DIR EN GREY have launched DIR EN GREY ORACLE, a free iOS and Android app created with US AI technology company CIFER STUDIO, after the project was rejected from Apple’s App Store multiple times during development. Announced on August 25th and listed as DIR ORACLE on the App Store and Google Play, the bilingual app’s centrepiece is SONG OF THE DAY, an omikuji-style draw pairing one DIR EN GREY track each day with accompanying text based on its lyrics. Results are already spreading among fans under the #DIRENGREYORACLE hashtag.
The troubled approval process first surfaced on June 13th, when Nikkan Sports reported that the app had been rejected several times. A representative of DIR EN GREY’s management said: “The reason behind the rejection appears to be that DIR’s expression, including pain, darkness, negative emotions and madness, is too dark”. The representative said the app would be resubmitted with its target age raised to 17 and over. Its current terms still require users to be at least 17, while Apple’s UK App Store lists it as 16+.
The iOS release actually predates the announcement by more than a week, with Apple’s version history recording version 1.0 on August 17th. CiferAI LLC is listed as the developer, operating the app under its CIFER STUDIO brand in partnership with DIR EN GREY.
SONG OF THE DAY lets users shake or tap an on-screen fortune box to receive one track per day, with a new draw becoming available at midnight and previous selections saved to a history. Each result includes song-specific text and links out to Apple Music on iOS or Spotify on Android, alongside YouTube where a music video is available. The app does not host the band’s music itself.
In our testing, the accompanying interpretation could only be read on the day of the draw. A draw of ‘Kodou’, for example, produced: “Amid endless rain and wounds, only the heartbeat refused to stop living. Even while drowning in darkness, the sound still continued toward tomorrow”. The message reworks imagery and themes found in the song’s lyrics rather than quoting them verbatim.
Beyond the daily draw, DIR EN GREY ORACLE contains profiles of the five members, a MUSIC GATEWAY covering the band’s discography, upcoming live dates through its SHOW TRACKER, and an AR GALLERY. The latter currently archives CIFER STUDIO’s two MORTAL DOWNER AR experiences from July, created around DIR EN GREY’s two MORTAL DOWNER shows at Tokyo Garden Theater. These included the outdoor “Giant DIR EN GREY” activation, which used smartphone AR to make enlarged versions of the members appear within the real-world surroundings around the venue. DIR EN GREY have said further AR experiences and other content will be added to the app.
The app is the latest public-facing project from DIR EN GREY’s partnership with CIFER STUDIO, announced last December. At the time, the company said the collaboration would analyse and utilise the band’s music and visual materials using AI technology to explore new forms of expression.
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What remains unexplained is exactly how that technology is being used inside DIR EN GREY ORACLE. Although the management representative discussing its App Store rejection referred to preserving DIR EN GREY’s world as perceived by AI, neither the current store listings nor the app’s documentation say how AI factors into SONG OF THE DAY, including how its song interpretations are produced.
