#Matsutōya Yumi

[john-hc-doe]

Lipstick Message

すずめの戸締まり

Suzume no Tojimari

Kiki's Delivery Service

魔女の宅急便 Majo no Takkyūbin

Witch's Express Home Delivery

松任谷 由実, Matsutōya Yumi

荒井 由実, Arai Yumi

Rouge no Dengon ルージュの伝言 Message in Rouge

あのひとの ママに会うために

今ひとり 列車に乗ったの

たそがれせまる

街並や車の流れ

横目で追い越して

あのひとは もう気づくころよ

バスルームに ルージュの伝言

浮気な恋を

はやくあきらめないかぎり

家には帰らない

不安な気持ちを 残したまま

街は Ding-Dong

遠ざかってゆくわ

明日の朝 ママから電話で

しかってもらうわ My Darling!

あのひとは あわててるころよ

バスルームに ルージュの伝言

てあたりしだい

友達にたずねるかしら

私の行く先を

不安な気持ちを 残したまま

街は Ding-Dong

遠ざかってゆくわ

明日の朝 ママから電話で

しかってもらうわ MyDarling

しかってもらうわ MyDarling

[putschki1969]

【KEIKO’s Room】#37

The second episode of the newest season of Keiko’s cover collection will be broadcast later today. Be sure to tune in for the YouTube premiere! Wonder what song she will be covering this time? Really loved the previous cover of “Akujo”.

春よ、こい (Haru yo koi) by Yumi Matsutōya (松任谷由実)

Thoughts: Finally finished with my work meeting so I can listen to this. What a lovely song, I am absolutely smitten. Keiko’s voice is such a soft and comforting presence.

2023/03/14 Community post by Keiko

"Keiko’s Room #37" Cover Collection 春よ、こい (Haru yo koi) by Yumi Matsutōya (松任谷由実) [1994]

While I was choosing songs for my cover collection, I happened to hear this particular song. I guess it’s common to hear these types of seasonal songs every year. 🌸 You may or may not experience big changes in your life. But one thing that’s constant are seasonal changes. I believe that seasonal changes have a strong effect on us and they always make themselves known to us in various ways. For example, this year, I was informed of the arrival of spring by pollen. I officially made my hay fever debut... \(^o^)/ Dear friends, let's do our best for the next few months.

"Haru yo, koi” is a masterpiece among masterpieces, the beauty of the piano and melody at the beginning, the comfort of the lyrics that slips right into your heart, all of this made me feel good while I was practicing.

And yet my heart left to you Is waiting for you to reply No matter how many months or years I'm always waiting for you

I love these lines. It's often said that you have to put your feelings into words, but I think it’s possible to convey your feelings without specifically expressing them. Can you convey how you feel? Personally, when I like something or I hate something, I prefer to show it with my attitude rather than put my feelings into words. *laughs* I wonder if there are a lot of people who keep their feelings locked up inside.

This song is not just for the spring season, I enjoyed singing it in a well-rounded lower key. Please listen to it many times 🌸

Keiko

Source

「KEIKO Billboard Live 2023 “CUTLERY” K009～012」 Merchandise First Look

We are getting some more merchandise for Keiko’s upcoming Billboard Lives. There are no infos yet on whether or not the items will eventually be available online. Here’s a detailed look at the stainless steel thermo tumbler and the guitar pick keyholders.

[matsutoyayumi]

💕Yumi Arai Roleplay account💕

Scenario (EN): Yumi was informed about Tumblr by a fan in a grocery store, so she joins due to her interest peaking in the site💕

Scenario (JP): ユミ は、小売店のファンからTumblrについて知られていたので、彼女はサイトへの興味のピークのために彼女に加わります💕

💕 Warnings!💕

Age warning (En): Please be 15+ to interact with this account, due to the mature themes this account will use (Smoking, Drinking, Ect)

Age warning (Jp): このアカウントでコミュニケーションするには15歳以上になることをお勧めします。 (Smoking, Drinking, Ect)

Genuine Warning (En): I am Not Miss Yuming, I am just a fan from the us, I don't know how to speak English I am using a accurate japanese Translator until I learn Japanese myself.

Genuine Warning (Jp): 俺はミス・ユミンじゃない 私はアメリカからのファンで、私は英語を話す方法を知らない私は私が日本語を自分で学ぶまで正確な日本語翻訳機を使用しています。

Harassment/Not Interested (EN): If you aren't a fan of the account just block it, no one really gives a damn harassing is for weaklings anyways so don't harass this account or any other Musician Roleplay because they put lots of work and energy into making their account and don't need some annoying pricks ruining the fun.

Harassment/Not Interested (JP): あなたがアカウントのファンでない場合は、それをブロックするだけで、誰も本当に悪魔の嫌がらせを与えることは、いずれにせよ弱い人々のためにありますので、彼らは彼らの口座を作成するために多くの仕事とエネルギーを投入し、楽しみを台無しにいくつかのイライラするピックを必要としません。

💕Solo Career💕

Yumi Matsutoya (松任谷 由実, Matsutōya Yumi, born January 19, 1954), nicknamed Yuming (ユーミン, Yūmin),is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. Generally the writer of both the lyrics and the music in her songs,she is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice and live performances, and is one of the most prominent figures in the history of Japanese popular music.

Her recording career has been commercially successful with more than 42 million records sold. In 1990, her album The Gates of Heaven became the first album to be certified "2x million" by the RIAJ, and she has had twenty-one No. 1 albums listed on the Oricon charts.

 She is the only artist to have at least one number-one album every year on the Oricon charts for 18 consecutive years.

After gaining several years of experience as a session musician, she debuted as a singer-songwriter in 1972. During her early career, she worked under her birth name Yumi Arai (荒井 由実, Arai Yumi). In 1975, Arai became known as a composer for "Ichigo Hakusho wo Mou Ichido", a commercially successful song recorded by the folk duo BanBan. She also gained popularity as a vocalist in the same year through the success of "Ano Hi ni Kaeritai", which became her first number-one hit on Japan's Oricon Charts. Other famous songs include "Haru-yo, Koi" and "Sweet, Bitter Sweet".

