The new single is called ‘with you feat.Me‘ and come in two editions (much like flyaway) – a normal/standard edition with just two tracks, and the other a special ‘Tales of’ edition that will feature a special remix of the title track, special in-game downloads and we presume a different CD jacket design as well.

The tracklisting is as follows:

1. with you feat.Me
2. 流れ星 (Nagareboshi)
3. with you『テイルズ オブ』Remix [Tales of] Remix **

The two different editions will retail for  ¥ 1050 and  ¥ 1260 respectively, and if you click on the links above, you can watch the recent promotional video by Namco Bandai on Youtube and jump to clips of both songs; 流れ星 (Nagareboshi) stands for meteor or shooting star. I’m personally really digging TEEDA‘s rap part at around 1:37 in with you feat.Me.

We still don’t know the identity of the mysterious Me, who (w/ thanks to Sok) is rumoured to be Misano. Hopefully we will be able to confirm whether this rumour is true very soon and also find out the cover designs of the single!

EDIT on 20th January 2011: The new covers are out!

And in case you missed the video links above, watch it below:

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What makes this particular interview rather different from others before is that firstly, there are two versions. One version is Japanese-only, where you hear Jennifer Ho ask Teeda (and Kenji03) the question in English – in an Aussie accent (as expected) – which is followed by their reply in Japanese.

The other version is almost exactly the same, except that now Teeda and Kenji03‘s replies have an unobtrusive English voice-over, which enables us to understand what they are saying!

Without spoiling the interview for you (although we have provided a full transcript below the cut) there is a really funny moment where Kenji03 launches into an answer and then forgets the question (best heard in the Japanese version) and it seems that Teeda really likes koalas? It is also interesting what he says about how the band came to work with GReeeeN:

GReeeeN and BACK-ON have the same producer known by the name of JIN. Sometimes he brings GReeeeN’s new tracks for us to have a listen to or take our tracks to GReeeeN, vice versa, which has made us realise we had the same message to tell, even though we come from different backgrounds.

What we want to express with our music is no different, and we thought we could make
something really cool together – mixing rock and Jpop – that’s how we ended up together.

Teeda then talks about what BACK-ON brings to Ashiato, their first single with GReeeeN as BAReeeeeeeeeeN:

GReeeeN’s music is more of a pop music, with a kinda popular straightforward sound, whereas BACK-ON has been playing in the underground rock scenes in Japan and occasionally overseas.

We’ve brought that kind of BACK-ON taste into the collaboration: we’ve turned it more ‘rockish’ by adding some features like rough raps or distortion to the sound.

Of course there is more, and you can listen to the interview for yourself by visiting the link below:

Listen to the interview on Alchemy’s Asian Pop Show

I would really highly recommend it, although here is some breaking news about their plans for 2009: BACK-ON‘s first full album YES!!! is going to be released in Europe! Apart from doing more live gigs, they would also like to do a tour in the US and possibly Europe and Australia.

Hope you will enjoy listening to it as much as we did :) A big thanks must go to Jennifer Ho and Mika Nakamori for their fantastic work! As mentioned above, if you are unable to access the audio, you can read the full text transcript of the interview below:

Interview Transcript

Teeda (and Kenji03): To everyone in Australia, including the koalas, this is BACK-ON’s MC Teeda and Kenji with Jennifer on Alchemy’s Asian Pop Show!

** Chain plays in the background**

Jennifer: Recently one of the things about you guys is the new collaboration with GReeeeN. What are some of the things you guys have done to promote your collaboration with GReeeeN?

Teeda: Well, GReeeeN actually keep their identity a secret and never show their faces to the public. To keep it that way, they can’t perform live or appear on TV shows with us. For that reason promotional activities from the BACK-ON side were restricted as well.

We only did TV ads and commercials.

Jennifer: What do you think (of) the idea that they try to hide their identity?

Teeda: The positive side of it, I think, is that no one would recognise you, so you could walk on the streets without being spotted. That would be one of the good things about it I guess.

Jennifer: How did you and GReeeeN end up together and become BAReeeeeeeeeeN?

