[English Translation]
AYANO MASHIRO - “vanilla sky”
Interview & text by Hideo Miyamoto
It’s been half a year since AYANO MASHIRO’s brilliant debut. She teams up for the first time with hot creators for this new single and runs through the sky with a new sense of mission!
“White, white, pure white, future is our only hope.” MASHIRO sings honestly. She has an innocent childishness, but a powerful high-tone voice that cuts through. It has been half a year since the impact of her debut single, “ideal white”, which graced the opening of TV anime
“I wanted go forward recklessly toward my ideals with the previous "ideal white". "vanilla sky" still feels reckless, but it also has the sense that ‘I am gradually grasping my own sense of mission and what I am seeking’. I’ve experienced a lot of things since I debuted, and I have a desire to move forward little by little. I really like the lyrics.”
“Scraping off the stars in the night sky now, the world is colored”- meg rock wrote the lyrics, and Masahiro Mizoguchi composed the music, just like with the previous single. Toku of GARNiDELiA, who has been causing a whirlwind from creating hit after hit in the anime scene last year, produced the track.
“Toku-san has been an acquaintance and has always connected with me politely and gently. But I got very nervous during the recording. I was very tense in the beginning, but he loosened me up well. He would say, ‘You’re starting to get into it’, and I would respond, ‘Is that so!?’ I felt comfortable and had a good time (laughs).
“vanilla sky” is a thrilling, hard rock tune that has an even faster 4-on-the-floor beat than “ideal white”. Various parts such as strings, synths, electric guitar, piano, and background vocals flow in and feel like they are continually opening doors. The combination of toku’s arrangements and the speedy vocals is outstanding.
“The tempo is fast and the changes are dramatic. I have to pay attention when I am singing, and so do the listeners. I think that’s what people will enjoy about it. The improvisation at the end was made on the spot. I humbly suggested, ‘How about this kind of melody?’, and sang the part. It was a great experience to have toku-san direct me.”
“TURN TO YOU” is the coupled song produced by Fumio Yasuda who has supported MASHIRO since before her debut. It is a message song themed on starting a new life. At any time their hearts are torn, the song encourages one to look back on days when they were starting to move forward with hope. Her other song, “Gento (meaning Slide Projector)”, is a rock ballad that illustrates a fantastic romance and fits her transparent singing voice. MASHIRO was also involved in writing the lyrics. The subtle nuances and her delicate expressive voice as the song changes are the highlights of the song.
“I want to sing in a way that gets me closer to the feelings of the listeners. I want to create more moments where I use my own words and vary the words that I sing.”
MASHIRO will perform at events in Japan, as well as at
