In 2014, instrumental rock band Mono released two LPs simultaneously: "The Last Dawn" and "Rays of Darkness." The albums stripped the band's sound down to its bare essentials, eschewing the orchestral sounds it had become known for and instead going for the sound of a raw rock band with two emotional sides: a light and dark side.
While the process of making the two records was emotionally tiring for guitarist and primary composer Takaakira "Taka" Goto, once it was all over it left a creative space for the musician.
That space allowed Goto enough freedom after 16 years of being in Mono to start a new solo project with the album "Classical Punk and Echoes Under the Beauty."