Marty Friedman is now streaming a beautifully-animated video for his cover of Ikimono-gakari's 2012 track "Kaze Ga Fuiteiru." The cover is originally from Friedman's 2021 album Tokyo Jukebox 3 featuring covers of various Japanese musical works. As for the video, Friedman stated "All the people in all the countries in the world are connected by the same wind, is the simple concept of this video. Take from that what you will, and enjoy the fresh new imagery."
Friedman further explained his decision to specifically tackle "Kaze Ga Fuiteiru," saying he wanted to take the original and create something new with it.
"While keeping intact the essence of Ikimono-gakari's 'Kaze Ga Fuiteiru' melody that I loved, I tried to destroy it, reconstruct it and create five minutes of new music that might bring a tear or a chill, and decidedly lifts your spirits. Whether I accomplished that or not is entirely up to you, but when I just finished the recording of 'Kaze Ga Fuiteru', someone whose opinion I respect very much called it 'grand and elegant,' so I'll go with that."
Tokyo Jukebox 3 was the first Tokyo Jukebox record by Friedman in roughly 11 years. Tokyo Jukebox 3 is a little difficult to come by physically, but at least it's available on all streaming services.
