[Official Message] New Album.

[DogboyShugo]

The new image seems interesting. It reminds me of a solid album over. A major comeback album image. Not sure why

[jean-baptiste]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Mostly Ayu's albums just need to sound complete and finished. A ONE was such a return to form IMHO not because of its genre or its lyrics (although they do help), but because it didn't sound like a ton of demos. It sounded like it was done. Good mixing, good flow, a couple of bonus tracks that were indeed bonus tracks rather than lazy additions to the album. With Colours the tracks sounded finished (even if they weren't great) but the album itself felt like a thrown-together, unfinished concept and the "seriously, amateur youtubers do better than this" videos didn't help.

LOVE again likewise sounded like a bunch of demos - Yuta Nakano's same-sound-over-and-over approach to string-based ballads was a death sentence for the album IMHO. The mini-albums had some truly great tracks on them that actually sounded ready for release, like "Wake me up" and "Sweet scar," but the album had stuff like "Bye-bye darling" that just didn't sound like it had been polished & completed yet, which kills me cuz the instrumentation is actually pretty excellent... but with the right mix, and some added flourish here & texture added there, it coulda been the new "Liar" or "kiss o' kill."

Party Queen would have absolutely been an old school style Ayu album in most of the right ways (she used to ALWAYS sort her albums more or less by genre, in case most of you have forgotten lol, and yes it was always awkward that she did so) IF the mixing & production had sounded finished. The production isn't NEARLY beefy or textured enough. I do also think the design team misused some of the photos from the "Super Ayu" shoot for the booklet... for instance, the photo with Timmy really shouldn't be there at all, it derails the entire message.

Recent songs have been formulaic, perhaps, but when there is a problem that's not what it is. The problem is the production.

Ayu's songs, at their best, pack some sort of emotional punch - lyrically, yes, but the sound has to do it too. And that means bass in the right places, synth fills when needed, simplicity when the song calls for it, strings as punctuation & emphasis rather than the foundation of an entire pop track. It means a more raw, less cleanly rehearsed sound to some of the more emotional songs. It means reverb & echo in the right places. It means planning out "okay, what is this song communicating?" and "what is the BEST way to convey that feeling through sound?".

Right now Ayu's production seems focused on ironing out imperfections and sanding out any unintended texture (things like cracked vocals, instrumentation that's slightly off-time, guitar fret noises, piano that sustains too long, etc) which results in a flat, synthesized, plastic, fake-sounding record about 99% of the time.

Sometimes that timing & vocal perfection is necessary, like with EDM, but even then you want some echo, some real guitar, some synth with a scratchy sound to it in order for it to sound finished and genuine (see "Sparkle" for an excellent example, and more recently, "Lelio" worked VERY well and I do think fans responded to it.)

But like, I think "Sorrows" isn't anywhere near as effective as "Last minute." Musically they have a LOT of similarities, and even the same chord progression through most of the song, but "Sorrows" sounds like it isn't quite done yet. It sounds like a demo made in GarageBand in many ways. The mix is "good enough" but it's not perfect. And that's the gist of most of what Ayu has released recently - it's "good enough." But no better than that.

Wow. I agree with this entire post. So much. Well said.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Originally Posted by orbitalaspect

Compared to snowy kiss, TSMGO has a lot more depth and dynamic to it, but her vocals are still too compressed.

...

It's sad to sit here in 2016 and think I am... sounds better mixed than sixxxxxx. But that's what I hear when comparing songs side by side. Sixxxxxx just sounds like it's in a box compared to the openness of songs she recorded even 15 years ago.

So much this. LOVEppears, Duty, and I am... were mixing triumphs, all of them. I mean they each have one or two tracks that aren't QUITE there, but what album doesn't... but they pack a serious punch. And even after multiple listens you still hear stuff you didn't notice before.

Duty is still SO bright and colorful when I listen to it now. That really shouldn't be the case. I mean that's just SAD.

But yeah I'm with most of you guys here - what genre ayu does doesn't matter that much to me. What matters is that it has to sound like she & her team cared about making sure it sounded right, and that the feelings we get as listeners are the right ones.

