History & Biography Saeko is the band of Japanese hard rocker Kitamae Saeko who moved to Germany (after a stint in Switzerland for treatment and then Canada to study English) in search of metal. She was not in favour of the conformity and unoriginality she was prescribed in Japan and, having become fatigued and hospitalised back home in Osaka, departed her country leaving a fiance behind.
She met Metalium's Lars Ratz (Lars Ranzenberger) in Hamburg, Germany and recorded with him. Ratz also managed her. Saeko also started vocal training with Metalium singer Henning Basse.The former Fairy Mirror singer issued her debut solo record Above Heaven, Below Heaven in 2004 and opened for Doro and Blaze Bayley. Armageddon Music was partly owned by Ratz. Accept's Herman Frank, Metalium's Michael Ehré, etc. played on the record. She was also a singer for Metalium briefly in 2004. In the song Find Out on Metalium's As One album, a duet between the Metalian and Metaliana featured Saeko. She was on the bill at Wacken in 2005. This festival was also affiliated with Armageddon Music at the time. Metalium's Lars Ratz and former Fairy Mirror bassist Mariko sessioned for the first and second records. Ratz was again the producer here. Life, so named because it narrated Saeko's personal history, featured Japanese guest guitarist Yanagase Satoko. Life was issued on Armageddon Products, which was Ratz's next venture after leaving Armageddon Music. The record was also issued through Saeko's own Shinpuh imprint.
Saeko went on hiatus and went back to Japan in 2006 - as her German residency depended on having a label there - until 2021's Holy Are We Alone (我等独尊). The lyrics revolved around story of a spirit that reincarnates around the world in different countries. In the meantime, Saeko had recorded a benefit for victims of Japan's 2011 earthquake, appeared at Female Metal Voices Fest in 2014 and was heard on the charity Metal Bless Japan 3 compilation. She had also been a guest singer with Rachel Mother Goose, Manipulated Slaves (after singing for them initially on stage in 2000) and others. Saeko made an appearance again in 2017. She had a self-cover version release. Fairy Mirror bassist Mari would help with the artwork for Saeko’s 2021 album. The album featured Trick Or Treat guitarist Guido Benedetti (who had met Saeko while on tour in Japan in 2019) and Rhapsody Of Fire's bassist Alessandro Sala. Saeko was also having visa and residency issues in Germany and moved back to Japan again. The first and third albums' titles combined would offer the Buddhist phrase, "Above Heaven Below Heaven, Holy Am I Alone." The third album also kicked off as a continuation of the ending of the second. It combined the metaphysical (first) and physical (second) to tell a story that combined both states. Saeko was expecting a mini-album, including self-cover versions, for 2026. She had a crowdfunding campaign, as was the case with the last full-length.
Above Heaven Below Heaven featured a song called Sins For The Gods from Fairy Mirror. Life features Sky, which was also from Fairy Mirror. Holy Are We Alone contained Universe: A Verse To The Universe, which was another Fairy Mirror song.
Saeko is spiritual and believes in divine powers and the voice of god, etc.
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