Teeda: GReeeeN and BACK-ON have the same producer known by the name of JIN. Sometimes he brings GReeeeN’s new tracks for us to have a listen to, or take our tracks to GReeeeN, vice versa, which made us realise we had the same message to tell, even though we come from different backgrounds.

What we want to express with our music is no different, and we thought we could make something really cool together – mixing rock and J-pop – that’s how we ended up together.

Jennifer: What role does BACK-ON play in the new single ‘Ashiato’?

Teeda: GReeeeN’s music is more of a pop music, with a kinda popular straightforward sound, whereas BACK-ON has been playing in the underground rock scenes in Japan and occasionally overseas.

We’ve brought that kind of BACK-ON taste into the collaboration: we’ve turned it more ‘rockish’ by adding some features like rough raps or distortion to the sound.

** Ashiato plays in the background**

** BLAZE LINE plays in the background**

Jennifer: Now let’s focus on BACK-ON. How’s the new album YES!!! special to you?

Teeda: Is it ok if Kenji, our guitar/vocalist takes over from here?

Kenji03: Domo. Good morning. BACK-ON’s guitar and vocalist Kenji03 here.

Since it was our first album, we wanted to create the best thing possible… I’m sorry what was the question again? It was a rather… complicated question.

Teeda: No it wasn’t.

Kenji03: What was it again?

Mika Nakamori: *repeats the question*

Kenji03: There are no special thoughts as such, but this is our very first album. We’ve always wanted to release one for so long, so we’ve tried creating the best thing ever, which makes it a very special album for us.

Jennifer: So tell us about the process of putting this album together, for example the recordings and some of the difficulties you guys have faced?

Kenji03: It took us a while to select the first track. We wrote several songs to use as the first track, but we couldn’t decide it. What we thought was the right one was actually the first… I’m not really sure what I’m talking about *laughs*

But, anyway, what I meant is it was difficult to write a song for the first
track of the first album.

This is because when you listen to your CD or samples at the CD store, you’re most likely to start from the first track, right? The first track is always the key track of an album, so we considered it more seriously.

** Hate Naki Michi E [LA mix] plays in the background**

Jennifer: And what is one of the most unusual ways you guys have come up with a great song that you love?

Kenji03: Teeda will take over from here.

Teeda: For the song called ‘Color’, it’s actually for BAReeeeeeeeeeN. I came up with the verse and the pre-chorus sections whilst I was having a bath in the hot spring.

** Color plays in the background **

Jennifer: And I hear that you guys have been trying to film the new music video for the new single ‘flyaway’ and the weather hasn’t been too good. So share with us a little bit – what’s this single going to be about?

Teeda: ‘flyaway’ will be the opening theme for the sequel of Namco Bandai’s popular video game: Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology.

Jennifer: Are there any plans for 2009 that we can look forward to?

Teeda: We were too busy with recordings this year and didn’t get to do gigs very often, so we want to get out and do more gigs next year and hopefully do a tour in the US.

As our album ‘YES!!!’ is set to be released in Europe, we’re hoping to go to Europe as well. It would be great if we could also have a chance to go to Australia. We would love to kangeroos and koalas, and of course Australian fans.

Kenji03: Yeah!

Jennifer: Yes, I will take you guys to see kangaroos and koala if you come.

Teeda: Yatta. Kenji is also saying Yatta!

Kenji03: YATTA!

Jennifer: If we were going to visit you in Japan, where will you take us?

Teeda: We’re from downtown Tokyo, so we can go on a pub crawl in Asakusa to eat monjayaki, okonomiyaki and udon. How does that sound?

Kenji03: I’d like to recommend a track called NEW WORLD, simply because it rocks! YAY!

** NEW WORLD fades into the background **

Brand new BACK-ON.com – flyaway version

It appears to be a TV ‘spot’ ad that is currently playing to people across Japan (we hope!) to promote the new single, but the video was quite small, although we were all very excited to hear a clip of the chorus. However, in the meantime, it turns out that AbyssalChronicles has actually uploaded this clip for everyone to watch on Youtube!

