ayumi hamasaki HP SPECIAL - Vol.2 A BALLADS - Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai
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Old 24th June 2007, 11:19 PM
devilayu
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ayumi hamasaki HP SPECIAL - Vol.2 A BALLADS

SPECIAL
http://avexnet.or.jp/ayu/en/special/

Vol. 2
『A BALLADS』
2003.3.12 Release

※The following text was posted on the special purchasers' website for [A BALLADS] (March to May 2003)

001.「RAINBOW」

With over 100,000 messages received, the response to the special site for the album RAINBOW has exceeded the expectations of everyone, including all of us on the production staff.
It truly is amazing how ayu was able to complete such wonderful lyrics in so short a time. In terms of sound, work on the arrangements was proceeding under the direction of CMJK in a way that maintained the melody's "image" as communicated on the website. However, one day, ayu pointed out that something was missing that was keeping the song from being complete. Dai Nagao and CREA immediately set to reworking it. This reworking led to a change in the arrangement, which redirected the track by making it warmer and giving it a sense of a building climax in the latter half. It should be noted that the D・A・I chorus family, which deserves some of the credit for the success of the track, is a large chorus made up of Dai Nagao's friends that appears in the last half. When Dai was preparing the demo for the new melody, he brought this group into his home to sing it. This demo take had such a strong "you-are-there" feel to it that it was decided to use it without modifications in the original recording. This track, which is a compilation of feeling from so many people, has a dramatic finish that makes it perfect for starting off this collection of ballads.

Quote:
From ayu
I had never before written lyrics that were based on messages received directly from my fans. It was with RAINBOW that I decided to give this approach a try.
I was so happy to receive 100,000 messages! Although, at first, I was at a loss about how to approach writing the song! (Laughs) I really wanted to hear (read) all of the messages that were sent in (both lyrics and themes), because if 100,000 people come together, they will see things in 100,000 different ways. Some of the messages I received were very sad, while others conjured up happy images and colors. But I thought that a professional writer would do a better job of tying these words together in a piecemeal manner than I. That's why, rather than writing subjectively-say, by taking one message from the 100,000-I read all of the messages and then wrote lyrics based on what I felt afterward.
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002.appears "HΛL'S Progress"

According to ayu, this is a reworking of a track that she felt needed to be spiced up. She approached HΛL, who had done the track's original arrangement, and asked them to come up with a new version that reflected current themes of 2003.
While preserving the tonal nuances that made the original single version so special, the tracked was improved with the latest HΛL sound, which resulting in a very nice product. The subtitle HΛL'S Progress refers to a "progressed version of the HΛL sound."

Quote:
From ayu
I knew this song so well that I didn't even have to check the lyrics before singing it! (Laughs)
Until now, many of my songs have featured a central character-like "me" or "you"-and I sang of the character's "inner heart" in the sense of how her feelings waver or what she is thinking right now. This track, appears, is the first song I have written in which the word "koibito-tachi" (lovers) appears. It's about lovers who appear to be happy and are living each day in their usual way. But there is a sense that a third person is watching from a distance. Another word that appears for the first time is "kiss." I was really embarrassed when I sang this song during filming of the promotion video! (Laughs)
(From beat freak, vol. 142, end of November 2000)
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003.Key ~eternal tie ver.~

This is an unknown song that was recorded for the third album Duty. It was born from ayu's desire at the time to "create a song to commemorate a celebration, like a wedding." The subtitle ~eternal tie ver.~ also suggests this feeling.
I invite listeners to read the lyrics of this track out loud, as I remember how impressed I was by their completeness, especially given that it was only her third album. Although there was talk of doing a retake, we found that the original take was important as something that could only have been created at that particular time in ayu's career. Thus, we recorded it with only some remastering.
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004.YOU "northern breeze"

Initially, we intended to retain the original take and to rework the song by mixing down the tonal balance. However, when we completed the re-mixed version, ayu suddenly said that she wanted to do a remake. So this track is something we created quickly.
The task was to have the listener gain a feeling of today's Ayumi Hamasaki without changing the original track's concept. Here, tasuku's arrangement is not a rough product that crams a contemporary flair into the song; instead, it is finished in a very refreshing, natural, and universal manner. This change is like having, say, a Northern European breeze blow through the song (hence the subtitle northern breeze). The track's sound integrates ayu's singing voice as it is today with a unique atmosphere.
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005.TO BE "2003 ReBirth Mix"

In preparing this collection of ballads, some of the tracks were remade from various angles-in other words, they were re-sung, had their original arrangements changed, or had their sound systematically reworked. However, together with SEASONS, which appears later in the album, this track simply underwent mixing down. Contrary to our expectations, this approach had a truly significant impact on the track.
Although the track and vocals remain unchanged, its texture has been brought closer to the Ayumi Hamasaki sound that has been established in recent works. Thus, its inclusion in this 2003 collection of ballads is quite fitting.
It should be noted that Koji Morimoto, who mixed this song when it was a single and who was the engineer for this retry, enjoyed himself immensely during the project.
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006.HANABI

