YOASOBI's Ayase on how he escaped "the lowest point of my life"
Earlier this month, YOASOBI appeared on the Zach Sang Show. There, the production duo, particularly Ayase, was asked how he got into Vocaloid, considering his punk rock/hardcore roots. Ayase revealed that Vocaloid and Hatsune Miku actually "saved his life," and recounted:
“Back then, I was the vocalist for a heavy punk rock/hardcore band. Vocaloid was the last thing on my mind. But my band broke up, and I was alone. I had no money, despite working side jobs, and I was at the absolute lowest point in my life. My electricity, water, gas, everything was shut off. And my girlfriend of nine years left me… It was the worst moment of my entire life, and that's when I encountered Vocaloid and Hatsune Miku.”
Saved by Vocaloid: The Formation of YOASOBI
“The thing about Vocaloid is that you can compose music alone with your computer. So when I had no friends, no girlfriend, and not even money, I still had my PC. And I thought I could start composing with it. I couldn't give up on music, and as I delved deeper into the Vocaloid world, I met so many people. And I met Ikura, and we formed YOASOBI, and that's what got me to where I am now. So you could say that 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 – transforming novels into songs – and how YOASOBI allowed them both to grow individually. Ayase originally dreamed of becoming a singer (and still is through his solo work), but realized 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 in myself" and "found other voices, other nuances that I couldn't have found 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, as he was so impressed by the original story.
Not Pressure, But Healthy Competition in the J-Pop Scene
YOASOBI was also asked what it feels like to be one of the biggest J-Pop acts and whether they feel a responsibility to maintain a certain standard.
Ayase and Ikura laughed. The former said, “I don’t really feel that way. In our case, the song ‘Idol’ really came at the right time and place and allowed 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.
Ayase continued, “And as Japanese artists, we've broken many new records, and we had our Asia tour, our USA tour, and as Japanese people, we've achieved a lot that we can be proud of. But in Japan, there are many other great artists besides us. And we have a kind of confidence that 'we're the best in Japan!' However, there are other artists who have just as much passion as we do. And they are really cool!”
“So, ‘do we have to raise J-Pop to a higher level, or it will fail?’ There is no such responsibility. If anything, we have to perform in a way that we don't lose to these amazing artists. And this healthy rivalry between the different artists is, I think, what brings 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 are doing our best.” Ikura added, “On April 16th, we are performing in a concert with two other artists from Japan. And I believe we all want to take this great J-Pop and share it with the world.”
The Global Vision for J-Pop
Ikura had expressed this view in another interview this month, where she spoke about YOASOBI's recent performance in L.A., saying, "Recently in L.A., we saw how Japanese pop music can drive the world crazy," and added that she and her label colleagues wanted to come together to spread the message: "The J-Pop that we make is cool."
Source: ">Zach Sang Show