Velvet Ashes is a music project based in Tokyo, Japan, centered around organizer and producer KEI, who leads the composition, arrangement, recording, and production process as an ongoing creative practice.

The origins of the project trace back to its predecessor, Mode Automatic, and even further to the earlier live-oriented formation known as Automatic Mode.

In the 1990s, Automatic Mode developed as a performance-based project, appearing in small venues and underground spaces. Together with vocalist Iwai, the music was presented directly to audiences−raw, immediate, and rooted in the physical presence of sound.

As time passed, life carried the members across borders. With key collaborators living in Japan and the United Kingdom, frequent travel became difficult. Rather than ending the project, the creative process adapted.

Under the name Mode Automatic, the focus shifted toward studio recording and independent releases. Songs were created through the exchange of recording data across distance−voices recorded in separate rooms, files traveling between cities, connected only by sound.

During this period, new collaborators gradually joined the project, including female vocalist Khan, expanding the emotional and sonic range of the music. Across years of persistence, Mode Automatic continued releasing independent works, ultimately producing eight albums.

Around 2023, after years of remote production, the activities entered a period of silence. It was not an ending, but a pause−an interval of stillness between phases.

In the latter half of 2024, a new vocalist, Sin-dy, joined the project. With her presence, recording sessions resumed, and the creative momentum returned.

In December 2024, the project formally introduced a new identity under the name Velvet Ashes, marking the beginning of its current phase. The accumulated experiences of previous years were not discarded, but carried forward into a renewed artistic direction.

Since then, Velvet Ashes has continued releasing music primarily through Bandcamp and digital distribution platforms, including the EP Night Signals and the album Ghost of Love.

Velvet Ashes is not defined by a fixed band structure. Instead, it exists as a production-centered music project led by KEI, shaped by collaboration, distance, and continuity.

Drawing influence from post-punk, darkwave, and gothic rock, the project continues to create music that balances emotional depth with experimentation−works that emerge from memory, persistence, and time.

Timeline

1990s − Automatic Mode (live performances with vocalist Iwai)
A live-oriented project performing in underground venues and small clubs.
Music was delivered directly to audiences, shaped by immediacy and presence.

2020–2023 − Mode Automatic (studio recordings and independent releases)
With members living in Japan and the United Kingdom, frequent travel became difficult.
Music production continued through remote collaboration and the exchange of recording data.
Female vocalist Khan joined during this period, contributing to the evolving sound.
Seven independent albums were released across these years.

Around 2023 − Activities paused
After sustained remote production, the project entered a period of silence.

Late 2024 − Sin-dy joins / studio activities resume
A new voice joined the project, and recording activities restarted.

December 2024 − First official release under the name Velvet Ashes
The project began its current phase under a new name.

March 2026 − EP Night Signals
A continuation of the project's evolving sound and production.

March 2026 − Album Ghost of Love
A full-length work exploring themes of distance, memory, and connection.

Present − Ongoing releases
Velvet Ashes continues to create and release music.

And someday−
when time, place, and people align−
the music hopes to return to the stage again.

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