She also uses the name Kureta Karuho (呉田軽穂), which is derived from the Swedish film star Greta Garbo, when offering her work to other musicians. 

In The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture, it is written that "Yuming incorporated influences from progressive rock and European pop to produce a sophisticated, upper-middle-class female Japanese voice and sound in a contemporary musical and journalistic world dominated by discussions of folk music and social critique. This musical idiom is generally thought to have been first realised on [...] Cobalt Hour".

The album The 14th Moon and the three albums that ranked in the top 10 of the Japanese charts in 1976 (Cobalt Hour, Yuming Brand, and Hikōki-gumo) "contained several songs which are considered to be early classics of the J-pop genre."

After marrying her musical collaborator Masataka Matsutoya in 1976, Arai began recording under her married name and has continued to do so. Throughout the 1980s, Matsutoya's music was prominently featured in advertisements for Mitsubishi Motors in her native Japan and her image was used to promote their vehicles. In addition to multiple hit singles, she has obtained enormous commercial success on the Japanese Albums Chart, particularly during the late 1980s and the first half of the 1990s.

The magazine Shūkan Gendai ranked Matsutoya third (behind only Miyuki Nakajima and Masayoshi Son) in a list of the smartest Japanese figures that was determined based on the criteria of "intelligence, determination, sensibility and capability".

💕Information On Yumi Arai💕

Early years

Yumi Arai was born in 1954 in Hachiōji, Tokyo. She had three brothers and one sister, and her family ran a draper shop called Arai Gofukuten, established in 1912. When she was a junior high school student, she used to go to an Italian restaurant called Chianti, which had opened in 1960. In those days, many celebrities went to the restaurant; Akira Kurosawa, Yukio Mishima, Kōbō Abe, Seiji Ozawa, Ryu Murakami, Taro Okamoto, Kishin Shinoyama, and Hiroshi "Monsieur" Kamayatsu, who eventually became her first record producer.

Alfa Music, the publishing company to which she belonged early her in career (later to become a full-fledged record label in 1977), was founded by people who were regular customers at Chianti.

Her nickname "Yuming" was given to her by Sy Chen (シー・ユー・チェン), a Chinese bassist she had a crush on when she was 13 years old. She began her music career when she was still young. At the age of 14, she worked as a musician for the first time. Having worked as a studio musician, she also wrote many original songs. When she was 17 years old, her first original song titled "Ai wa Totsuzen ni" was released. It was sung by Katsumi Kahashi, the former guitarist of the influential 1960s Japanese band The Tigers.

In April 1972, Arai entered Tama Art University. At the same time, she signed with then-publishing company Alfa as a music artist. At first, she wanted to be a songwriter. However, the founder of the publishing company, Kunihiko Murai, encouraged her to work as a singer-songwriter.

Early career; works as Yumi Arai

On July 5, 1972, Arai released her debut single "Henji wa Iranai". It was produced by Hiroshi "Monsieur" Kamayatsu, the former vocalist of The Spiders. Released by Toshiba EMI, the label to which she would be affiliated and release all her albums throughout her career, under its Liberty sublabel (with Alfa acting as publishing company), her first single sold only 300 copies. (It would later feature in re-recorded form on her debut LP, Hikō-ki Gumo.)

She recorded her first full album, Hikō-ki Gumo, with the band Caramel Mama, better known as Tin Pan Alley, which consisted of Haruomi Hosono, Shigeru Suzuki, Tateo Hayashi and Masataka Matsutoya, and it was released by Toshiba EMI under its Express sublabel in November 1973; the title track (and lead-off track) was later used as the theme song for the movie The Wind Rises (2013). For her next album, MISSLIM, (1974), Masataka Matsutoya, who was the keyboardist of Tin Pan Alley, arranged all of her songs. Her third studio album, Cobalt Hour (1975), features her early famous song "Sotsugyō Shashin". The same year, it was covered by the chorus group Hi-Fi Set (who also performed on the original song) on their first album with the same name. That cover version also succeeded as a single. In later years, it was covered by many Japanese artists and became one of Japan's classic pop songs. The same year, the male folk duo BanBan recorded her song "Ichigo Hakusho o Mou Ichido" and reached number one on the Oricon chart. Because of the commercial success of other artists, she became famous as a songwriter.

Yumi achieved moderate success with her fifth single, Rouge no Dengon ("Rouge Message"), an up-tempo song considered to be a proto J-Pop classic. She gained a television appearance singing this song with the top Japanese girl group of the time, Candies, and the song has been covered by a number of artists over the years.

Her first top hit as a singer-songwriter was her sixth single "Ano Hi ni Kaeritai". In August 1975, it was used as the theme song for the TBS TV drama Katei no Himitsu. Two months later, it was released as a single and reached the top of the Oricon chart. The 14th Moon (1976), her final album as Yumi Arai, featured Leland Sklar on bass and Mike Baird on drums. Since this album, Masataka Matsutoya has produced all her albums himself. She considers her nickname "Yuming" to also mean the name of the union with her husband. Following the success with "Ano Hi ni Kaeritai", it became her first album to reach number one on the Oricon chart. Besides, in the end of the year chart in 1976, three of her albums (Cobalt Hour, Yuming Brand, and Hikō-ki Gumo) ranked in the top 10.

 Four years after her debut, she dominated the Japanese album charts. This astonishing record has never been broken by anyone since.

In 1989, her fifth single, "Rouge no Dengon" (from her third album), and third single, "Yasashisa ni Tsutsumaretanara" (the version used was from her second album), were featured as the theme songs of the film Kiki's Delivery Service. Nowadays, those tunes are known as her early notable songs.

Some of her songs were deeply influenced by many American and European musicians, such as Joni Mitchell and Carole King. As a pioneering singer-songwriter who mixed Western culture and Japanese pop, she left a strong impression on Japanese popular music.

