For Our Freedom: Music Video 2021 – Ten years on from the Tohoku Disaster

MUSIC VIDEO: FOR OUR FREEDOM – A Requiem for Resilience

“For Our Freedom”

Composed by Benjamin Skepper
contrapuntal 003 (Released 2012, Digitally 2024)

Purchase the song on CD + limited edition 12″ Record here

“For Our Freedom” is a modern classical composition that transcends borders and genres. Originally released in 2012 on limited edition 12″ vinyl via my independent label, contrapuntal, and performed globally in diverse contexts, the track weaves harmonic cello melodies with prepared harpsichord, evoking a textural, cinematic listening experience – a powerful narrative of resilience, liberation, and introspection.

The music video, filmed in Japan and released on the 10th anniversary of the Tohoku Earthquake, Tsunami, and nuclear disaster, serves as a reminder of the need for world peace, resilience, transcendence, and freedom, persisting across generations. My grandmother was a survivor of the A-bomb in Hiroshima during WWII, and this song carries her spirit of hope.

A Note from the Artist about this song:

“For Our Freedom” embodies my universal longing for liberation. As the centerpiece of my album, “Inimitable,” it has resonated worldwide, gracing diverse venues, from bustling music festivals to modern art museums, intimate weddings to sacred shrines, and even 15th-century Italian palaces for Milan Fashion Week. Born from a vivid dream in my Tokyo home studio, it captures the essence of artistic inspiration and the subconscious mind’s power.

“For Our Freedom” explores liberty – not just physically, but within the depths of our being. Beautiful cello melodies intertwine with prepared harpsichord and cinematic textures, creating a soundscape that speaks to our soul’s yearning for autonomy, self-realization, and inner peace. This composition’s global appeal lies in its ability to transcend cultural boundaries, touching on a fundamental human desire, resonating with the sacred and precious nature of human existence itself.

About this Special Project in Japan:

Shot on location at Imaizumi Tenmangu Shrine (a sacred Shinto place of ritual enshrined 540 years ago) in Rikuzen-takata city, Iwate, Japan in 2021, this project commemorates the 10th Anniversary of the Tohoku Earthquake, Tsunami, and nuclear disaster.

Invited by the head shaman of Imaizumi Tenmangu Shrine to perform “For Our Freedom,” the intention was to create a musical healing for the earth, the animals and plants, the people who lost their lives, and for the future of humanity, that we may live in peace with each other.

The Tohoku disaster is a stark reminder of the importance of respect for our environment, committing to sustainability, and living in harmony with nature. It highlights the urgency of human rights protection, community building, the role of proper consultation in civil society, and the ever-pressing dangers of nuclear power and its supporting industries. How far have we come since the A-Bomb in Hiroshima in 1945? These are questions I continually ask myself, remembering my own grandmother’s survival of that day.

This project reinforces my mission as an artist and the transformative power of art, culture, science, and technology in driving and embodying the social change we all desire. By inspiring innovation, provoking human consciousness, and galvanizing humanity, we shift social paradigms and create waves of positive social impact around the world. This is the spirit of contrapuntal.

As featured on NHK National TV [Link to NHK Feature], Forbes Japan [Link to Forbes Japan Article], and various other international media outlets, “For Our Freedom” continues to be a testament to the power of music to heal, inspire, and unite.

Credits:

• Producer and Director: Benjamin Skepper (contrapuntal)

• Video: Teppei Sasaki and Manabu Tanaka

• Director of Photography: Hidemi Ogata

• Sound Recording: Casey Miyamoto

• Assistant Engineering: Kohji Fujita

• Mastering: Naomune Anzai

• On Location Sound System: MMU

• Production Support: HARTI Inc