Click on the link below to ‘watch it in high quality’ directly on Youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRHvCLCaOzs

Alternatively you can still watch the ‘normal’ version at the end of this post. For the sake of better graphics in particular, I would really recommend watching it on Youtube directly!

And on a quick side note, JUICE magazine did a quick preview for the new BACK-ON single, and the author seems to say that the theme of this single was:

Friendship & Courage (友情や勇気)

Hope you all enjoy watching the preview! :) Like some others, I am very excited by how good the songs sounds from the clip, and aside from the surprise that the lyrics for the single might already be available online, I can’t wait till we hear the song in full!

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The images we have all been waiting since the news hint of the new single, flyaway, were the CD covers for both the standard or normal flyaway single cover (shown first) AND the limited edition ‘Tales‘ version:

As the news update from Sound Ex put it:

“Even though it’s not “Back-On’s style, I REALLY love the covers.“

I would have to agree wholeheartedly with the latter statement, especially as I also love the covers too (why are the images so tantalisingly small!?) and I am sure you feel the same too (especially fans of the PSP series: Tales of the World – if you weren’t already aware of the news, BACK-ON is writing the OP and ED theme music for the brand new game Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2) although if I were to really ‘look’ for any similarities to BACK-ON‘s previous CD cover designs, I would say that the cursive writing reminds me of Chain, one of BACK-ON‘s earliest singles, which features that nice italic-cursive-style as well.

Anyway, before I digress further, let us move on to the tracklisting. The question we were all (at least several of us?) dying to know was whether the limited/Tales edition of the CD would include anything extra – Chain, for instance, did not – but as the official BACK-ON website confirmed (screenshot), there is an additional track called: flyaway 『テイルズ オブ』Remix or flyaway (Tales of) Remix!

So the official tracklisting is as follows (with the Remix version only available with the limited/Tales edition):

1. flyaway
2. where is the future?
3. Re:Start
4. (flyaway 『テイルズ オブ』Remix)

And if it wasn’t clear before,

flyaway is the OP and
where is the future? is the ED

for the game, although it’s a little beyond me at the moment why the remix version is called flyaway (Tales of) Remix rather than just flyaway (Tales) Remix , but according to the info on BACK-ON.com, the remix is a:

スペシャルヴァージョン (Special version) as it involves the voice cast behind the main characters of the game and also some of the background music (BGM) that features during the battles!

You can watch some of the trailer videos at the official Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 website but seeing as the musical styles of the BGM and BACK-ON‘s usual musical style is really quite different, it will be VERY interesting to hear this remix imho! Of course, one mustn’t lose sight of the fact there are 3 brand new songs by BACK-ON on this single, where the titles of all the songs seem to have connotations of creating a new beginning… I think. What are your thoughts?

I am really liking this potential ‘return’ to what appears to be themes of light and hope, as they were, I believe, something that the band were aiming for with several of their songs (more noticeable in some than others) and am very much looking forward to hearing previews of the new songs!

Before I forget… the brand new official profile photos for 2009 and to promote flyaway!
Here’s the official group photo:

And ones of each band member:

I love Gori‘s new look in particular this time round, although he looks awfully serious; Kenji03, sadly, is missing the glasses from the promotional photos of YES!!!, although Teeda is still sporting some very nice sunglasses this time round!

We might even see a new official BACK-ON website redesign – the team behind BACK-ON have a pretty good track record so far when it comes to new single releases – and with the single (both editions) out on January 28th 2009, just a day before the launch of Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2, we will hopefully have more news and song previews early into the new year, although there is time for one more message:

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2009 AND ENJOY THE CELEBRATIONS!

Thank you to everyone who has been so helpful and supportive to our site this year. It has been a great 12 months for BACK-ON and ourselves, even if the updates on our site have been a little sporadic, but the band have really gone from strength-to-strength, especially with the release of their first full album, YES!!!

We would also like to say a very special thank you to the fans who have contributed their talent, time and their energy both on our main site and on the Forums. We will see you next year with lots of BACK-ON related updates and very much hope you will all continue to support both BACK-ON and ourselves in 2009!