Works as Yumi Matsutoya

After marrying Masataka Matsutoya on November 29, 1976, she had considered retirement. But eventually she decided to continue to work as a musician, performing under her married name. In 1978, her memorable first album as Yumi Matsutoya, entitled Benisuzume was released. In the late 1970s and early 80s, she released two albums every year. However, those albums were less successful than the ones she released when she was single. Nevertheless, she wrote several of her well-known songs during those years, and her albums reached the top 10 on the Oricon chart.

Before the release of Benisuzume, a compilation named Album was released by Toshiba EMI. It mainly contained songs she had released as Yumi Arai, and two songs released as singles only. Matsutoya didn't want to release this compilation; in her autobiography released in 1982, she writes about this album and calls it "The biggest stain on my music career."

 Because of this, she never allowed the release of another compilation album until 1998. However, her ex-record-label-and-publishing-company Alfa Records had, after 1977 (when Alfa finally established itself as an independent record label), released many compilations which consisted of her old tunes without her permission. Hence, in the late 1990s, she bought the copyrights of all her songs that she had written under her maiden name; helping in this decision was the fact that Toshiba EMI had by then regained control, in 1994, of the Alfa catalogue, including the albums released by Toshiba EMI while Alfa was still a publishing company, thus her early catalogue being spared of Alfa's 2001 sale to Sony after Alfa faced financial difficulties.

Her tenth album, Surf and Snow (1980), changed the negative tide for her. When the album was released, it did not sell as well as others had previously. However, in 1986, "Koibito ga Santa Claus" became popular as the theme song for the hit movie ''Take Me out to the Snowland [jp] (私をスキーに連れてって, Watashi wo Ski ni Tsuretette.) （1987）. The album eventually sold over 400,000 copies. In 1981, she returned to the top of Japanese pop music. Her husband wrote the score for the movie Nerawareta Gakuen, which was directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi and distributed by Kadokawa Pictures. She wrote "Mamotte Agetai" as the theme song for the movie. The single of this song reached number two on Oricon and sold nearly 700,000 copies. Following the success of the single, her eleventh album Sakuban Oaishimasho (1981) became her second number one album. From that year through 1997, 17 consecutive studio albums she released reached number one on the Oricon charts.

Ian Martin of The Japan Times wrote in 2016, "At the same time she was contributing to Matsuda's record-breaking run of No. 1 hit singles, Matsutoya’s own work retained an almost militant focus on albums, and the balance she struck between commercial success and artistic integrity is a source of inspiration to many aspiring musicians."

In 1982, she published an autobiography, Rouge no Dengon. In this book, she wrote about her life in an exaggerated style. She contemplated doing the artwork on her own albums. The artwork of the album Sakuban Oaishimasho (1981) was designed by Hipgnosis, and the video Compartment was produced by Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Powell and Peter Christopherson. A logo design from the latter film also became the logo of "Yuming", and was used as the cover of the 1984 album No Side. Aubrey Powell and Richard Evans of Hipgnosis also designed the cover of the 1983 album "Voyager". Since the 1970s, she has also been famous as an artist who performs in concerts using gorgeous and novel sets. She used elaborate visual technology on the stage and it is said that they cost over a hundred million yen. She has released two live albums and several videos. In 1986, she released her first live album, Yuming Visualive DA-DI-DA,. It was released on CD and cassette tape only, and it became one of the rarest items among her fans for many years

💕Discography💕

Hikō-ki Gumo (1973) (credited to "Yumi Arai")

Misslim (1974) (credited to "Yumi Arai")

Cobalt Hour (1975) (credited to "Yumi Arai")

14-banme no Tsuki (The 14th Moon) (1976) (credited to "Yumi Arai")

Benisuzume (1978)

Ryūsenkei '80 (1978)

Olive (1979)

Kanashii Hodo Otenki (The Gallery in My Heart) (1979)

Toki no Nai Hotel (1980)

Surf and Snow Volume One (1980)

Mizu no Naka no Asia e (1981)

Sakuban Oaishimashō (1981)

Pearl Pierce (1982)

Reincarnation (1983)

Voyager (1983)

No Side (1984)

Da-Di-Da (1985)

Alarm à la mode (1986)

Diamond Dust ga Kienumani (Before the Diamond Dust Fades...) (1987)

Delight Slight Light Kiss (1988)

Love Wars (1989)

Tengoku no Door (The Gates of Heaven) (1990)

Dawn Purple (1991)

Tears and Reasons (1992)

U-miz (1993)

The Dancing Sun (1994)

Kathmandu (1995)

Cowgirl Dreamin' (1997)

Suyua no Nami (The Wave of Zuvuya) (1997)

Frozen Roses (1999)

Acacia (2001)

Wings of Winter, Shades of Summer (2002)

Yuming Compositions: Faces (2003)

Viva! 6×7 (2004)

A Girl in Summer (2006)

Soshite Mouichido Yumemiru Darou (And I Will Dream Again...) (2009)

Road Show (2011)

Pop Classico (2013)

Uchū Toshokan (Universal Library) (2016)

Shinkai no Machi (2020)

💕Other Roleplay Accounts💕

@gardengrampa

@bikinikillhanna

@theeverglades

@gwenstefoubt

💕Roleplay friends💕 (From other accounts I rp on)

George Account

@john-winston-ono-lennon

@totallypaulmccartney

@ringo-starboy

Kathleen Hana Account

@t0bi-is-cool

Gwen Account

@t8yl0r-8

@sid-0

@joeynumbr1

@mrparadisecity

Graham Coxon

@iampamelaanderson

[pocketsizepunk]

mysterious flower

@layton-npc-appreciation-week day 4: miracle mask/azran legacy

yuming is one of the real-person-inserts in the series - she's based on yumi matsutōya who wrote miracle mask's ending song! i think it's so sweet that some of the musicians get to make in-game appearances :)

[laytontheories]

Most people know the character Yuming is based on the singer Yumi Matsutōya who performs Mysterious Flower, the ending theme to Miracle Mask.

