ayu in french magazine : "japan vibes"

[ayu_chan82]

To say it quickly they say her new album is her best and that's optimistic for her career to come



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[Edited by AHS Staff]
Discussion/Thanks:
http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29815

[LeButler]

Hamasaki Ayumi

The Diva who still reigns

Hamasaki Ayumi is an artist who needs no introduction. Musical phenomenon, extraordinary marketing example, and wonderful musical talent all in one, this artist never stops us dreaming. Since [one of] the very first issues of Japan Vibes where we first wrote an article on her, the world has changed hugely. Yet Ayumi is still there (along with Namie and Hikki), holding on to her reign with an iron grip.

Still at the top

Whatever our contemporary musical influences may be, anyone who listens to Japanese music has passed some time listening to Hamasaki Ayumi: it's obligatory. Typically with this artist you find yourself lost in a whole raft of remix albums made from 10 different arrangements of the same track. Yet Hamasaki Ayumi [herself] has never stopped being creative. In spite of the ultra-commerical stance of Avex Trax and the launching of many younger, fresher artists onto the market, it still seems impossible to knock her off the top. Despite being 25 years old now, Ayumi continues to break sales records, at an age when most Japanese artists begin to decline. However just like Namie Amuro, Ayumi seems to be able to hang on to her fans and they follow.
If you get a chance to hear her recent works, you may feel like you're being taken back to her roots to around the time of A Song for XX, although this time around the methods are different.

Ayumi can be wounded mentally, or physically, but never gives up and continues to be creative under the benevelent wing of Max Matsuura. There have been several moments when she could have given up, such as during Dome Tour 2001 when due to tinitus she lost part of her sense of hearing in the right ear. Her route has not been easy.
The last time we looked at Ayumi, RAINBOW had only just come out in the stores. A sucessful album, it was more mature and musically very interesting. It sold over a million copies and in a way marked the end of a slightly sombre period during which she saw her sales falling a little after the 4th album, I am. Not content to merely hold on to her place in Jpop, Ayumi does [even more] adverts, becoming the face of Panasonic during the last Olympics - in fact it seemed every advert for the brand featured her sweet little face.

Summer 2004 held a worry for her fans, when Max Matsuura came into conflict with the board of the famous Avex record label. This was over some financial scandals and bahind-the-scenes scheming which are commonly reported by the Japanese press looking for scandals. Artists revolting, threats of disowning, shares in freefall...Max was so angry about it all that he threatened to leave the Group with his artists and start a new company. Many other artists such as Hitomi and DAI joined his cause and gave further strength to his position.
Fortunately the problem was resolved quite promptly and Ayu even apologised at A-Nation 2004, a large concert where all the biggest Avex stars appear together. The result was that Tom Yamoda was able to calm the passions of the mutineers. When you take into account the fact that Hamasaki Ayumi represents 50% of the company's bottom line it's easy to see why they resolved the situation so quickly.
Despite a series of personal problems and ever-present stress Ayumi held up well and continues to press the boundaries.

If this article makes you want to go out and listen to some of Ayumi's work, don't worry about what you've missed in the past - go out and pick up her two latest albums, Memorial Address and MY STORY.
Let's start with Memorial Address, an 8-track mini-album that was released in 2003 and which in some ways was a precurser to MY STORY since the style is rather similar, if a little more synthetic. No sign of accoustic drums here - it's all beat-box rhythms, although on Beacuse of You we do find a little accoustic warmth. It has a few hits like Ourselves which you are no doubt familiar with, along with a second version of HANABI this time featuring a much heavier arrangement and a more rhythmic feel which strengthens what has already become a classic.
Note that it is composed by CREA and DAI (Do As Infinity's composer, rather than the group themselves), a collaboration which is more than simply symbolic.
Don't miss the sublime ballad forgiveness - or the bonus track which is an alternative version of Memorial Address which is also very well done.

But let's now move onto serious things and look at her latest album:

A story amongst many others

It can't be denied that Hamasaki Ayumi's latest album, MY STORY, is a real success. It doesn't only represent a technical progression of the singer. It has the still-lovely lyrics, and the well-orchestrated music [you'd expect]. But moreover what's significant is that we have something here that is very deep. Previously one could have complained about a lack of artistic depth, about overly agressive marketing, and the fact that since SEASONS her singles had begun to all sound alike. But since RAINBOW we have begun to see her create a much more interesting, individual world of her own. With this sixth album Ayumi and her staff have given us melodies that people have lapped up, such that even her most ardent critics will be rather touched by the tracks on her new album.

The album begins, as is common for her, with an electronic interlude which is followed by About You. It's a track typical for this artist, with accoustic instruments like the guitar and drums giving this tilting track a certain energy.
There's also GAME, which like many of the tracks was heavily promoted. It has HAL doing the arrangements and programming, mixing the electro and the accoustic together along with Ayu's voice which is deformed by filters from somewhere far away.
[...] And don't miss out on Hope or Pain and it's brilliant little synthetic melodies.

The sound is consistent, and the songs fit together well in a logical order: you can see that a lot of work has been put into this album. Ayumi herself composes several of the tracks under the pseudonym CREA, such as the interlude Wonderland and the songs Humming 7/4 and Winding Road. [...]
Humming 7/4 cuts across the rest of the album, a true rock song with it's big guitar sound which will please DAI's fans. The only little clouds over the album are HONEY and INSPIRE which both reek of being standard Avex fare, lacking any originality. Indeed the end of the album does tend towards this, and tallys with the pictures in the CD booklet. There we see Ayumi dressed up like an English fairytale charator, overly made-up and living in a world of multicolour silk covers and great feather plumes.

Anyway, MY STORY is a must-have album, and who knows what's to come in the future. There's certainly no indication that this will be her last album but it does mark a turning point for the artist who cannot simply continue on as she has before for the next ten years. What will become of Ayumi after MY STORY? All sorts of alternative opportunities are available to her, such as being a composer - a role where she seems to score well, or even modelling - which she did during her beginnings. There's no doubting we'll still be on a diet of Ayumi in the years to come, but in what form?

Conclusion

Let's be realistic here, whatever she does we'll still be fans forever. Queen of J-Pop, commercial fortress and artistic curiosity - don't ever take your eye off her because she's still not finished with her surprises. While you wait for that, get into MY STORY if you haven't already.



Pink text at the end
You'll no doubt notice that, in accordance with marketing neccessities, Ayumi is becoming more and more sexy and provocative. Not that the male fans are complaining, especially since her music is not [affected].


Translation by: Me. Shame I can't do Japanese too.
And ooh, it has an Amelie Nothomb interview too, I really want this mag!




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[Edited by AHS Staff]
Discussion/Thanks:
http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29815