{"id":500151,"date":"2026-03-28T13:45:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T13:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/500151\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T13:45:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T13:45:21","slug":"japanese-bands-wartime-tour-across-ukraine-becomes-feature-film-inochi-united24-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/500151\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Band\u2019s Wartime Tour Across Ukraine Becomes Feature Film \u201cInochi\u201d \u2014 UNITED24 Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kyiv-based documentary studio ASAP Production is completing work on a feature-length film titled Inochi, a road movie that follows the Ukrainian tour of Japanese band Heavenphetamine during Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. <\/p>\n

The title comes from Japanese and means \u201clife.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Inochi documents a music tour across Ukraine at a time when the country continues to face systematic attacks on its energy infrastructure. Power outages, cold weather, and ongoing instability form the backdrop as the band travels across the country, performing in multiple cities while relying on public transport.<\/p>\n

Hiroki and Sara, a couple from Tokyo, create music at the intersection of psychedelia, post-punk, and electronic sound. Their journey takes them through different regions of Ukraine, where each city has its own rhythm, level of risk, and ways of adapting to wartime conditions. Between concerts, the film follows night train rides, waiting at stations, backstage conversations, and pauses between air raid sirens.<\/p>\n

\"Heavenphetamine<\/a>
\n Heavenphetamine performs at an underground venue in Ukraine during a wartime tour. (Source: press office)
\n \"Heavenphetamine<\/a>
\n Heavenphetamine performs at an underground venue in Ukraine during a wartime tour. (Source: press office)<\/p>\n

According to the filmmakers, the documentary focuses not only on the tour itself but also on the atmosphere surrounding it, exploring what it means to create and experience culture during a period of uncertainty.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, this film is not only about music or travel. It\u2019s about creating a cultural dialogue with the world\u2014especially with audiences in Asia \u2014and showing what war looks like across different cities in Ukraine: how it seeps into everyday life, reshaping routines, and how it manifests differently from East to West. At the same time, we want to show that Ukraine is not only a country at war, but a living country, where people continue to create, support one another, and remain deeply human despite everything,\u201d said producer and founder of ASAP Production, Rimma Mareychenko.<\/p>\n

\"Japanese<\/a>
\n Japanese band Heavenphetamine performs during their tour in Ukraine amid the full-scale war. (Source: press office)<\/p>\n

Filming took place between February and March 2026, with the crew following the band throughout the tour and recording not only performances but also travel, waiting, and everyday moments along the way.<\/p>\n

Among ASAP Production\u2019s previous projects are the social initiative \u201cWomen at War,\u201d created in collaboration with the UK government, the film \u201cThe Longer You Bleed,\u201d and the documentary \u201cThe Ethnographer of Chornobyl,\u201d produced with Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

According to the creators, \u201cInochi\u201d aims to show Ukraine beyond the usual news narrative. <\/p>\n

\"Heavenphetamine<\/a>
\n Heavenphetamine performs at an underground venue in Ukraine during a wartime tour. (Source: press office)
\n \"Heavenphetamine<\/a>
\n Heavenphetamine performs at an underground venue in Ukraine during a wartime tour. (Source: press office)<\/p>\n

\u201cEven under constant attacks, Ukrainian cities remain spaces of culture, humanity, and life. Through this film, we want to share that reality\u2014honest, complex, and deeply human,\u201d Mareychenko added.<\/p>\n

While international coverage often focuses on the frontline and political developments, the film turns to everyday life that continues despite the war. Through the perspective of visiting musicians, Ukraine is presented not as an abstract war zone, but as a cultural space where people continue to live, work, and create.<\/p>\n

\"Sara<\/a>
\n Sara and Hiroki stands on the bank of the Dnipro River. (Source: press office)<\/p>\n

The music project Heavenphetamine, created by Hiroki and Sara, was formed in Japan in 2018 and has gone<\/a> through several transformations, performing at different times as a trio, a quartet, and eventually becoming a duo. <\/p>\n

Since 2021, Hiroki and Sara have lived in Georgia and Ukraine, and after the start of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion, the band began organizing charity tours across Ukraine, Europe, and Japan. Proceeds from the concerts are donated to support humanitarian aid for Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\"He<\/p>\n

Read more<\/p>\n

CategoryWar in Ukraine<\/a>He Used To Blow Up Clubs With His Music, Now He Blows Up Russian Armor<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Apr 18, 2025 12:42\n <\/p>\n

In the related development, War Child Records released<\/a> the charity album HELP (2), created to raise funds for children affected by war in Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen, Sudan, and ten other countries where the organization is active.<\/p>\n

The new album contains 23 tracks by major artists including Depeche Mode, Pulp, Beck, Olivia Rodrigo, Damon Albarn, Blur, Big Thief, Sampha, Foals, Wet Leg, Young Fathers, Oasis, and Arctic Monkeys. Among them is Opening Night by Arctic Monkeys, written specially for HELP (2), which became the band\u2019s first new release in four years.<\/p>\n

\"Truth\"Logo\"<\/p>\n

We report the war as it unfolds directly from the people and places most affected by it. Your support helps us bring these stories to the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kyiv-based documentary studio ASAP Production is completing work on a feature-length film titled Inochi, a road movie that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[96,2839,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-500151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}