nanami, who sings NEXT 2 U, releases her second full-length album!

Hiroyuki Sawano said to me, "You are an ex-yan, aren't you? (laugh).

─ I think many anime fans got to know Nanami through the TV anime "Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096. SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]'s single "Into the Sky EP," which includes "Next 2 U -eUC-" sung as "SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:naNami," was released on June 29, 2016, followed by your 2nd album "Light in the Darkness" will be released on July 6, right?

Nanami: Yes. I made this album with an eye to reaching people who know me from the anime.

─ ─ I wondered what kind of person Hiroyuki Sawano's new female artist "Nanami" was, and when I looked at her official website, I was surprised by her checkered profile.

Nanami Nanami, there was a dark period (laughs). If I wasn't doing music, I probably wouldn't want to remember those days, but now that I am expressing myself, they have become my treasures. Many people tell me that they can relate to my experiences from those days when I write songs about them.

─ ─ You became a recluse when you were 14 years old, and it was then that you encountered music, which gave you a ray of light.

Nanami: I didn't go to school and continued to listen to music on the Internet. In fact, I also loved anime and watched a lot of it.

─ So you incorporated a lot of different things into your life.

Nanami: I liked all kinds of music, including Western music and anime songs. I used to go to karaoke alone and do anime songs! I would sing Whitney Houston after "Sailor Fuku. When it came to music, I didn't want to be bound to one genre. That feeling is the same now that I am a singer-songwriter, and that is why I like people like Hiroyuki Sawano and Yoko Kanno who create dramatic accompaniment for anime. I like people like Hiroyuki Sawano and Yoko Kanno, who change the music in seven different ways to accompany the work.

─ ─ So you knew Mr. Sawano before you worked with him on "Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096"?

Nanami: I knew him, or rather, I was a big fan. When I was living in Oita, I saved my part-time job money to go to Tokyo to see SawanoHiroyuki [nZk] perform live. I forgot my glasses, and I didn't want to be unable to see the stage, so I had to buy new ones in Tokyo (laughs).

───So, you were invited to be a guest vocalist for SawanoHiroyuki[nZk], .......

Nanami: I was incredibly happy. Actually, I saw on Twitter that Sawano-san was looking for a vocalist for his next work, and I told my manager that I definitely wanted to apply.

─ Did you work with the musicians who were working with Mr. Sawano, Nanami?

Nanami: I asked the staff members to invite me. I respect all the musicians that Mr. Sawano uses. I also wanted Mr. Sawano to notice my presence through the musicians (laughs).

─ So, as a result, your wish was granted.

Nanami: But it seems that Sawano-san had heard from the musicians that I was an "ex-yan girl. As soon as I met him, he asked me, "Are you an ex-yan girl? (laugh).

─ ─ That is very typical of you, Mr. Sawano (laughs).

Nanami: The music he makes is cool, and his unpretentious personality is also attractive. During the recording session, he tried to calm me down by saying things like, "Please don't get mad at me," and teasing me about the fact that I was a former delinquent. It was a pleasure to hear Mr. Sawano's direction through my headphones, and I felt as if I had used up all the luck in my life (laughs). I even thought I sang "Next 2 U -eUC-" better than any of my previous songs.

─ By the way, who came up with the name "naNami" for SawanoHiroyuki [nZk]?

Nanami: That was me!　I thought it was very Sawano-san-like to mix upper and lower case letters, so I asked him to use this notation.