Richard BodinRecorded live, on tape, and without a safety net, Vornak captures Duran at a turning point. No longer a solo project, the Japanese artist embraces a full band approach.
From Solo Project to Power Trio
Coming straight from Japan, Duran was releasing his new album Vornak on 21st November 2025. While it is the fifth album under that moniker, it is no longer meant as Duran’s solo venture, but as a trio. With a career starting back in the mid noughties, Naito Duran Haruhisa played in a few bands —The Rootless, a flood of circle followed, or Red Diamond Dogs— and made a name for himself thank to excellent skills on the guitar. Duran started his solo project in 2017 teaming up with drummer Shiho and bassist MASAE ever since. So it felt only natural that for the new album, Duran is now a full band.
The Sound of Vornak
With “Goose Egg”, the album opens on a rush like the escape car of a heist. Shiho’s drums are rolling and cracking, MASAE’s bass is grooving while Duran makes his guitar wail. The energy is raw and palpable, a true garage-rock gem. It follows with “Rusted Gears” a heavy blues track. Duran’s riff is sharp and loud, and well complemented by the bass and drums. Some quiet moments leave Duran shouting his lyrics alone with the rhythmic sessions, sounding like something between the White Stripes and Rage Against The Machine…
Across all their albums, Duran have explored different styles all-together, from psychedelic rock to hard rock… But if Vornak leans more toward a garage-rock or punk vibe, there is one constant: the blues. “Spit Black Blues” is all blues with a punk energy driven by a raw and gritty guitar riff. Between short pauses leaving the drums to keep the rhythm as Duran lays his vocals, the guitar wails into soaring heights. “Chevy Malibu 84” starts with a groovy bassline before a slow-burning bottleneck riff kicks in. The song’s pace regularly stops and goes, as the song progressively builds up in intensity. The riffs turns more nervous, and grittier on the climacting ending.
One Take, No Lies
The way the album was recorded is definitely a major part of the album. The band recorded and laid every track on tape in one take, in Live Music & Bar Maman in Yamanashi — Duran’s mother’s bar. Duran’s moto is « If it is not real, it’s not worth doing ». He explains « Most of the records I grew up loving were done on tape. There’s just something about that sound — it pulls you in. It’s got flaws, grit and life. I’m drawn to that kind of texture. »
Each track goes one with the same raw authenticity, and sense of emergency, and spans over different genres. While some track like “Spit Back Blues”, or “Chevy Malibu 84” come with a strong electric blues flavour, some are more stripped back like “Feiends On My Feet”. The intro of “Fuck Love” reminds us briefly of Nancy’s Sinatra’s “Bang Bang”, but changes quickly in a more hard-rock style. “Golden Boy” tastes more like an exquisite piece of country meet hillbilly punk music. Starting with the sweaty moans of a woman, “Women” explores grounds between punk and psychedelic rock music.
A Punk Take on Hip-Hop Rage
For a moment, Duran explores hip hop territory as they pay tribute to the Kanye himself with a cover of “Black Skinhead” no less. It is actually not so far-fetched as it seems since Kanye West’s song share the same raw feeling and sense of emergency. The band gives it a pure punk rock version worthy of the original. Duran reflects about his choice: « I’m not Black, so yeah, I definitely felt like I had to be careful about covering a song like this. But still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the track held something deeper, something human. That “raw anger”, that “scream of the soul” — it hit me hard, beyond race or background. »
No Distance, No Safety Net
The closing track is the perfect ending for this first album considering Duran as a trio, and no longer only a solo act: the three of them signed “Mondo Blues”. The song started as a jamming session as they realised they had some room left for their album. While still conveying the same urgency feeling in the sound, the music explores a bit more territory as it blends heavy blues riffs, with funk, or even hard rock.
There is no distance on Vornak. No studio trickery, no digital comfort, no attempt to smooth the edges. What remains is a band locked into the same space, feeding off tension, instinct and volume. As a first statement from Duran as a trio, the album feels less a reminder that rock music still thrives on risk, friction and trust. Vornak doesn’t ask for patience or analysis. It demands to be felt, played loud, and taken as it comes.
