Marty Friedman unveils grandiose, shred-heavy new single, Kaze Ga Fuiteiru

Following his announcement of the worldwide release date of Tokyo Jukebox 3 – and first two singles The Perfect World and Makenaide – shred wizard Marty Friedman has offered up another sonic morsel in new single Kaze Ga Fuiteiru.

Based on the melody of pop group Ikimono Gakari's track of the same name, Kaze Ga Fuiteiru sees Friedman deploy a characteristic set of soaring, sing-along-style licks. You can take a listen to the track below.

Says Friedman: “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 5 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 who's opinion I respect very much called it ‘grand and elegant’, so I'll go with that!”

The third installment in Friedman's Tokyo Jukebox series, Tokyo Jukebox 3 is set to arrive April 16 via The Players Club / Mascot Label Group.

On the album, Friedman explains: “I've been playing stuff from the first two Jukebox albums live all over the world, and it's taken on a life of its own. Especially in places like North and South America, Australia, Italy, France and even India.

“My fan base is very dedicated, and what I have found is that lots of new fans have been introduces to Japanese music and culture through me, which is very gratifying. On the tours it seems like aside from the dedicated guitar fans, the Japan fanatics have been noticeably growing, so now felt like the right time to do Tokyo Jukebox 3.

The track follows Friedman's recent declaration that social media stars saved the guitar from extinction. “These guys are bringing the instrument to a whole new level,” he explained. “It’s a very exciting time for guitar.”