LiSA Fans Become Hi-Res Sound Masters! Report on a high-resolution preview of the new album "Launcher"!

What is Hi-Res?"　The listening session started with a lecture.

LiSA's third album "Launcher" will be released on March 4, 2015, and a high-resolution listening session was held for the fans. 100 LiSA fans gathered in a large conference room at Sony's headquarters on February 21. There was almost no difference in the ratio of men to women, and it was clear at a glance that LiSA is gaining support from all genders. The purpose of this event was to enjoy LiSA's high-resolution sound sources on high-quality playback equipment. The purpose of this event was to experience LiSA's high-resolution sound sources on high-quality playback equipment, thereby enabling people to experience the appeal of high-resolution music. Before LiSA's appearance, audio writer Kenji Nomura, an expert on high-resolution audio, took the stage. To put it simply, high-resolution is big data. The larger the digital data, the closer it gets to the sound as it was recorded, and the more natural and realistic it becomes," he said. In other words, you can feel LiSA's real voice better with high-resolution than with CD recordings, Nomura said.

The key points of high-resolution audio can be briefly summarized as follows,
The data size is larger, and the sound waveform is smoother, resulting in less distortion.
The recorded sound is delivered in its original form without being down-converted, so that the listener can enjoy the original form of the artist.

However, in the questions posed to the participants before the viewing, those who had high-resolution playback equipment were quite limited. Rather than explaining in words, we decided to let the audience experience the song by ear, and had them compare the MP3 sound source and the high-resolution sound source using the 5th single "Rising Hope," which is also included in "Launcher. First the MP3 and then the high-resolution were played, and the participants strained their ears to hear the differences. I thought the MP3 sound was good enough (laughs)," Nomura said, putting the audience at ease. But with high-resolution, the more detailed the sound, the more the sound spreads vertically and horizontally. LiSA's voice is very realistic, and it comes out of the speakers just as it would if we had actually met and talked with her. High-resolution sound reproduction gives a groove to the sound, and you can feel the spirit and power of the performers. Mr. Nomura's explanation was easy to understand: "Don't take it too hard, just enjoy the groove.

LiSA appeared on stage. Everyone is so stiff! I'm going to keep it loose like I always do!

Finally, LiSA herself appeared on stage to loud applause.
It was fun to see everyone listening to 'Rising Hope' so seriously, like in a college lecture! She relaxed the participants, saying, "We've made a cool album, so I want everyone to listen to it and I want to tell you a story that can only be told here. Everyone is so stiff~ (laughs). I'm going to keep it loose like I always do! He greeted the audience. Sound director and recording engineer Gendamu Okamura then took his seat, and the audience began listening to 9 new songs from "Launcher" in high-resolution format. The equipment used on this day was all made by Sony, including the HAP-Z1ES HDD audio player, the TA-A1ES pre-main amplifier, and the SS-AR1 speaker system.

First up was "Mr. Launcher," the album's top track. First of all, I want to say that I chose "Mr. Launcher" as the first song because it is cool," LiSA said!　I thought that if I could surpass the Budokan 2-DAYS in January this year, I would be invincible! So, I decided to write a song for this album, "We're just going to keep on going, aren't we! I wanted the first song on the album to be, "We've got to keep going! LiSA asked, "Isn't that cool?" to which the participants responded, "Cool! and the participants responded, "Cool! According to Okamura's explanation, "Mr. Launcher" is all about the intro. The sound effects and LiSA's countdown give the impression that something is about to begin, and the whole world of the album opens up at once. The bass guitar is really cool, isn't it? wasn't it?" commented Mr. Nomura in a casual manner. You can really hear the difference in the groove on this track. The hard sound is actually suited for high-resolution.

Next is "rapid life syndrome," the third song on the album, which LiSA said, "I asked my senior (UNISON SQUARE GARDEN's Tomoya Tabuchi) to write a song that would be like LiSA, a song that would cheer everyone up, and that's how it turned out. There are claps and calls, and it's a song that everyone can build up together at a live performance." LiSA actually got into the groove while the song was playing, waving her hands in the air, dancing, and demanding claps. The audience responded in kind, creating the most passionate atmosphere of the day. The performance was also very energetic, and Okamura and LiSA revealed the secret of this by talking over each other.

Okamura: "The sheet music for LiSA's songs is just chord notation, and the members often improvise their own phrases."
LiSA: "For both vocals and performance, we first record a tight take, and then record a take that we enjoy with all our might at the end. When Gendamu says, "You guys can do it! the tension of the members changes (laughs).
(Laughs.) "It's very groovy, isn't it?" says Nomura in response.
When talking seriously, the bass player and the drummer are going at it all the time without holding back. But LiSA's vocals and guitar are just as good as the bass and drums, which is amazing. （Katsuhiko Kurosu (arranger and bassist) really elaborates."
LiSA: "Make it crazy!　I asked Mr. Kurosu (laughs).