And if you didn't know that, you do now.

But there are other singers who also make appearances as Layton characters.

So I decided to compile them all because they deserve the attention too.

(And I added links to the songs in case you need to remember how good they are)

Salyu

As well as singing Iris, the ending theme to Diabolical Box, Salyu is the Japanese voice actress for Babette.

Unlike Yuming she doesn't appear as an official character, but makes a cameo in Dropstone.

Yūko Andō

The character Naiya is based off the singer Yūko Andō who sings Paxmáveiti, the theme to Spectre's Call.

In the game, Naiya is a singer and Layton and Luke help her to write a new song.

Her profile says she is friends with another singer from London. This is likely Janice, as Naiya has a record of hers in her room.

Kana Adachi

She sings Change; the opening song to the first half of Layton's Detective Agency.

She is also the voice actress for Madame Doublèe's adorable maid in episode 9.

Kana Hanazawa

The voice actress for Katrielle, who also sings Daijoubu; the ending theme for the anime series.

Katrielle occasionally hums this song in the series.

And I have reached the photo limit. 😑

I will be posting the rest of the characters asap.

Please let me know if I got any details wrong.

Part 2

Part 3

[nippon-com]

[spwitti]

Entrevista a Wakana ～ B-PASS Edición marzo 2019

Traducción original al inglés: Putschki1969

■ ¿Luego de tu tiempo en Kalafina qué pensaste y qué sentiste cuando empezaste a cantar por tu cuenta? Se sintió como si estuviera yendo con la corriente, como si me estuviera entregando al curso de los eventos. Se me presentaron un montón de grandes oportunidades, tuve la posibilidad de enfrentar muchos retos nuevos al estar como solista. Fue una transición suave y rápida. Gracias a eso, no me vi forzada a tomar un largo receso y fui capaz de seguir cantando en el 2018.

■ Entonces, ¿Fuiste directamente por tu carrera como solista sin realmente tomar el tiempo de pensar acerca de lo que quieres cantar o qué tipo de cantante quieres ser…? Shusui, el compositor de mi canción “Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni” me preguntó al inicio, “¿Qué tipo de canciones te gustaría cantar?” Pero la verdad es que en ese momento lo único realmente importante para mí era seguir cantando, así que sólo quería que usara mi voz de la manera en que quisiera.

■ Eres muy feliz cuando cantas. ¿Querías convertirte en cantante desde que eras una niña? También me gusta mucho dibujar, así que cuando estaba en primaria quería convertirme en una cantante de ópera dibujante de manga *risas*. Ahora lo más importante para mí es cantar y usar mi voz. Cuando se trata de dibujar es como si hubiera un interruptor, a veces de verdad me meto de lleno a ello, otras veces no tanto. Pero es diferente con cantar, mi amor por cantar nunca cambia, siempre está ahí y siempre me estoy divirtiendo al hacerlo. Por lo tanto, quiero tener confianza en mi voz. Por supuesto que me estoy estrellando con obstáculos en ocasiones y hay momentos en los que me pregunto por qué no puedo cantar de la manera que quiero… pero así es la vida, incluso si tengo ese tipo de dudas, no hay nada que pueda hacer *risas*.

■ Cuando superas esas dificultades, cuando atraviesas esos obstáculos tienes una sensación de alcanzar un logro. Las canciones nacidas de ese sentimiento seguramente transmitan un montón de poder y fuerza a tu público. Además, al pasar un buen rato cantando, vas a alimentar tu voz. Cuando asisto a un concierto, siempre estoy buscando voces que me hagan sentir bien, que limpien mi corazón. Hablando de eso, Fui a grandes conciertos de personas increíbles en la última mitad del año pasado. ¡Todos eran impresionantes! Me sentí tremendamente conmovida por esas presentaciones que me hicieron desear seguir cantando  con mucha más fuerza. Fui a un concierto de Yumi Matsutōya por primera vez en mi vida, Estaba muy sorprendida de ver su baile. La presentación de Yuming-san estuvo más allá de cualquier cosa que pudiera haber imaginado, ¡No pude evitar llorar!

■ Pienso que tu música también tiene esa cualidad. Tu primer sencillo será lanzado pronto. ¿Se decidió que “Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni” será tu debut como solista? De hecho, he conocido a Shusui-san desde que tenía 19 y fui a mi primera audición en Tokio. Realmente trascendimos el tiempo, ¿no es así? *risas* Ahora, después de todos estos años, nos hemos reunido de nuevo a través de esta canción, suena como a una historia de drama de TV. Esta también fue la primera vez que escribí la letra para una canción.

■ ¿Qué pensaste de la canción cuando la oíste por primera vez? Parecía el tipo de canción que sonaría al final de una película. Es una colaboración entre el compositor sueco Anders Dannvik y Shusui, así que tiene una especie de atmósfera norte-europea  en ella. No está influenciada por nada que esté de moda en el momento. Hay mucho peso en ella, pero crece y puede que no se note mucho al escucharla la primera vez, en el fondo, es una canción suave y relajante.

■ ¿Así que escribiste la letra? ¿Tenías alguna experiencia o práctica escribiendo letras? He escrito algunas novelas cortas y poemas en el pasado, pero nunca letras. Siempre quise intentarlo, pero no pensé que fuera a tener la oportunidad de hacerlo. No parecía algo que estuviera destinada a hacer. Cuando recibí la oportunidad de escribir esta letra, estaba muy feliz, pero al mismo tiempo, también sentía el peso de una enorme responsabilidad. Me preocupé por la gente que eventualmente vería mi letra… pero sin importar cuánto me preocupada, no podía hacer nada, tenía que escribir esa letra, “¡Tengo que poner mis sentimientos en palabras!” “Ughh.. ¡Es muy difícil encontrar palabras que encajen con la melodía!” “¡¡No puedo escribir más!!”. Teniendo esto constantemente en mi mente, me vi realmente interesada a un nivel emocional y luego fui capaz de tener algunas ideas. Para el tercer borrador, decidí que mi metra estaría lista para pre-producción. Sintiéndome aliviada, prácticamente colapsé y me quedé dormida en el acto. Mi cuello estuvo adolorido por días después de eso *risas*. Realmente puse todo mi ser en esa letra.