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

The amount of depth in songs like vogue, Far away and SURREAL is amazing haha.

I particularly like the background noise in vogue and Far away. The constant static-like noise in vogue and the kind of telephone-like voice? in Far away.

[Delirium-Zer0]

SAME HERE! omg, I hear so many people nowadays think the voice in "Far away" is annoying (I love the sort of urban/industrial sound it layers on top of the scenic, atmospheric arrangement), and no one even notices how well the static sound in "vogue" contributes to its full sound. I think those are two really good additions to their respective arrangements.

[labello]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

SAME HERE! omg, I hear so many people nowadays think the voice in "Far away" is annoying (I love the sort of urban/industrial sound it layers on top of the scenic, atmospheric arrangement), and no one even notices how well the static sound in "vogue" contributes to its full sound. I think those are two really good additions to their respective arrangements.

I really used to dislike that sound but a year ago or so I just fell in love. I think the combination of lyrics and sound works so well for Far away and vogue!! It just adds to it. She talks about the sea in Far away and the sound reminds me of waves, and with the effects on her voice, it's really great!

I wish she'd do something like that again. I don't know if it's the mixing, arrangement etc. but her more recent songs lack the sound of "fullness" most of her old ones used to have. I still like the new songs because I usually don't notice this much, but one can really tell if they compare old and new songs.

[js_surrealism]

Completely agreed. Duty was just so well put together. Even the singles all sounded like they related to each other (even SURREAL, Duty, Audience, which were not part of the V/FA/S trilogy). Truly a triumph of songwriting, performance, and production in a short single record.

I don't need a bumper pack 16 track record, I just want something that doesn't sound like she threw a bunch of random songs together that were all written in 5 minutes.

[paper_doll]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

SAME HERE! omg, I hear so many people nowadays think the voice in "Far away" is annoying (I love the sort of urban/industrial sound it layers on top of the scenic, atmospheric arrangement), and no one even notices how well the static sound in "vogue" contributes to its full sound. I think those are two really good additions to their respective arrangements.

Far away is pretty much absolute perfection. One of the best songs she's ever put out, imo. I don't think I've ever noticed the static in vogue, although I don't really listen to it that much. I'll have to check it out!

[jean-baptiste]

I always found Far away super boring since I became an ayu fan. It's literally not till this past month that I'm warming up to it while listening to A BEST and re-watching her older concerts. It's a great song.

[sitara]

what does the male voice say in far away?
it always sounded like "down, down, pull her down" to me. any idea if that's correct?

[//ABEST]

^ male voice??? never noticed anything like that

[sitara]

right at the beginning and at the end

[rainbow_smile]

Wait is it that annoying sound that stops during the first verse, and appears again when she sings "soshite itsukara ka..."? I never realised it was supposed to be a voice haha

[280301]

Originally Posted by sitara

what does the male voice say in far away?
it always sounded like "down, down, pull her down" to me. any idea if that's correct?

I have always wondered about this too! Somebody enlighten us please I love Far away, I love when Ayu plays with more claustrophobic, chaotic feels. The whole trilogy is just fantastic in their execution of bittersweet emotion.

[Gustavopc]

Oh god, I had NEVER noticed the noise in vogue Now that's what I call the elephant in the living room lol

I need to agree with everyone on the mixing of Duty, even if her voice was not the best or the most "enjoyable" at that time, the album was so full of sounds and complete! It was the second album of hers I listened to and the one that really got me into ayu, and surely that's a lot thanks to the mixing of the songs. I would really love to see her doing something like Far away again btw <3

[Ryusei]

I love that first part of far away it's probably the part that is most enticing to me in. OMG I can never listen to vogue again lol I never noticed that static until I read it here.

[//ABEST]

Originally Posted by sitara

right at the beginning and at the end

thanks for letting me know! i thought it was some kinda backround noice like bambambadabambabam

[xLuna&1LOVE]

I am sorry, but I don't hear a male voice in Far away...

[Pieces_of_SEVEN]

it's not a male voice, it's a sound effect. listen again and you'll hear it. sounds like "down down, pull it down..." but it's literally just a sound effect.

[Aokani]

Omg, I also thought it was a male voice XD