Earlier this month, YOASOBI appeared on the Zach Sang Show, where the duo’s producer, Ayase, was asked how he encountered Vocaloid given his punk rock hardcore roots. Ayase revealed Vocaloid and Hatsune Miku actually “saved my life,” sharing:
“At the time, I was the vocalist of a heavy punk rock / hardcore-type of band. Vocaloid was the last thing on my mind. But my band disbanded, and I was alone. I didn’t have any money, despite the part-time jobs, and I was at the bottom of my life. My electricity, water, gas, everything was turned off. And, my girlfriend of nine years left me… It was the lowest point in my entire life, and I met Vocaloid and Hatsune Miku.“
“The thing about Vocaloid is you can compose music alone with your computer. So, when I didn’t have friends, a girlfriend, or even money, I still had my PC. And I thought I could start composing with this. I couldn’t give up on music, and as I went deeper into the Vocaloid world, I met so many people. And I met Ikura, and we formed YOASOBI, and it brought me to where I am right now. So you can say Hatsune Miku actually saved my life. She’s my hero. Hatsune Miku and the Vocaloids.“
The duo also spoke about the inspiration behind their music — turning novels into song — and how YOASOBI has made them both grow individually. Ayase originally dreamed of wanting to be a vocalist (and still is through his solo work), but found that he could only create the “ultimate J-pop” through YOASOBI and Ikura’s vocals. Ikura shared that Ayase’s music “has roots that I didn’t have within myself,” and found “different voices, difference nuances that I couldn’t on my own.” Ayase also revealed that he had composed “Idol” before they even received the offer to create the theme song for Oshi no Ko due to how impressed he was with the original story.
YOASOBI was also asked about how it felt to be one of J-pop’s biggest acts, and if they felt a responsibility to uphold some standard.
Ayase and Ikura laughed. The former said, “I don’t really feel it. In our case, the song ‘Idol’ really came at the right time and the right place, enabling us to meet so many wonderful people around the world.” The song currently has over 1 billion streams on YouTube and Spotify combined and has been certified Diamond in Japan.
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Ayase continued, “And as a Japanese artist, we broke a lot of new records, and we had our Asia tour, our USA tour, and as a Japanese, we’ve achieved a lot to be proud of. But in Japan, there are many other amazing artists besides ourselves. And, we have a sort of confidence within ourselves that ‘We’re the best in Japan!’ However, there are other artists who have the same amount of passion as we do. And they’re really cool!
So, ‘We need to lift up J-pop or it’s going to fail?’ There’s no responsibility like that. If anything, we have to perform so as not to lose to these amazing artists. And that healthy rivalry among the different artists, I think is what’s spreading our music to the world. It’s healthy and fun. So less pressure and more this idea of not wanting to lose to other Japanese artists. Right now, we’re doing the best we can.” Ikura added, “On the 16th (of April), we’re performing in a concert with two other artists from Japan. And I believe all of us want to take this amazing J-pop and share it with the world.“
Ikura had shared this sentiment in another interview this month where she spoke on YOASOBI’s recent performance in L.A., stating, “Recently in L.A., we saw how Japanese pop music can make the world go crazy,” adding that she and her labelmates wanted to “come together and share the message that ‘the J-Pop we’re making is cool.’“
Source: Zach Sang Show
©Aka Akasaka x Mengo Yokoyari/Shueisha, “OSHI NO KO” Partners
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