■ El tema principal de la letra es “separación”, pienso que dependiendo de la edad, la canción será distinta para las personas. Experimentamos despedidas en todo tipo de situaciones de la vida… la gente se ve separada por la muerte, puede haber una despedida entre amantes o podemos estar despidiéndonos el día de graduación.. Pienso que esta canción puede hacer a las personas sentir muchas emociones distintas y puede ser interpretada de varias maneras. Tenía muchas cosas en mi cabeza cuando escribí esa letra. Parte de la letra está basada en experiencias personales, supongo. Pero interpreté esta canción en agosto junto a una orquesta y luego la canté varias veces durante mi gira de otoño. Durante estas presentaciones leí un montón de impresiones diferentes de fans que también cambiaron mi interpretación de ella. Siempre siento curiosidad de escuchar las interpretaciones de otros. Pero hay una cosa que definitivamente quería transmitir con esta canción,  es algo que creo firmemente… Está bien decir adiós a amantes, amigos, a gente querida, está bien enfrentarte a ti y darte cuenta de que has dejado a tu viejo yo atrás. Las despedidas son inevitables, pero estoy segura de que un día podremos volvernos a ver - una vez hayamos conseguido todo lo que nos hayamos propuesto.

■ Pienso que hay una fuerte sensación de separación y soledad en el primer y segundo coro, especialmente con frases como “una y otra vez” puedes sentir el deseo de estar reunidos de nuevo. Pero entonces durante el puente está esta línea, “dentro de mi corazón incompleto, estás tú con los brazos abiertos, sonriéndome” y te das cuenta de que esa persona querida ha estado cerca siempre, cerca de tu corazón. Los recuerdos se desvanecen, cada momento se convierte en el pasado. Incluso si estás simplemente viviendo, tu vida termina trascendiendo el tiempo. Por eso pienso que lo más importante es siempre mirar hacia adelante y ver la vida de frente. En el gran esquema de todas las cosas, no somos más que una pequeña raíz, sólo una cosa pequeña. Quería expresar este sentimiento de soledad.

■ Hay un fuerte sentimiento de esperanza y luz a lo largo de tu canción. El coro final en particular se siente bastante grandioso. Supongo que la letra lleva bastante peso, así que creo que es por eso. Está esta esperanza de que incluso cuando tu vida termine, sabes que tendrán la oportunidad de verse de nuevo. Puse mucha emoción en esa parte en particular. Quería que sonara tan apasionado como fuera posible sin convertirlo en un grito. Estas líneas fueron muy difíciles de cantar.

■ Hay calor y pasión en esta canción, pero también una sensación de translucidez. También pienso que eso es un reflejo de tu voz; tu voz es como un arma, única y efectiva, golpeando justo en el corazón. Durante la línea final “kokoro wa soba ni iru / mi corazón estará a tu lado” hay una pausa entre “soba ni” e “iru”. Pensé que fue algo encantador. Luego de la pre-producción, tuve esta idea, pensé que sonaría bien. Traté de cantarla así durante mi gira de otoño y realmente me gustó ese momento de silencio. Ese matiz de alivio, de finalmente poder reposar, quise incluirla en la grabación y pienso que salió bastante bien.

■ Hablando de tu gira, la otra canción “Tsubasa” es una grabación en vivo de tu concierto en Minabi BLITZ Akasaka, ¿no es así? Ya que el lado A es una grabación en estudio, elegí una grabación en vivo como el lado B. Pensé que sería interesante escuchar las diferencias, seguramente será muy divertido experimentar ese tipo de contraste *risas*.

■La melodía y el tempo son completamente distintos, es ciertamente un buen contraste. “Tsubasa” tiene un aire de coraje, así que se siente algo diferente.

■ ¿De nuevo escribiste la letra? En el fondo, la canción se trata de ser valiente. Es muy motivadora y puede animarte. Takebe-san compuso esta canción para mí, mientras escuchaba repetidas veces su demo en piano, sentí este tipo de aire, así que fui capaz d escribir una letra que hizo justicia a la melodía.

■ Entre todo este coraje, hay una charla acerca de una “ciudad pintada de colores grisáceos” pero también escribes acerca de “quitar tu rostro de las deslumbrantes luces”. La verdad es que no me gusta que me tomen fotografías y no me gusta ser filmada. Me gusta la idea de preservar recuerdos a través de fotografías y videos y me alegra que podamos hacer ese tipo de cosas, pero a veces pienso que nunca seré capaz de acostumbrarme a este mundo de los flashes frenéticos y cegadores d las cámaras fotográficas. Así que la idea era tratar de escapar de ese mundo gris. Si todo es blando y negro, podrías perderte muchas partes de este precioso mundo. Imagina que te encanta el cielo por su hermoso color, si el mundo fuera monocromático, sería un completo desperdicio. Es este tipo de sensación la que tenía en mente mientras escribía esas líneas. Ver un mundo teñido de gris puede ser encantador, por supuesto, pero también está bien verlo en todo su esplendor. Pensé que todos deberían ver bien este mundo radiante.

■ ¿Así que uno debe abrir sus alas y volar hacia él? Al dejarte llevar por la corriente podrías ser capaz de ver un mundo completamente nuevo. Es un sentimiento similar el siempre mirar de frente al mañana y tomar decisiones de las que no te arrepientas. Dar lo mejor que tengas, abre bien tus alas y vuela tan lejos como puedas, esto es lo que quería transmitir.

