Producer Ayase interpolates prose as music alongside Ikura in Japan’s diamond-certified superduo YOASOBI. Atwood sits down with him forward of YOASOBI’s first American efficiency to speak about this distinctive course of and their new single, “Idol.”

Stream: “Idol” – YOASOBI

YOASOBI is a duo with a one-of-a-kind premise – from the act’s personal slogan, “turning novels into music.”

This isn’t your dad’s 70s period prog rock idea album although – for YOASOBI, it’s fairly literal. Comprised of producer Ayase and vocalist Ikura (stage identify of Lilas Ikuta), YOASOBI’s debut monitor, “Yoru ni Kakeru” (“Racing Into the Evening”) is a musical interpolation of An Invitation From Thanatos, a brief story on Sony Music Japan’s inventive writing social media service Monogatary. The monitor mixes Ikura’s heartfelt vocals and the upbeat earnestness of j-pop with themes of demise and suicide, a mix of darkish and light-weight that punctuates their work. “Yoru ni Kakeru” went viral throughout the first yr of the COVID-19 pandemic, together with a efficiency by Ikura on The First Take’s lockdown collection The House Take, and has since turn out to be the primary track within the historical past of the Recording Business Affiliation of Japan to be licensed diamond.

With such an auspicious origin, the duo has gone on to work with an enormous palette of creatives from quick story writers, to playwrights, and even Naoki Prize successful novelists. It’s a job they method with enthusiasm and panache. On April twelfth, YOASOBI launched “Idol,” which serves because the intro theme to the anime Oshi no ko (“My favourite idol”). The monitor debuted at primary on Billboard Japan to widespread vital and industrial acclaim throughout a various swath of the music trade, together with a shocking cowl by Polyphia’s Tim Henson.

“Idol” follows the primary chapter of Oshi no ko’s Ai Hoshino, a doomed idol in Japan’s leisure trade, and her brushes with fawning media and followers, jealous co-band members, and her personal fractured inner life within the face of those pressures. The monitor, too, is a intentionally fractured musical portrait of Ai’s life, mixing a jagged army march with a ballad earlier than vaulting into the thumping four-on-the-floor refrain harking back to extra prototypical j-pop. Ikura’s voice effortlessly bounds from part to part as she inhabits the position of those forces in Ai’s life, flitting from hopelessly enthralled to despondently numb in time with the narrative.

Forward of YOASOBI’s first reside efficiency within the US on the Head In The Clouds Pageant in Los Angeles (August fifth and sixth), I had the chance to interview Ayase. We talked the duality of idol tradition, eclectic track buildings, and what it seems like to show a narrative right into a track, after which see that track come to life in animation.

A CONVERSATION WITH YOASOBI

Atwood Journal: Hiya Ayase! It’s very nice to satisfy you, how are you doing at the moment?

YOASOBI: Hello, Danny! We’re at present creating songs and making ready for our future reveals.

Quickly you’ll be performing within the US for the primary time. What would you need new listeners to learn about YOASOBI?

YOASOBI: I hope the audiences can benefit from the enjoyable of J-POP tradition and the thrilling sounds and performances of YOASOBI.

So, you’ve simply launched “Idol,” which hit #1 on the International Billboard Chart and can be the OP to Oshi no Ko, which is an anime concerning the Japanese idol trade. Are you able to inform me a bit extra concerning the background to the monitor?

YOASOBI: Even earlier than we formally acquired the tie-up supply, I had learn the unique manga myself and was impressed to create a demo track. Then we had been requested to create the opening theme track, and Aka Akasaka, one of many authors of “Oshi no Ko,” wrote an authentic novel, and we created the track based mostly on this. We wished to create a track that will categorical the allure of “Oshi no Ko” and the brilliant and darkish sides of the Japanese leisure trade and media.

“Idol” actually pops off. It’s acquired a couple of totally different sections, beginning out on a sort of blown out army march, progressing right into a ballad part, after which into an enormous pop refrain extra consistent with the “idol” theme. Are you able to inform me about how these sections got here collectively throughout the songwriting?

YOASOBI: I feel most of my songs are comparatively full of varied components. Once I create a track, I at all times bear in mind to extract every part I like, am serious about, and wish to do at that second. I squeeze all of them into one track and create music with out creating borders of music classes. Along with that, the inspiration I acquired from the unique novel and the excessive potential of Ikura’s vocalization made this track turn out to be very “YOASOBI.”

