an extract of the song 'Far Away'.
Likely they will proceed as this with one song per day until the album release.

The official Libera site had already published the extracts of the whole 13 songs, but the ones from Libera records are longger. 46'' for Libera Records, 30'' for the official site.



Far Away was performed by Luca during the recent Korean tour and very likely he recorded the solo on this song.

[GlennJalmas]

This was recently posted by Libera Official in their Facebook page.

We are releasing a digital single of the Beach Boys' classic "God Only Knows" on 19th May. To pre-order go to
https://orcd.co/ihd91_s2
There will also be a video released on 20th May.

[dani]

This was recently posted by Libera Official in their Facebook page.

We are releasing a digital single of the Beach Boys' classic "God Only Knows" on 19th May. To pre-order go to
https://orcd.co/ihd91_s2
There will also be a video released on 20th May.

This is strange one because wasn’t this track available in December on various websites?!

I’ll take another video though and hope we get another 3/4 music videos for this album

[Luckdragon]

This is strange one because wasn’t this track available in December on various websites?!

I’ll take another video though and hope we get another 3/4 music videos for this album

Track (that you have to buy the album to own) vs. digital single. Sounds like they'll release it for sale separately with different cover art.

[fan_de_LoK]

Soloists on each track are now known.

I drew it in a tab on the French forum, here.

Tabs are more limited here on LD, so I post it bellow in the form of an image.

[Luckdragon]

Soloists on each track are now known.

This is fantastic. You really go the distance for your fellow fans, and it is much appreciated!

[fan_de_LoK]

The Japanese site 'Usen' posts today an extensive interview of Sam Coates, mainly about the new album 'Forever', which is released exactly today in Japan.

https://e.usen.com/interview/interview- ... rever.html (page in Japanese)

Here bellow a translation through Deepl

► Show Spoiler

2023.05.17
Rivera's 'Kizuna FOREVER' special commentary - the second chapter that begins with 'Kizuna FOREVER'.

Rivera lost its founder Robert Priestman. However, Sam Coates, who followed in his footsteps, and former soloists Joshua Madine and Raoul Newman joined the band as songwriters. Takatsugu Muramatsu, who worked on Beyond the Light 2023, also wrote a new song, 'Eternal Bonds'. Kizuna Forever" was completed as a result of these "bonds". Based on a rare interview with producer Sam Coates, Rivera author Noriko Hattori gives us an insight into the latest work.

Between the last film in 2021 and the new one, Rivera went through a great ordeal. It lost its founder, Robert Priestman, who had given his undivided love to Rivera. The new album Kizuna FOREVER was produced in the absence of a general director, but his successor, Sam Coates, has played a major role.
Starting with 'Kizuna Forever', written by Takatsugu Muramatsu, which opens the Japanese edition, the album includes songs left behind by Prizeman and a new song composed by alumnus Joshua Madine.
Rivera's music is appealing because of the harmonies woven by the pure voice of the boy soprano. Sam, who sang in Rivera's early years and, in his work, in Rivera and Luminosa, says: "I loved singing the harmony parts. The beautiful, fragile exuberance of the harmonies brings a hint of hope. It gently purifies the listener. The new album has a pop feel to it, and the colours emitted from the songs are bright and light-hearted. This is the new appeal of the album".

Such a Rivera group was founded in South London and seems to date back to the 1980s, if its predecessor groups are included. Even so, it is one of the newer boy soprano groups. London has boy soprano choirs in prestigious churches, including Westminster Abbey, the venue of the recent coronation of King Charles. There are also historic groups around the world, such as the Vienna Boys' Choir.

In this context, Rivera seemed to be unique at the time of its inception. The members were children recommended by local schools, not the elite selected through national auditions. When I first interviewed Prizeman in 2004, I was impressed by this policy, which I found both appealing and promising for Rivera.

On the other hand, the boy soprano is doomed to have to leave when he reaches the age of change, but his life afterwards is longer. Do they leave music at that point? When I asked Priestman about this, he told me that there are graduates who stay on with the group as bassists, or support the production behind the scenes while furthering their musical studies, and that person is Sam Coates.

'I wasn't a great soloist, but I was a bit of a music geek, and after I went through my transitional phase, I started singing bass parts and getting more involved in recording. For the last ten years, I have co-produced and co-arranged all the albums and have toured with the band. So it was a natural progression for me to take on my current role. Priestman's wish was for Rivera to survive, so ......"

According to a Japanese representative who saw the Korean concert in April, all positions at the concert, from conducting to keyboard and piano playing, music director, stage manager and mixer, were all held by Rivera graduates, and the quality of the concert was never compromised, giving it a special sense of family and cohesion. This cohesion is also a credit to Prizeman.