■ Nos enfrentamos a muchas cosas diariamente y tenemos que superar esas cosas confiando en nuestros propios instintos. Así es. A veces te podrías preguntar por qué algo te está pasando a ti, pero lo cierto es que depende de nosotros decidir cómo jugamos las cartas que nos fueron dadas. Muchas cosas te van a suceder, pero la vida y el destino no son algo que debamos temer. ¡No teman! ¡Disfruten! Es importante recordar eso porque durante nuestra larga vida experimentaremos ese tipo de situaciones una y otra vez. Desde el punto de vista de una persona mayor te das cuenta de que sin importar qué te suceda, tus experiencias parecen insignificantes en comparación al gran esquema de las cosas. Teniendo eso en mente fui capaz de cantar esta canción. En la letra hay un ángel susurrando “Al el momento de nacer - ¿No fue decidido que seguirías viviendo?”. Este ángel está hablando en un tono ligero… Las palabras “seguirías viviendo” pueden parecer un poco exageradas, pero escribí esa línea pensando “mientras sigamos moviéndonos hacia adelante, estamos vivos”.

■ Pienso que es una canción para la vida cotidiana, estás cantando acerca del cambio ordinario, acerca de cosas que pasan diariamente. Ya que es una versión en vivo, el deseo de escucharte cantar en vivo nuevamente se hace más fuerte, supongo. Tú respondiste a esos deseos al anunciar una gira de primavera que empezará en abril. Estaba muy nerviosa cuando hice mi primer concierto como solista el otoño pasado, ¡pero también lo disfruté mucho! Ahora con el nuevo álbum en camino, el número de canciones que puedo cantar para mi audiencia se ha incrementado considerablemente. Pienso que será posible para la audiencia experimentar un concierto que es un gran reflejo de quién soy, será muy “Wakanesco”.

■ Muchas cosas se han puesto en movimiento, ¿Hacia dónde quieres dirigirte a partir de ahora? Primero que todo, estoy agradecida de estar en un entorno en el que puedo cantar. Por lo tanto, me gustaría ser una cantante que pueda seguir cantando. Me gustaría seguir cantando las canciones que han sido hechas para mí recientemente, pero también hay muchas cosas que han estado ahí desde antes y que seguirán estando ahí en el futuro. Puede que siempre sea un poco problemático, pero creo que eso está bien. Además de eso, quisiera simplemente ser yo, pienso que hay una frescura especial en sólo ser natural. Incluso si las cosas se vuelven problemáticas de vez en cuando, me gustaría ser una cantante que disfrute cantar.

■ Cuando estás disfrutando de cantar, ese sentimiento de alegría es transmitido a tu público. Sí, me gustaría divertirme mucho cantando. Así es como siempre me he sentido. Quiero que las personas me vean y piensen, “¡oh, sí, esta mujer realmente adora cantar!”

Mi dulce recuerdo de San Valentín

Mientras pensaba en una anécdota de infancia que “trascendiera el tiempo” y estuviera relacionada al Día de San Valentín, Wakana termina por presentarnos su chocolate favorito

“Recuerdo darle chocolates a los chicos que me gustaban cuando estaba en la escuela primaria.. *risas* Estaba obsesionada con las envolturas bonitas y otras cosas. Iba a tiendas elegantes a comprar mis implementos para envolver. En la escuela primaria realmente me gustaban ese tipo de accesorios.”

¿Hacías el chocolate tú misma? “No, por lo general, lo compraba en la tienda *risas*. Siempre quise hacer el chocolate yo misma, pero cuando le pregunté a mi madre al respecto, me dijo, “¡Eso es muy problemático!” Así que me di por vencida con esa idea *risas*. Esto no tiene nada que ver con el Día de San Valentín, pero mis amigos y yo nos reunimos a menudo en alguna de nuestras casas para preparar dulces juntos. Hicimos galletas y pralinés.”

¿Te gusta el chocolate en general? “La verdad es que nunca me ha gustado mucho el chocolate, pero hay una excepción, el chocolate Lindt, ¡me encanta! Hace mucho, mientras estaba en NY por un viaje de trabajo me encontré con este increíble chocolate por casualidad, estaban regalando Lindors en la tienda. Estos dulces son tan ricos y deliciosos, incluso si sólo comes uno quedas completamente satisfecho. Es una ruta directa a la felicidad.”

¿Qué recomiendas exactamente de Lindt? “¡La leche tiene un sabor diferente! También hay un montón de sabores diferentes limitados como caramelo, sal marina o fresa. Pienso que el de chispas de chocolate blanco puede ser mi favorito, ¡es tan rico~! Durante la temporada de San Valentín encuentras un montón de chocolates lindos y rosados. Si tienen la oportunidad, por favor asegúrense de probar algunos de ellos (incluso si no es para el Día de San Valentín) *risas*”.

[debelvoir]

松任谷由実 (Yumi Matsutōya) - 悲しいほどお天気 (We're All Free) [Express] 1979 https://youtu.be/YQJfybvXS4w

[laytontheories]

Continuation of this post

Rei Yasuda

From episode 26 onwards, she sings Blooming, the opening song to Layton's Detective Agency.

Honestly, I think her design is my favourite. She looks so pretty, I love the dress!

J☆Dee'Z

The Jpop group responsible for singing Ashita mo, Sekai wa Mawaru kara (Tomorrow, the World Will Turn), the ending theme to the last half of the anime.

The three singers are Nono, Ami and Momoka.

As of 2019, the group name changed to Jewel so bare that in mind if you want to look them up.

I couldn't find any high quality images of their sprites, so I hope the blurry photo is ok.

Yumi Matsutōya

Probably the most well known, the character Yuming is based on Yumi Matsutōya, who sings Mysterious Flower, the theme to Miracle Mask.

In the game, Yuming is a singer from the Far East, who came to Monte d'Or to escape her hectic life. She can be found in the Reunion Inn.

She is more well known than the other singers, as she got to star in an animated music video, where she interacts with Layton as well as other characters.

If you haven't watched it, then click here.