This is a great new song that Ayumi Hamasaki fans will remember as a single and for its performance live on the stage.
I never doubted that this track would rank highly in the popularity vote, and so it's no surprise to find it included on this album. Looking back, I become keenly aware that the }{ symbol of 2002, the year that this tune was recorded, was powerful in both reality and name.
An interesting story from the recording session: The sound of the music box that appears in the introduction was intended to help ayu give a performance that suggested a feeling of longing and fragility. It was emitted from a small headphone, was picked up by a microphone, and became part of the recording.
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007. M "HΛL'S Progress"

As was the case with the above mentioned appears, the intention here was to give this track new life with a fresh arrangement by HΛL. However, compared to appears, it is punched up with a stronger "contemporary" element.
As the first single composed by CREA, this track has been a major hit. And this new version gives the song that much more flavor. I remember how, when ayu and I listened to HΛL's demo version in the studio to check the arrangement (and it should be remembered that, with HΛL, work is always 95% done at this point), ayu gave a little chuckle when she heard the grandeur (?) of the new introduction.
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008.Dearest

This song was created based on the CREA+DAI composition methodology. This methodology has played an important role in further expanding the Ayumi Hamasaki world.
The song was recorded in an "acoustic piano version" that coupled with the single, and a version featuring ayu with live piano accompaniment by Ken Shima that was performed on television during the promotional period. It seemed ayu had some difficulty deciding which version should be included in this collection of ballads. But after considering the fact that other songs on the album would be changed in one way or another, she decided to go with the original version.
With its rising vocals and unique sound, this track was firmly established as one of Japan's finest releases in 2001.
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009.Dolls

Among the songs that were recorded for the album RAINBOW, this one is established as a characteristic medium-tempo Ayumi Hamasaki song in which she "sadly sings a melody that in itself may not be so sad." As can be expected, this song ranked high in the popularity vote.
Like with other CREA songs, this track involved a process in which the base melody is arranged, lyrics are composed by ayu, and then the song is given a soul by melding the lyrics and melody. In a way that is truly magical, this process gives the track sublime power.
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010.SEASONS "2003 ReBirth Mix"

Together with vogue and Far away, this track was one of a trio of major hit singles in 2000. Like the previously mentioned TO BE, it is a take that was redone simply by mixing down the original.
In a sense, with a rhythm section that is slightly more to the forefront compared to the original, and with a guitar that was reengineered to give it a crisper tone, this version of SEASONS―which has become a fixture in Japan's music scene―will most likely sound brighter and fresher to fans.
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011.Voyage

Without a doubt, this was THE song of 2002.
This track beautifully brings together two seemingly opposing concepts: The universality of Ayumi Hamasaki's ballads among pop songs, and progressiveness through which a sense of the "here and now" is reflected on the music scene.
Seiji Kameda, a music producer who arranged Close to you on the RAINBOW album, stated in a trade journal that he thought this song was "the best of 2001."
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012.A Song for ×× “030213 Session take #2”

The concept for remaking this song was born soon after plans to create this collection of ballads were drawn up. The original version of this song appeared on ayu's first album, A Song for XX, and while it has a strong message as the album's title track, its sound is that of a primitive pop tune. However, after being performed live many, many times over the years, it has developed the perfect twist and a vocal style through which ayu pours her soul.
The track was completed as a one-take recorded version, performed by members of ayu's live touring band to create "live stage"-like tension. As you have probably guessed, the subtitle 030213 Session #2 refers to the fact that the track is Take 2 of recording on February 13, 2003. While the session began with ayu and her usual bandmates enjoying a relaxing time together, this version fully demonstrates the high tension that was created when recording began.
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013.Who... “Across the Universe”

This song captured the number 1 spot of the popularity vote. For fans that have supported Ayumi Hamasaki over the years, this is doubtless the perfect song with which to conclude the album.
This song is an encapsulation of today's Ayumi Hamasaki, and it was produced to present her message and philosophy. As arranged by CMJK―who was charged with giving the song new life―the song as it was initially reworked featured driving tones that gave it a hard punch. However, because ayu expressed a desire to make the song warmer than the original version, CMJK rebuilt the arrangement one more time. This resulted in the majestic and dramatic version we hear today.
The buildup from the delicate piano in the introduction to the layered chorus toward the end further intensifies the significance of this song as this collection's final track.
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014.Sotsugyo Shashin

For many years, the idea of doing a cover version of a great song from the past had been floated around. However, we never found that special something needed to jump-start such a project, and so it never got off the ground. But with the perfect timing offered by this collection of ballads, it was once again suggested that we try doing a cover, and this time ayu felt ready. This track is what resulted.
In creating the sound, ayu and tasuku (who is roughly the same age as ayu) strove to bring out the message of this song as it is interpreted by her generation, without focusing too much on a "feeling of nostalgia" or the song's original nuances. Consequently, ayu takes a vocal approach that is very obviously hers and hers alone.
There was one point where we were very particular: A Fender Rhodes Suitcase Mk I electric piano from the 1960s and 70s―which is likely similar to the instrument used when this song was originally recorded―is featured prominently in the track to bring its sound closer to the original.
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