The vocals additionally appear to modify perspective backwards and forwards from the media and followers, to the idol themselves. Did that play a job in how dramatically the track’s sections distinction with one another?

YOASOBI: I feel “Oshi no Ko” is basically attention-grabbing as a result of, as you talked about, the angle switches backwards and forwards between varied individuals, such because the idol, the media, the followers, and so on. I wished to specific this construction in my music, and that’s why the track grew to become like this.

YOASOBI’s idea is popping novels into music, and also you’ve since additionally labored with different types of writing too, like letters, and also you’ve even labored with Naoki Prize successful writers. So what’s the story happening with “Idol”?

YOASOBI: As I beforehand talked about, I used to be impressed by the unique manga and personally made a demo track. Then, we acquired the supply to create the primary theme track, and Aka Akasaka, one of many authors of “Oshi no Ko” has completely written a novel, and we created the track “Idol” based mostly on this. Whereas creating the track, we tried to align with this novel, describe the entire story of “Oshi no Ko”, and in addition categorical the existence of “idol” on the whole.

Do you suppose there’s something Individuals can be interested by in Japan’s idol trade?

YOASOBI: I feel the Japanese idol tradition is particular and distinctive. In Japan, an idol is somebody cherished and supported by the followers and who continues to shine on the stage professionally. The music they carry out is borderless, and varied different efforts are made inside the framework of the idol. Because of the existence of idols, Japan continues to ship its distinctive and thrilling tradition. I consider this level could be very attention-grabbing for individuals who reside outdoors Japan.

Do you relate to the protagonist of “Idol” in any respect?

YOASOBI: As you already know, I additionally work within the music trade as a musician. I attempt to categorical my emotions straight ahead, however generally I’ve to deceive myself for my desires or somebody I like, and generally I’ve to cover myself. I consider these emotions hyperlink to the conflicts and troubles of the primary character.

On the letters I discussed earlier, you ran a marketing campaign known as the Letter Tune Venture, which I discovered to be the sweetest story. Inform me about how that challenge took place, and the way it felt to learn the letters that got here in. How did you find yourself selecting Hatsune’s letter?

YOASOBI: This marketing campaign collaborated with the Japan Put up, beginning with a radio program challenge. We requested individuals to ship us letters and acquired many letters by way of this challenge. The theme for this marketing campaign was to write down a “Thank You” letter. It could possibly be any type of thanks, similar to writing thanks to an individual, somebody shut or distant, or it may even be a thanks word to one thing. We learn many letters submitted to the marketing campaign and selected this Thanks letter to music, written by Hatsune. The explanation why we selected this letter is as a result of we additionally thank music every single day. We thought our viewers would additionally acknowledge this by way of our music, so we created this track.

Your music is kind of emotionally in contact, and I feel that’s additionally mirrored within the animated music movies. Are there any themes that you simply significantly like to the touch on in your music? How does it really feel to see these animated?

YOASOBI: Once I create a track, I attempt to image the pictures in my head. For instance, when creating a quick refrain, I consider a fundamental character operating. When creating a component about feeling depressed, I’ve a picture of a zooming out from the character. Along with these photographs in my head, we now have nice film creators with utterly totally different creativity that turns our music into movies. By this course of, I really feel it’s attention-grabbing to find the unknown allure of my songs, and it’s enjoyable how the world and depth of the track broaden.

Okay, I wish to begin wrapping up however I’ve to know: What are you listening to nowadays?

YOASOBI: I take heed to NewJeans.

NewJeans are my favourite act proper now! Do you’ve the rest you’d like Atwood’s viewers to know?

YOASOBI: Hello! We’re YOASOBI. We’re a band that creates music from novels. We’ll proceed to strive our greatest to ship nice music to our followers, not solely to our followers in Japan but additionally to our followers who reside outdoors Japan. We additionally plan to do extra reveals outdoors Japan, so we hope you’ll be able to come to see us quickly! It might be our nice pleasure when you may proceed to take heed to our music, dive into the tales of YOASOBI, and benefit from the world of our music.

Thanks a lot for speaking with me, Ayase!

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