Seriously watch it. 90% of the games budget probably went to animating her into all the cutscenes.

Salyu

In my previous post, I mentioned that while not being an official character in the game, Salyu makes a cameo in Dropstone.

Can you spot her?

That's all for now, please let me know if I got any details wrong.

Next Post

[putschki1969]

Wakana ~ B-PASS 2019 March Issue

Note: I finally got my copy of the newest B-Pass issue and my single (how come everyone received their CD ages before me? T_T)! Anyways, there is only a two-page interview with Wakana in this but I think it’s a GREAT interview, very nice and insightful (especially when it comes to the lyrics). You could probably read a lot into it if you wanted. It was money well spent. Please keep in mind that my Japanese is not perfect, all mistakes are mine.

■ After your time in Kalafina what did you think, what did you feel when you started singing all by yourself? 「It felt like I was going with the flow, like I was surrendering myself to the course of events. I was presented with lots of great opportunities, I got the chance to face many new challenges by going solo. It was a smooth and quick transition. Thanks to that I wasn’t forced to take a long break and I was able to continue singing in 2018」

■ So you went straight into your solo career without really getting the time to think about what you want to sing or what kind of singer you want to be...? 「Shusui, the composer of my song “Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni” asked me at the beginning, "what kind of songs would you like to sing?” But truth is, at that point the only important thing for me was to continue singing so I just wanted him to use my voice in whichever way he liked.」

■ You are happiest when you are singing. You wanted to become a singer ever since you were a child? 「I also really like drawing so back in elementary school I wanted to become a manga drawing opera singer *laughs*. Now the most important thing for me is singing and using my voice. When it comes to drawing it’s like there is a switch, sometimes I am into it, other times not so much. But it’s different with singing, my love for singing never changes, it’s always there and I am always having fun with it. Therefore I want to have confidence in my voice. Of course I am hitting walls sometimes and there are moments when I am wondering why I can’t sing the way I want to sing... but that’s just life, even if I have doubts like that, it can’t be helped *laughs* 」

■ When you overcome your troubles, when you cross those walls you will feel a sense of accomplishment, the songs born out of that feeling will surely convey a lof of power and strength to your audience. Also, by having a great time while singing you will nourish your singing voice. 「When I attend a live I am always seeking out voices that make me feel good, that cleanse my heart. Speaking of which, I attended some great lives by amazing people in the latter half of last year. They were all awesome! I was incredibly moved by those performance which made my wish to continue singing even stronger. I attended a Yumi Matsutōya live show for the very first time in my life, I was super surprised to see her dancing. Yuming-san’s performance was beyond anything I could have ever imagined, I couldn’t help but cry! 」 ■ I think your music also has this kind of quality to it. Your first single is about to be released soon. It was decided that “Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni” would be your solo debut? 「Actually, I have known Shusui-san ever since I was 19 and went to my first audition in Tokyo. We really transcended time, didn’t we *laughs*?  Now after all these years have passed we are reunited again through this song, it sounds like the story of a TV-drama. This was also the first time in my life to write lyrics for a song.」 ■ What did you think of the song when you first listened to it? 「It seemed like the kind of song that would be played at the end of a movie. It's a collaboration between Swedish composer Anders Dannvik and Shusui so it has a sort of Northern European vibe to it. It’s not at all influenced by anything that’s trendy right now. There is a lot of weight to it but it builds up and it might not be noticeable at at first listen, at its core it is a quiet and relaxing song.」

■ So you wrote the lyrics? Did you have any experience or practice writing lyrics? 「I had written some short novels and poems in the past but never lyrics. I always wanted to try it but I didn’t think I would ever get the chance, it didn’t seem like something I was meant to do. When I received the opportunity to write these lyrics I was very happy but at the same time I also felt an enormous weight of responsibility. I worried about all the people that would eventually see my lyrics...,but no matter how much I worried, it couldn’t be helped, I had to write these lyrics, "I have to put my feelings into words!” “Ughh, it’s so hard to find words that fit the melody!” “I can’t write anymore!!!” Having all these things constantly going through my mind I got incredibly invested on an emotional level and eventually managed to come up with something.  By the third draft I decided my lyrics would be ready for pre-production. Feeling relieved I pretty much collapsed and fell asleep on the spot. My neck was sore for days after that *laughs*. I really put my entire body into those lyrics.」 ■ The main theme of the lyrics is “separation”, I think depending on age the song will resonate differently with people. We experience partings in all kinds of life situations...people will be separated through death, there might be a farewell between lovers or we are saying goodbye at the day of graduation... I think this song can make people feel many different emotions and it can be interpreted in various ways. 「I had a lot of things on my mind when I wrote the lyrics. Parts of the lyrics are based on personal experience I guess. But I performed this song back in August together with an orchestra and then I sang it multiple times during my autumn tour. During these performances I read lots of different impressions from fans which also changed my interpretation of it. I am always curious to hear interprations by others. But there is one thing I definitely wanted to convey with this song, it’s something I firmly believe in...It is okay to say goodbye to lovers, to friends, to precious people, it is okay to face yourself and realise that you have left your old self behind. Farewells are inevitable but I am sure that one day we will all be able to meet again - once we have achieved everything we set out to do.」

■ I think there is a strong sense of separation and loneliness in the first and second chorus, especially with phrases like “over and over again” you can feel the wish to be reunited again.  But then during the bridge there is this line here, “within this incomplete heart of mine you are there with arms wide open smiling at me” and you realise that your loved one has always been nearby, close to your heart. 「Memories fade away, each and every moment becomes the past. Even if you are merely living life away, your life ends up transcending time. That is why I think it is the most important thing to always look straight ahead and face life head-on. Within the grand scheme of things we are but a tiny root, just a little thing. I wanted to express this sense of loneliness.」 ■ There is a strong sense of hope and light throughout your song. The final chorus in particular feels very grand. 「The lyrics carry a lot of weight I suppose so I guess that’s why. There is this hope that even when your life ends, you know that you will be able to meet again. I put a lot of emotion into that particular part. I wanted it to sound as passionate as possible without making it turn into a scream. These lines were very difficult to sing.」   ■ There is heat and passion in this song but also a sense of translucency. I think that is also very reflective of your voice; your voice is like a weapon, unique and effective, hitting you right in the heart. During the final line “kokoro wa soba ni iru/my heart will be by your side”  there is a pause between “soba ni” and “iru”. I thought that was quite lovely. 「After pre-production I came up with this idea, I thought it might sound nice. I tried singing it like that during my autumn tour and I really liked this moment of silence. That nuance of relief, of finally getting to rest, I wanted to include it in the recording and I think it turned out well.」

