Nevrness is a bass instrumental project started by Japanese bassist Bitoku in 2022. The album titled Reorient, features 20 songs of pure bass instrumental. Tomatrax caught up with the mastermind behind this exciting project to ask a few questions.
What inspired you to become a musician?
To be honest, I became a musician before I knew it. I planned to become a public servant when I was in college. But a friend of mine asked me to work as a touring musician and recording engineer, and that's how I ended up where I am today.
When did you write your first song?
Around February 2022.
Where did the name Nevrness from from?
It's influenced by a science fiction novel called "Neverness" by American writer David Zindell. My Senpai Shimpei ( Alphoenix) helped me decide on the name of this project. He also did the album cover and logo.
What made you decide to use an alias rather than your name?
I wanted listeners to hear it without the bias that I'm a metalcore musician. As you have heard, this is not a metalcore record. I want listeners of a wider variety of genres to hear it.
What inspired you to made a record purely using the bass?
Musically, I was influenced by The Omnific. The specific event that triggered this project was an Ibanez demonstration video I was involved in. The song I wrote for the video was so well received that I decided to make an entire album in the same style.
Do you intend to produce future albums just using the bass or do you think you'll include other instruments?
I think I will continue in this direction. If I make an album with other instruments, that will be a different project.
Have you ever considered adding vocals to your sound?
I do music with vocals with my band Sailing Before The Wind, so I don't think I would want to do it as a solo project at this point.
Given the songs are instrumental, how do you determine the song titles?
I chose words that would fire the imagination of listeners.
Where did the title Reorient come from?
I chose this title because it can be interpreted in more than one way. You can construe it like "I (Bitoku) tried to reorient myself" or "reorient your thinking about bass guitar" or "Reorient a bass music" etc.
What was the inspiration behind the album's cover?
I left it completely up to designer Shimpei (Alphoenix) because I trust him. The motif is based on the runic alphabet Nauthiz.
The bulk of the songs are two minutes or shorter, did you intend to make all the songs short in duration?
Yes. I didn't want to bore the listener, so I included as many phrases as I could. It's more enjoyable to move on to the next song in two minutes than to repeat the same parts over and over for four minutes.
You are also part of the band Sailing Before the Wind, how does performing on a solo project compare to being on a band?
I also write songs for the band, so there is no big difference. I think solo project is more free to make decisions.
What's the music scene like in Tokyo?
Tokyo is full of possibilities. There are not many people in Tokyo metalcore scene where I belong, but you are sure to meet new people and new bands at the local metalcore show.
Do you ever listen to your own music?
Yes. I always make the music I want to listen to.
What (other) music do you listen to?
I listen to country pop these days, music like Eric Ethridge and Mitchell Tenpenny.
Now that the album is out what do you plan on doing next?
I upload a video to my YouTube every week for each song from the album. I'll keep doing that until I upload the entire album. The next album will be released in 2023.