Konoha’s debut EP, Komorebi, is a reflection of years of change, both for the band and the world they’re navigating. It’s a raw and intense dive into the chaos and uncertainty that so many of us feel right now.
The sound fuses the emotional weight of Italian and French screamo with the edge of European post-hardcore, creating something deeply relatable.
In our conversation, Vittorio, the band’s vocalist and lyricist, has distilled years of personal struggle into the lyrics on this record.
The EP captures a journey through confusion and self-doubt, trying to find meaning in a world that often feels like it’s falling apart. It’s about holding onto those rare moments of clarity and hope, even when everything else seems uncertain.
There’s also a layer of anime influence running through the album, a nod to the band’s personal interests. But you don’t need to be an anime fan to feel the intensity of what’s being conveyed.
The themes of searching for identity, fighting against the odds, and trying to find your place in the world are universal.
The recording process spanned several studios in Modena and Carpi, with final mixing and mastering handled by Mario Rizzotto of Pioggiadanza Produzioni.
You can find the record more easily online, and maybe in the future in the form of some cassettes, thanks to support from Unoazero, Tapes4profit, Non Ti Seguo Records, We’re Trying Records, Friendly Otter, Mevzu Records, Entes Anomicos, Dancing Rabbit, and Salto Mortale Music.
For those interested in diving deeper into the album, Vittorio has provided a track-by-track commentary that gives more insight into the themes and stories behind each song.
Check it out below.
01. volare via
“Volare Via” is the album’s opening track and one of the first pieces we wrote, the one that I think first enshrined the sound that Konoha wanted to have.
It aims to describe the torment of those who are trapped in a spiral of uncertainty and consequent attachment to the past, which like a thick fog prevents them from finding their way and their place in the world. The hope for freedom is realized thanks to the arrival of an important person who, thanks to his or her way of being, manages to open up a way out.
There are those who may be able to catch a first anime reference already in this track, who knows.
02. naufrago
“Naufrago” is the first piece we wrote several years ago now, when the band wasn’t even called that yet. In its being incredibly raw, it aims to convey a deep sense of loss in a world that seems to have nothing left to offer.
It was written at a time when, thanks to therapy, I realized that I had not been present and aware in many ways. For this very reason, every time I happen to reread the lyrics, I am surprised to see how well I was actually able to imprint the feelings I felt in these words.
The sample that is featured in the song is an excerpt from an episode of Cowboy Bebop. It is an anime that many in the band are attached to, to which we decided to pay homage (not just for this time, incredibly) by bringing back a pivotal dialogue from Faye, one of the main characters in the story, at a moment when she manages to have a point of contact with her past self.
03. del mio meglio
“Del Mio Meglio” is a song that sees the light of day later than the first two you just read about, at a stage when I think I have gained a little more awareness towards myself.
The lyrics aim to describe the inner conflict to move forward despite the uncertainty and difficulties of a world that does not reflect us, with the hope of being able to find one’s own way. A clear goal is not there, and this generates many doubts and uncertainties, but a glimmer of strength to keep going, even if very faint, has been found.
04. soffitto
“Soffitto” was written on the spur of the moment during the COVID. It goes without saying that the image it aims to recreate is that of a deep sense of isolation, not necessarily with positive or negative meanings. A stasis that quite automatically led to a questioning of the choices made in view of the future.
05. un occhio rivolto al passato
“Un Occhio Rivolto al Passato” is an instrumental interlude that contains a sample taken again, you guessed it, from Cowboy Bebop.
As I mentioned above, some of us owe a lot to the anime world in our personal backgrounds, so we decided to pay tribute to this series again by quoting what is to me one of the most significant dialogues in the series (which I recommend everyone to catch up on), the one between Faye and Spike in one of the last episodes.
06. un occhio rivolto al presente
Linked to the previous interlude, “Un Occhio Rivolto al Presente” is a final critique that summarizes, as well as the record, a journey of formation made up to this point with the attainment of what seems to be a first conviction, after years in which the feeling of constantly living at the mercy of events was the order of the day.
The piece is a rebuke to the imposed ideal, to the capitalist system that governs the world, a reminder to discover what is truly right for oneself instead of blindly following the masses. Capitalism and conformity lead to the generation of increasingly uncritical minds that can do nothing but move forward by inertia toward a hopeless future.
After realizing this, I felt the need to put down words out of it to leave a message toward those who may be reflected in these feelings: to find in one’s own strength a way to stop and give oneself time to identify one’s place in the world, what one really wants, which in the end means to love oneself.
