New York, NY (Top40 Charts) 13-year-old Japanese guitar prodigy and
Internet sensation, Li-sa-X is releasing 'WILL,' her debut full-length album on October 26 via Sony
Music Japan. A video for the track "Little Wings" (which features 11-year-old Chinese guitar genius Yo-Yo) is premiering today at: https://youtu.be/rfRlh2YWL30.
A combination of fresh sensibility and transcendent technique, the sensational "Junior High School Guitar Heroine" known as Li-sa-X caught the attention of guitar fans everywhere with her viral videos, and with the release of her first full-length album, featuring all original tunes (+ bonus track), she is sure to expand her fanbase.
At a tender age of 8, Li-sa-X began posting videos of her masterful guitar work, which created buzz around the globe and led to her debut in 119 countries with the "Serendipity" EP, at age 12.
Li-sa-X says, "I am very happy to release this new album WILL. Over the years, I have simply enjoyed covering music of various artists. On my debut EP I released a year and a half ago, I was even able to have my own tune. Then I started receiving comments from people who had been watching me on YouTube and other media that they wanted to hear more original tunes, which gradually motivated me to write tunes of my own. However, writing original tunes was very difficult. Things did not proceed as smoothly I had wanted to; there were times I almost broke off my heart. Meanwhile, I had the fortune to have a chance to perform with a wide array of wonderful top-notch players. What electrified me was that each and every one of them had a strong personality, tone, and music, which were immediately recognizable. Their performances renewed and further strengthened my desire to have and pursue my own personality as a guitarist. This album is filled with such a WILL of mine."
Of the new track "Little Wings" (feat. YOYO") she says, "This is a happy, speedy, and uplifting tune. YOYO, a super-technical 11-year-old guitarist from China appears as guest, interplaying solos and plays in harmony with me. The title is a pun on Mr. Jimi Hendrix's famous tune "Little Wing". I named it in plural form, "Little Wings", in the image of YOYO and I flying together. Originally, the song comes from a piece of idea which my dad was thinking to develop into a song with a vocal. I reshaped and expanded it to be more fitting to a guitar tune. So especially with the climax of the song, I tried to play as if I had been singing. I am happy with the outcome of the tune."
About Li-sa-X:
Born February 8, 2005, 13-year-old Li-sa-X is currently a second-year junior high school student. Inspired by her guitarist father, she took up the guitar at age 5. Her performance covering Racer X's "Scarified", the video of which she posted at age 8 on YouTube, was streamed over 4.7 million times around the world and immediately took the Western media by storm, earning rave reviews such as "one of the 10 selected for These Girls Are Definitely The
Future Of
Heavy Metal (MTV US), and "one of The Best Kid Metal Shredders (VH1 US)". Later, in a "reverse-import" form, she created a huge buzz in her homeland Japan as well. After appearing on a number of domestic TV programs and commercials, she made her debut in 119 countries with the aforementioned "Serendipity" EP in March 2017. Ever since, she has been quickly expanding her scope of activities; the same year she performed her first single-bill show in July, and became the youngest artist to perform at Summer Sonic 2017 (Jungle Stage), the biggest rock festival in Japan. This past January, she also had the privilege to perform with
Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro at The NAMM Show 2018, held in Anaheim, California.
WILL tracklist:
1.
Little Wings feat. YOYO
2. Pale Pink Monster
3. P.R.O.
4. Fluctuation
5. Serendipity
6. Hammock
7. Fragment Of Cake
8. Daisy
9. World Football Anthem（bonus track）
all tracks written by Li-sa-X (except track 09)
all tracks arranged, produced & mixed by Li-sa-X & Issei Ambo
all tracks mastered by Mitsuyasu Abe (Sony
Music Studios Tokyo)
guitar : Li-sa-X (all tracks), YOYO(guitar solo on "Little Wings")