Sam also commented, "Prizeman left behind a number of unfinished songs. The few songs we took over and completed became the starting point for the new album. The album was produced by a cohesive team, including the composer and arranger, as well as Takatsugu Muramatsu, who once again provided the music, with clear ideas", referring to the teamwork.

He then added: "If it had been produced by Prizeman as usual, it might have sounded a little different, but I'm sure he would have been happy with it." I think this 'a bit more different' part shows the team's youthful sensibility and the lightness and lightness that comes from it.

Now, touching on the specific songs on the record, two songs left behind by Prizeman are M7 'Trinity' and M9 'Come My Way'. In addition, M11 'Sing For Ever' from the old repertoire has been newly recorded for this release. Of these, it is still 'Sing for Ever' that captures the spirit of Prizeman.

From its inception to its international fame, Rivera must have had a difficult time financially managing the organisation. When I first met him in Japan, he seemed, don't get me wrong, he was down-to-earth and frugal. How could he be so passionate about Rivera? I think the honest answer to that question can be found in 'Sing for Ever'. The lyrics, 'I'll keep on singing for you', must be at the root of Prizeman's passion. And I think the reason why Sam picked it up again this time was because he wanted to dedicate it to Prizeman with the thought that 'Rivera will always keep on singing'.

Then, alumnus and co-producer Joshua Madine composed M6 'Lighthouse' and M10 'Guidance of the Sea' this time. The latter, 'Guidance of the Sea', was inspired by Josh's listening to many of the songs left behind by Prizeman, and Sam says it's "like a pastiche of Rivera", and what you can sense from the lyrics, including its imitation, is a tribute to his mentor Priestman. And of 'Lighthouse', he says: "It's a tune that hasn't been done before, but it's an exciting new world of sound, and I think it's perfect for the boys". True to these words, it is one of the new songs that marks the beginning of the second chapter of Rivera's career.

Other songs include M3 'God Only Knows', a cover of the Beach Boys, and M14 'Love Shine a Light', a cover of Katrina and the Waves. These two songs were a surprise, so I asked him about them and he replied, "We're not afraid to try new styles and have tried to cover a wider range of genres since Rivera's songs started reaching the world. We've featured Brian Wilson's song 'Love and Mercy' before, and I think the melody and harmonies he writes are a great match for Rivera, and this one, 'God Only Knows', I thought the lyrics were beautiful and could bring new meaning to the song.

The other song, 'Love Shine a Light', has a special place in the UK as it was the song Katrina and the Waves won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1997. 'When we were looking for a bright and breezy song to sing at the festival last summer, we found out that the UK would be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest this year, replacing last year's winners Ukraine, so we decided to sing it,' she says.

Another important song is M1 'Eien no Kizuna', a new song written by Takatsugu Muramatsu, the composer of M4 'Beyond the Light', the theme song for the NHK Saturday drama 'Ice Wall', which is also included in the 2023 version of the album. 'Takatsugu Muramatsu wasn't sure what kind of song he was going to write at first, but the song came to him naturally as he thought about Rivera and Prizeman. The original title of the new song is 'Forever', but our Japanese contact suggested 'Kizuna' as a word that captured our intention. We thought that the new album was indeed a testament to the bond that connects Rivera, Prizeman and listeners, and reflected our feelings themselves, so we wrote the lyrics to "Eternal Bonds" on the theme of "Kizuna" and the album's Japanese title will also have "Kizuna ' was added to the album's Japanese title."

Sam spoke like this, along with the thoughts behind the title. And throughout the album, the presence of excellent soloists is felt. At the time of its inception, the group was recommended by schools, but now that it has become a success, the number of applicants has increased dramatically. Among them is Luca Brgnoli, who won first prize in a British boy soprano competition and is also a soloist.

The second chapter began with the new album Kizuna FOREVER, and with much anticipation, the group is scheduled to perform in Japan in October for the first time in four years.
(End).
Interview and text by Noriko Hattori

[justin]

► Show Spoiler

He then added: "If it had been produced by Prizeman as usual, it might have sounded a little different, but I'm sure he would have been happy with it." I think this 'a bit more different' part shows the team's youthful sensibility and the lightness and lightness that comes from it.

Then, alumnus and co-producer Joshua Madine composed M6 'Lighthouse' and M10 'Guidance of the Sea' this time. The latter, 'Guidance of the Sea', was inspired by Josh's listening to many of the songs left behind by Prizeman, and Sam says it's "like a pastiche of Rivera", and what you can sense from the lyrics, including its imitation, is a tribute to his mentor Priestman. And of 'Lighthouse', he says: "It's a tune that hasn't been done before, but it's an exciting new world of sound, and I think it's perfect for the boys". True to these words, it is one of the new songs that marks the beginning of the second chapter of Rivera's career.

I think the above quote captures my feelings about the album.