Yuka & Chronoship – Ribbon Butterfly (Cherry Red Records, 2025)
Japan’s symphonic voyagers return with an ambitious concept album that turns each track into a visual and musical page-turner. Indeed, with Ribbon Butterfly, Japanese progressive rock outfit Yuka & Chronoship unfurl a masterful work of sound and story. This ambitious concept album pairs each instrumental passage with a corresponding page in a 36-page booklet featuring artwork by Freyja Dean.
Formed in 2009 by keyboardist, vocalist, and composer Yuka Funakoshi and veteran producer-bassist Shun Taguchi, Yuka & Chronoship have steadily built a reputation for pushing symphonic rock into fresh territory, balancing reverence for the genre’s classic roots with a distinctive compositional voice.
The opening title track, “Ribbon Butterfly,” unfolds as a multipart suite, gently drawing listeners in with a dreamlike introduction of acoustic piano and Mellotron before giving way to a more expansive, full-band arrangement. Clocking in at over nine minutes, it weaves through symphonic sounds, neoclassical piano flourishes, and a guitar-synth dialogue that culminates in a deeply enjoyable crescendo.
From there, the band shifts gears with “Aunt Clairvoyance,” a Medieval-flavored celebration built on recorder melodies, handclaps, and chant-like vocals. It’s a playful detour, almost a courtly dance, highlighting the band’s gift for stylistic elasticity. “Children of Yewtree” extends that joy, but with a more rock-oriented framework. Driven by a stately organ solo and buoyed by layered piano à la early Genesis, it incorporates global percussion and superb synth work, building to a magnificent finale.
Then comes “Hourglass Cove,” a contemplative, piano-led piece evoking images of shifting tides and time itself. The Mellotron sound and inventive drumming offer both serenity and momentum, culminating in a rapturous synth solo.
“Chronofish” introduces maritime ambiance, sea surf and soft Mellotron lines, before blooming into a rhythmically agile workout. Here, the band trades solos with effortless clarity. Similarly, “Polar Dark” leans into cinematic atmosphere, with intricate interplay between bass and drums and a particularly expressive Mellotron performance.
One of the album’s most emotive moments arrives in “Sleeping Girl in the Stained Glass.” Echoing the delicate acoustic stylings of Anthony Phillips, it layers gentle guitar figures with vocal harmonies before giving way to a stunningly composed organ solo, arguably the album’s finest.
“Planetary Cleansing” follows with a more futuristic tone, opening in a haze of electronics and distant percussion before erupting into vibrant piano lines and distorted guitar, only to retreat again into stillness. This ebb and flow of intensity is something the band handles masterfully throughout the album.
The penultimate track, “Mummy and Daddy,” returns to intimacy: a lullaby-like miniature featuring childlike vocals and songbird sounds. It’s deceptively simple, evoking familial warmth and emotional closure. Finally, the album concludes with “Do All Human Beings Dream the Same Dream?” a brief, music box-like keyboard piece.
Yuka & Chronoship was formed in 2009 by female keyboardist Yuka Funakoshi and experienced musician, composer and producer, Shun Taguchi.
Yuka said of the album’s release, “Having been working on the album for 7 years including the pandemic period, we are now thrilled to deliver our gift of story, art, and music: a 36-page long SciFi story, its visual renderings, and the visually inspired songs. This is our absolute masterpiece!”
Musicians: Yuka Funakoshi on vocals, keyboards, piano; Takashi Miyazawa on guitar; Shun Taguchi on bass, backing vocals; and Ikko Tanaka on drums.
Track Listing
- Ribbon Butterfly (9:14)
- Aunt Clairvoyance (2:42)
- Children Of Yewtree (5:05)
- Hourglass Cove (6:51)
- Chronofis (7:13)
- Polar Dark (4:57)
- Sleeping Girl In The Stained Glass (5:15)
- Planetary Cleansing (7:25)
- Mummy And Daddy (4:25)
- Do All Human Beings Dream The Same Dream? (0:52)
Buy Ribbon Butterfly.