Guitarist Lin (凛-Lin-) has shared the impetus and story behind the making of Jiu Tian Lan Yue-Ninth Heaven- (九天攬樂-Ninth Heaven-).

Lin (凛-Lin-)

Digital EP Jiu Tian Lan Yue-Ninth Heaven- (九天攬樂-Ninth Heaven-) was released June 23rd. It's the latest work from solo artist Lin (凛-Lin-) [Affective Synergy~Lilith etc.] released under the label Grows Independent Music. The title track features lower tuning than is usual for the guitarist, and combines his Chinese and Japanese influences into a soaring new blend.

Today, Lin (凛-Lin-) generously shared some behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the meaning behind the song and the story of its production.

Introduction to 「九天攬樂-Ninth Heaven-」

It has been about two years since the release of the previous album "INNOCENCE". This latest newly released album breaks the silence and is representative of next-generational Chinese metal, drawn with a magnificent scale and world view.

It is also the culmination of Lin's Japanese and Chinese background, and a new frontier for him as an artist.

A beautiful, ephemeral, and gentle melody, the invitation from the first song "-Daydream-" leads to "-Ninth Heaven-". Jiu Tian Lan Yue takes inspiration from an old Chinese phrase in which Lin analogizes “Delivering music from heaven to the world”.

In this world, the situation changes; new disparities and ideological differences are born in society and the division between east and west progresses toward chaos.

However, rock music and the people who love it live all over the world.

Music physically and spiritually crosses national borders through Lin's live shows and album releases. This album embodies the pride of being Asian through the sound of rock music born in the West.

That is the theme of this work. An experience of sound, spreading a gem of oriental rock beyond imagination.

In addition, Yue (樂) [ex-Lilith] participated in the arrangement of the drums part of this work. The strings section in the song is handled by Takumi (匠) who is a member of sukekiyo and the manipulator of DIR EN GREY.

Lin (凛-Lin-)

Behind the making of 「九天攬樂-Ninth Heaven-」

After Lilith's activities were over, I moved my life to Tokyo. I asked myself; “you lived mainly through group band activities so far, what can you do when alone?”

I spent time to reflect, composed music, and played the guitar just as I always had.

I was worried that if I didn't touch music, I would be like I am denying it. In the end, I realized that it was music that solved my problems, and that creating new work that moved forward beyond the past was the best choice.

At the same time, I felt my previous work "INNOCENCE" came full circle as my new starting point. This was a song that put out everything I had in me.

I wanted to create a work that went beyond that, and last year, ESP provided me with a new 7-string guitar which opened into unknown territory. I was feeling some hard limits to drop tuning with a 6-string guitar, but by using a 7-string guitar, I was able to produce even lower frequencies and even higher treble through its increased number of strings. That meant being able to give the song more breadth.

Suddenly the world became divided by the rapidly developing Covid-19 disaster.

I felt very uncomfortable with the biased coverage by the media, and while Chinese people are pro-Japanese and familiar with Japanese culture, Japanese people often think that they do not know China at all.

When I first started working in China, I felt that it was still undeveloped but evolving, and I thought that the Japanese rock scene was mature and the music was advancing.

At first, I certainly had a strong desire to spread Japanese-style music in China. However, as I became more active, I gradually began to wonder what I could do as a Chinese musician.

After touring in China, I became more aware of my roots and focused on creating music that could be transmitted from China to the world. That was the reason why songs like "Xueweiyang" and "Dragon Heir" came to be; creations from the latter half of Lilith were born, a kind of originality that I could put out.

It's been a while since that time, so I wanted to create something that was more advanced. I've been planning since last summer. Also, Japan is like my home country and the place where I started my musical activities so it has this special meaning to me. I wanted to prove my identity, and I felt that being able to grasp and think deeply about things from both perspectives is one of my strengths.

Lin (凛-Lin-)

What is your identity?

I am Asian.

Rock was born in the West and is loved all over the world, but I wanted to add more Eastern elements to it. Japanese music and Chinese music have the same roots, and the instruments used are not so different. I think that listeners from either culture can easily understand it. I hope releasing it in Japan will be an opportunity for them to get to know China and vice versa.

More importantly, I put a lot of effort into arranging the classical instrument part in addition to playing the guitar to give people a shock when that outside of Asia listen to it.

The final composition consists of two songs, and although there aren't many songs in the album, I was finally able to release it in about half a year's time.

Ninth Heaven flyer

About guitarist & programmer Lin (凛-Lin-)

Lin (凛-Lin-) is a visual rock guitarist; Born in China and raised in Japan. After performing shows primarily in Osaka, Japan, Lin moved to Shanghai in 2012 and formed the band Lilith.

Lilith was so active that he made his name on the Chinese rock scene and the band's representative song "Arcadia" was selected as the opening theme song of the anime "Hitorinoshita-the outcast-" in 2016. After the band dissolved, Lin composed a wide range of pieces including insert music for the anime "THE KING OF FIGHTERS DESTINY-Quanhuangmingyun-" in 2017, and the theme song "Manatsu Emaki" for "Onmyoji Heian Monogatari" second season in 2019.

He is the official endorser of the Japanese musical instrument brand ESP and has appeared frequently in demonstration movies.

Ninth Heaven is available on all digital platforms now. A special version of Lin (凛-Lin-)'s project Affective Synergy will perform in October. Please continue to follow Lin in his future activities!