EGOIST takes on the challenge of Keisuke Ito's world - [Project Itoh] theme song singles for all three films are now available.

Slaughterhouse", "Harmony", and "Empire of the Corpse", the three feature-length works of novelist Keisuke Ito, who passed away in 2009 at the young age of 34, will be adapted into a series of animated feature films under the name "Project Itoh". EGOIST sings the theme songs for all of them, produced by ryo (supercell) and featuring chelly on vocals. EGOIST started out as an artist within the "Guilty Crown" anime. Now they have stepped out of the framework of the work and are expanding the scope of their activities as a real existence. Their dark and serious musicality is suitable for the theme songs of the three [Project Itoh] works. We asked the vocalist CHELLY to talk about each of these songs.

I still have the feeling that YUZURIHA Inori is singing.

─ ─ EGOIST originally existed as a fictional web artist, with YUZURIHA Inori, a character from the TV anime "Guilty Crown," as the vocalist. ryo of supercell produced the sound, and the OP & ED of "Guilty Crown" were also produced by EGOIST. EGOIST will be in charge of the OP&ED of "Guilty Crown," so you were chosen to sing the actual song, right?

chelly Yes. So I thought that EGOIST's activities would end when "Guilty Crown" finished airing. Then I heard that EGOIST was going to sing the theme song for another anime work, and I was happy to hear that I could still sing.

I thought that EGOIST's music would be more suited to hard-edged works than supercell's, even though they are both ryo-san's works.

chelly It's more gothic. Starting with "Guilty Crown," we have been able to come this far without losing sight of the core of the unit. I have sung theme songs for relatively dark works, and I think my voice is also suited for that type of work.

─ ─ From your point of view, how do you think ryo perceives EGOIST?

chelly: I think that you value my will and sensibility, and my activities as EGOIST are a precious opportunity for me to think about singing, and I feel fulfilled. I enjoy it more than anything else, and I hope that my enjoyment will be conveyed to the listeners as well.

─ ─ I think you were singing with the character of YUZURIHA Inori in mind when you were singing for "Guilty Crown," but how do you feel now that you have sung theme songs for various works?

chelly: Even now, I use images of YUZURIHA Inori in my live performances, so I try not to blur the fact that Inori is singing. At the same time, now that the frame of "Guilty Crown" is gone, I am starting to sing my own songs. When I sing, Inori and myself are mixed together, and I'm thinking of making the song even closer to the world of the work.

─ So EGOIST is a mixture of various elements: YUZURIHA Inori, chelly herself, and the main character sung in the song.

chelly You may be right, each song has a story and a main character, so I always think about what I can do to bring that world to life as I sing.

Ryo-san always writes songs that perfectly fit the work.

─ ─ In light of EGOIST's history up to now, let me ask you about the new single "Reloaded". The three songs on this single are theme songs for all three [Project Itoh] films.

chelly I wasn't told from the beginning that I would be singing the theme songs for all three films. ryo-san called me to record "Reloaded," the theme song for "Slaughterhouse".

───Then it became clear that you would sing the theme songs for the other two films, "Harmony" and "Empire of the Corpse"?

chelly Yes, that's right. Whenever a song was finished, ryo-san would say to me, "This is the next theme song" (laughs). (Laughs) We recorded the songs "Ghost of a smile" and "Door" in the order in which they were originally scheduled to be released.

──What is the usual process of recording vocals for EGOIST?

chelly: First of all, I was entrusted with all the vocals. After that, ryo-san gives me direction on the parts he is particularly particular about, saying, "This is what I want you to do," and we then weave it in and out.

─ As you mentioned earlier, chelly's sensibility is very important. I guess that means you have full confidence in her singing?

chelly I would be very happy if that were the case (laughs), but I am allowed to sing quite freely.

───Well, let me ask you about the songs one by one, in the order in which they are recorded on the CD. The title track "Reloaded" is the theme song for "Slaughterhouse", isn't it?

chelly It is the most intense of the three songs, and I am glad we were able to record it. It was a good start.

─ What did you pay attention to in the vocals?

chelly: Strength. It is a massive song, so I felt that if I relaxed even for a moment, I would lose out to the performance. I kept a sense of tension while singing from the beginning to the end. The song is aggressive, but also somewhat melancholy, so I tried to keep that atmosphere in mind.

───Being loud and melancholy at the same time is your specialty, isn't it?

chelly I wanted the vocals to build up in stages from the A-melody and B-melody to the chorus. I was asked to create waves as the song progresses, rather than a constant tone.

─ Did you sing along with any of the "Slaughterhouse Organ" characters, such as the main character, Kravis Shepard?

chelly No. I recorded the three songs for this project knowing very little about the work. The only things that helped me create an image were the lyrics, the main visual that was on the official website, and a few lines of the synopsis. I created my own image and sang it, and left the rest of the decision to ryo-san. ryo-san always creates songs that perfectly fit the world of the work, so I trusted him with that.

─ ─ Chelly, you sang facing the song itself.

chelly Yes, that's right. So I am looking forward to the completion of the film. So far, I have only seen "Empire of the Dead," but I was happy to see that "Door" fits the world of the film perfectly. I can't wait to see the images of "Slaughterhouse" and "Harmony" as well.