Some places stay with you long after you’ve returned home. For Aberdeen-based pop-rock artist KVTRINA, Japan is a place worth dreaming about returning to.
Released on 25th September, Japan is KVTRINA’s fifth track and captures the familiar longing to revisit somewhere that has left a lasting impression. Written a year after her visit to Japan, the song paints a picture of adventure through the little moments and memories that make a place feel special, from the excitement of Tokyo’s streets to falling asleep on a train to Kyoto.
Dreamier and more stripped-back than KVTRINA’s previous releases, Japan lets its guitar melodies take centre stage. There’s a mellow, almost floating quality to the track, with the strong guitar line carrying the listener through nostalgic snapshots of cherry blossom trees, ice cream and bathing monkeys in the mountain snow. The drums and bass join after the first chorus, adding depth without losing the song’s relaxed feel. A lovely guitar riff bridges the transition into the second verse, before the arrangement briefly strips back, making the return of the chorus feel all the more impactful.
As the song progresses, that guitar melody becomes something of a mantra. The riff returns, played by two guitars that seem to answer one another, while the bridge — “Nara to Osaka / Can we get there faster?” — brings another melodic moment before the track builds towards its final chorus. Rather than ending abruptly, the melody gently floats away, leaving the listener with the same wistful feeling that runs throughout the song.
Lyrically, Japan is about more than a destination. The repeated wish to return captures the pull of somewhere that made you happy, and the way certain memories can become an escape when you need one. Since writing the track, KVTRINA has found it becoming a fan favourite at live shows – perhaps because, even without having visited Japan, listeners can connect with that feeling of missing somewhere that felt like a dream.
Drawing on influences from alternative rock bands such as Paramore and Fall Out Boy to pop artists including Taylor Swift and KT Tunstall, KVTRINA combines catchy melodies with heartfelt storytelling. With Japan, she offers something gentler and more reflective: a dreamy musical escape that reminds us that sometimes, the places we long to revisit are the ones that made us feel most alive.
