Interview] SawanoHiroyuki [nZk]'s new song "Binary Star" is a majestic ballad with vocals by Uru

SawanoHiroyuki[nZk], the vocal project of composer Hiroyuki Sawano, has released a new single, "Binary Star," the opening theme song for the TV anime "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These" and "Cage," the theme song for the "life-size Unicorn Gundam standing statue" at Odaiba's Diver City Tokyo. The two A-side singles are "Binary Star", the opening theme song for the TV anime "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These" and "Cage", the theme song for the "Full-Size Unicorn Gundam Standing Statue" at Odaiba Diver City Tokyo. Binary Star" features Uru, who sang "Freesia," the ending theme song for the TV anime "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphens," as the vocalist. The song is a magnificent ballad that matches the world of "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

I felt a story in Uru's voice.

─ ─ "Binary Star" is the opening theme for the TV anime "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These. What kind of requests did you have when creating the song?

Sawano: We wanted to use English lyrics instead of Japanese, and we also wanted it to be a ballad featuring strings. To begin with, past theme songs for "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes" had a musical style, so I thought this was a conscious decision to follow that trend.

─ So English lyrics, ballads, and strings were the first pillars of the song.

Sawano: Based on that, I envisioned a grand ballad like "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" sung by Aerosmith in the movie "Armageddon. I thought it would be interesting to create a song like that as an [nZk] project and have it match the work.

─ ─ Was this a new challenge for SawanoHiroyuki [nZk] as well?

Sawano: I don't think [nZk] has ever recorded a song with strings in an ensemble that includes both violins and cellos. Of course, we have done so in the accompaniment to a play.

───What kind of string formation did you use?

Sawano: Six first violins, four second violins, four violas, and two cellos. I think that is a large number of players for a singing piece.

─ ─ What was your impression of "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes" to begin with?

Sawano: Of course, I was aware of the existence of the work, but I had never been deeply involved with it. So, I was given materials on this work, and based on that, I started to formulate an image of the song. I decided to make one first and see how it would be received by the animation production side and how they would react to it. The work has a long history, but for me, it was like creating a completely new work.

─ ─ After understanding the world view to some extent, did you create the music based on your own unique image?

Sawano: Yes, that's right. If [nZk] was going to do this, I wanted to be conscious of the band sound. Strings are a must, but we created the song as a band sound.

Sawano: I think it turned out to be a magnificent rock song.

Sawano: I wanted to create a good combination of rock, orchestra, and ballad. When arranging a song with strings, what I consider most important is the interlude. The moment you get into the interlude, it takes on a soundtrack-like approach, so the key point is how you get the strings to play. It had been a while since I was able to record strings so I put a lot of energy into the interludes.

─ ─ This is a part that cannot be heard in the TV size version.

Sawano: That's right. I hope you will pay attention to that part on the CD (laughs).

───The vocalist is Uru. What was the reason for choosing her?

Sawano: There were vocalists like Tielle and Gemie that I have worked with in the past, but this time I thought I would work with someone new. After creating the song, I searched for a vocalist who would fit the song, and I thought that Uru's voice would be the best fit.

─ What do you find attractive about Uru's vocals?

Sawano: I thought she had a mysterious atmosphere, including her visual image. From the videos I have seen of her, there are no songs where she sings strongly, so I was curious to see how her vocals would sound if she sang my songs in a strong way. I wondered how it would blend with the music. When she actually sang "Binary Star," I felt that her singing voice conveyed a story.

─ So you wanted to go in a different direction from the songs you had sung before?

Sawano: Yes, I did. I have often asked vocalists I have worked with to do so. I don't do it on purpose, but I want to ask them to take a different approach to the music. This time, too, I thought it would be best to have Uru sing the quiet parts of the A melody and B melody the same way as before, but I asked him to sing the chorus stronger, and I wondered how it would turn out.

Sawano──Did you want to bring out her new charm as a vocalist?

Sawano: No, no, it's too much to ask to bring out the best (laughs). (Laughs.) The same has been true for all of the previous artists, but I am working with people who are skilled, so I guess I am being saved. I think it means that they are flexible enough to respond to new approaches that we ask them to take.

─ How was the recording of the vocals?

Sawano: Since the song was written in English, I had mpi and Benjamin, who wrote the lyrics, sit in on the recording. They gave me advice on the pronunciation, but I proceeded as usual, focusing on the song as it came out of her. The only thing I specifically asked was for her to sing the chorus stronger. At first it seemed like a lot of work, but the vocals came out stronger and stronger.

─ What kind of lyrics did you ask the two lyricists to write?

Sawano: As I always do, I asked them to be conscious of the world of the work, but not to lean too much on it. I also asked that the lyrics be positive. What I emphasize in English lyrics is not so much the content of the lyrics, but rather how they sound and how they fit into the sound.

─ ─ I guess the title "Binary Star" refers to Reinhardt and Jan Wenley, doesn't it?

Sawano: The two lyricists must have had that in mind when they named the song, but I myself thought it sounded great when uttered as a word, matching the sound of the song. Rather than being strongly conscious of the "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" character of the lyrics and sound, I hoped that fans would feel that this approach might also fit the "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" theme. I hope that fans will enjoy the music when superimposed on the opening image.