Hiro Kawahara - 2026 - Be Here Now

(78:36; Belle Antique)

This 3-track album is the final ever album to be released by Hiro Kawahara of Heretic and will also be available later this year as a digital download from Cuneiform which will also include a bonus track which is a new remix of all three pieces which were rearranged chronologically and then remixed into a single track. In August 2023 Cuneiform released the mighty digital set of Heretic’s complete works, which is more than 13 hours in length, but while that was happening Hiro was suffering with some health issues so he retired from work. Not long afterwards his flat was scheduled for demolition, so he and his wife moved, at which point he sold all his instruments apart from a guitar. Then it was discovered he had breast cancer which had metastasized, so had to had to have an operation to remove the cancerous cells and later undergo chemotherapy.

Less than a week after he was discharged from hospital, he came across some TV crews from NHK TV's "Document 72 Hours" at Koishikawa Botanical Garden, where he used to walk each day, which led to them using some music which originally appeared on Heretic's first album ‘Interface’, but he was asked to remaster it. After he provides the files it  got him thinking about possibly releasing some new music, and remastering some old even though he was so ill, and his friend, President Yamazaki of Belle Antique, said they should plan for a release the following year, and that is what has happened. 

Hiro discovered he could no longer play guitar due to the surgery, so his old friend Yozox (Ain Soph) provided guitar for the end of the title cut. Also involved was Mina Urasawa, (who participated in Heretic's second album, ‘Escape Sequence’) who Hiro originally asked to provide the photography, but she also took part on the same track, talking about her life in Kyoto. The other two lengthy tracks are remixes of excerpts from his past works, providing us with 3 tracks total, which are more than 78 minutes in length.

Okay, that is a lot of background, and this is a heavily edited version of what I could have included, but I think it is crucial to understand just what Hiro has been going through in recent years yet somehow he found the strength and drive to complete this album, which includes his first new material since ‘Drugging For M’ in 1997. Many people will state this has been heavily influenced by Tangerine Dream, with associated Japanese influences, and I would agree with that to some point. However, that is also vastly under selling what this set delivers, as this is music which is beguiling, enthralling, and soon drags the listener inside. I have discovered this is not an album to listen to in the car, as it gradually captures all attention which makes it quite dangerous indeed.

I was trying to work out exactly what captures the attention so much, and I have come to the strange conclusion that it is not just the instrumentation and melodies, but rather the timing which makes this so compelling. Hiro’s understanding of what should be repeated, what should not, and exactly when other sounds are required to intervene within the main layer is quite remarkable. I actually appreciate this more than the huge collection from Cuneiform as here I have been able to play it time and again (and not only because Hiro sent this to me months ago), as it 78 minutes it is still quite concise indeed when compared to the other.

There are sound effects, electronic weirdness, yet there is always the feeling of direction as opposed to meandering, creating something which is dynamic and forceful. Given his health I totally understand why Hiro has decided this will be his final album, but of this indeed proves to be the case he has gone out on a high note as this is truly exceptional. For all fans of electronic progressive rock. 

Kev Rowland, April 2026

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