■ Speaking of your tour, the coupling song “Tsubasa” is a live recording from your Minabi BLITZ Akasaka concert, isn’t it? 「Since the A-Side is a studio song I chose a live recording for my B-Side. I thought it would be interesting to hear the differences, it will surely be lots of fun to experience that sort of contrast *laughs*」 ■ The melody and tempo are completely different, it is certainly a good contrast. 「 "Tsubasa” has a very courageous vibe so it feels quite different. 」 ■ Once again you wrote the lyrics? 「At its core the song is about being brave. It is very motivating and it can cheer you up. Takebe-san wrote this song for me, while listening to his piano demo on repeat I got this kind of vibe so I was able to write lyrics that did justice to the melody. 」  

■ Within all this courage there is talk about a “town dyed in greyish colours” but you also write of “turning your face away from the dazzling lights”. 「Truth is, I don’t like having my picture taken and I don’t like being filmed. I do like the idea of preserving memories through photography and film and I am happy that we are able to do that sort of thing but I sometimes think that I will never be able to get used to this world of frenzied and blinding flashes of photo cameras. So the idea was to try and escape that grey world. If everything is black and white, you might miss out on many parts of this precious world. Imagine you love the sky for its beautiful colour, if the world were monochrome it would be a total waste. It’s this kind of feeling that I had in mind while writing these lines, looking at a world dyed in grey can be lovely of course but it is also nice to look at it in all its dazzling radiance. I thought everyone should get a proper look at this bright world.」 ■ So one has to spread their wings and fly towards it? 「By surrendering yourself to the stream you may be able to see a completely new world. It’s a similar feeling to always looking straight ahead at tomorrow and to make decisions that you won’t regret. Give it your best shot, spread your wings wide and fly as far as you can, this is what I wanted to convey.」 ■ We are faced with so many things on a daily basis and we have to overcome those things by relying on our own instincts. 「That’s right.  Sometimes you may wonder why something is happening to you but truth is, it’s up to ourselves to decide how to handle the cards we are dealt. So much is going to happen to you but life and fate are nothing to be afraid of. Don’t be scared! Enjoy yourself!! It’s important to remember that because during our long life we will experience these kind of situations over and over again. From the point of view of an elderly person you realise that no matter what happens to you your experiences seem insignificant in comparison to the grand scheme of things. Keeping that in mind I was able to sing this song. In the lyrics there is an angel whispering, “At the moment of birth - Was it not decided that you would keep on living?” This angel is talking in a light tone... The words “keep on living” may seem a bit exaggerated but I wrote that line thinking, “as long as we keep on moving forward we are alive”. 」

■ It’s a song for everyday life I think, you are singing about ordinary change, about things that happen on a daily basis. Since it is a live version the wish to hear you live again grows stronger I suppose,  you answered these wishes by announcing a spring tour that’s going to start in April. 「I was very nervous when I did my very first solo live tour last autumn but I also enjoyed it a lot!  Now with the new album on its way the number of songs I can sing for my audience has increased considerably. I think it will be possible for the audience to experience a live that’s very reflective of who I am, it will be very Wakana-like.」 ■ Lots of things have been put into motion, where do you want to go from here? 「First and foremost I am grateful to be in an environment where I am able to sing. Therefore I would like to be a singer that can continue to sing.  I would like to continue singing the songs that have been made for me recently but there are also lots of things that have been there before and that will continue to be there in the future. It may always be a bit troublesome but I think that’s fine. On top of that I would just like to be myself, I think there is a special coolness to just being natural. Even if things get troublesome from time to time, I would like to be a singer that enjoys singing.」 ■ When you are having a great time singing that feeling of joy will also be conveyed to your audience. 「Yes, I would like to have lots of fun with singing. That’s how I have always felt. I want people to look at me and think, “oh yes, this woman really loves singing!”」

Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni ~ English lyrics Tsubasa ~ Englisch lyrics

My Sweet Valentine’s Memory

While thinking of a childhood anecdote that “transcends time” and is related to Valentine’s Day Wakana ended up introducing her favourite chocolate "I remember handing out chocolates to the boys I liked back in primary school...*laughs* I was obsessed with pretty wrappings and other stuff. I would go to fancy shops to buy my wrapping kits. In primary school I was really into accessories like that." Did you make the chocolate yourself? "No, I usually bought it at the store *laughs*. I always wanted to do the chocolate myself but when I asked my mother about it she told me, “that’s way too troublesome!!” So I gave up on that idea *laughs*. This has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day but my friends and I would often gather at one of our homes to make sweets together. We made cookies and pralines." Do you like chocolate in general? "Truth is, I have never really liked chocolate all that much but there is one exception, Lindt chocolate, I love it so much! Long ago while I was in New York for a work trip I came across this awesome chocolate by chance, they were handing out Lindors at a store. These balls are so rich and delicious, even if you just have one you will be completely satisfied. It’s a beeline to happiness. What exactly do you recommend about Lindt? "There is a different taste to the milk! There are also lots of different limited flavours such as caramel, sea salt or strawberry.  I think white-chocolate-chip might be my favourite, it’s so good~!! During the Valentine's Day season you will find lots of cute and pink chocolates. If you get the chance please be sure to try some of them (even if it’s not for Valentine’s Day) *laughs*”