Interview] Passionate vocals that give you courage! ASCA releases new single "Howling

ASCA is releasing "Howling," the opening theme song for the TV anime "The Lesser Students of Magical High School: The Visitors" as its seventh single. It was written from the point of view of Lina, a major character from the current season. At the same time, the song contains a strong message for everyone living in the current era. The limited time-only edition with an anime jacket also includes a cover of "grilletto," the second opening theme from the first season! (Original artist is GARNiDELiA) We talked to ASCA, who delivers the best single ever!

The song depicts Leena's thoughts and feelings while reaching out to everyone living in the present!

─ When did you start working on "Howling"?

We released ASCA 's first album "New Currents" and ASCA's first tour was in December 2019, so we started working on the song shortly after that. So the production itself was finished before the period of self-restraint due to Corona.

───Then you got caught up in the Corona disaster, didn't you?

ASCA Yes, our scheduled tour from April was postponed (and later cancelled), and the events we were invited to were also cancelled, both in Japan and abroad. I accepted that it was inevitable, but it was really frustrating to announce the cancellation on social networking sites while apologizing to everyone, and for the first time in my life, I cried with regret. I think "Howling" was the reason I was able to inspire myself in the midst of all the anxiety I was feeling.

─ What was it about "Howling" that inspired you?

ASCA I wrote the lyrics myself this time, but I had received an offer from the anime staff to write the lyrics from the perspective of Lina (Angelina Kudou-Shields), a new character in "The Inferior Students of Magical High School: The Visitor Arc". As I read the original novel, I was really inspired by Leena's way of life. The theme of raising our voices together in the chaotic times where we don't know what will happen tomorrow came to mind. Leena is a very strong girl.

─ She is an amazing person, an exchange student from America and a magician of the strongest class.


ASCA She is strong and cute, and I fell in love with her very quickly. Lina is a member of an organization, but she has a strong desire to live her life in this way, and she is conflicted but looking forward to the future, which overlaps with my own life. I am not as strong as Leena, but I have hit the wall many times in my singing career, and there were moments when I didn't believe in myself, but I was able to keep going. I wrote the lyrics to "Howling" with these thoughts in mind, so it became a song that empowered me. Moreover, there are parts that overlap with the current situation, so I think the song is relevant to everyone who is still alive.

─ I felt that the lyrics contain a powerful message.

ASCA I think it's great that we are alive today. This song contains the will to raise our voices together with everyone who is trying their best to live in such a day-to-day life.

─ ─ "Just being alive is great" is a phrase that we hear quite a bit nowadays, isn't it?

ASCA I think we are at that point in our lives. I think the hurdle to living has been lowered in my mind, and I have been thinking that I have to be perfect, that I have to deliver better songs and better live performances, and that somehow I have narrowed my perspective. But after the period of self-restraint, I began to think that just being alive is a good thing. I think that the lyrics of "Howling" can push people's backs because they say it with confidence.

───The music is composed and arranged by Saku, with whom you have worked on many songs, including the debut single "KOE. What kind of discussions did you have regarding the music?

ASCA Saku was also a band member of the "New Currents" tour, and we started working on the song right after the tour, so we decided to make a band sound that would look good in a live performance. ASCA's previous songs have often had dramatic compositions with strings, so this was a new challenge for us. If we hadn't toured together, I don't think we would have come up with this kind of song.

─ I think the band sound fits the power of the lyrics.

ASCA The band was in top gear from the beginning. The view that the fans showed me at the live concert was the driving force for this song, and it broadened my vision, which had become a bit narrow. So the part of the lyrics "You're not alone" has a great meaning for me, and I put it in all the choruses.

─ So you are saying that this is a message you want to convey to everyone.

ASCA Yes, it is. At the same time, it is a message to myself. There were times when I thought I was lonely, but when I entered the period of self-restraint and spent more time alone, I wondered why I had thought I was lonely. I had the support of all my fans, the staff, and all these wonderful people, and I was able to deliver my songs. I have sung lyrics with similar messages in the past, but I don't think I have ever sung a song with as much conviction as I did this time.

─ ─ The vocals were also really powerful. How was the recording process?

ASCA It was just before the voluntary restraint period, so I wondered when I would be able to sing in the studio again, and I put everything I could into the song. When I heard the finished song, I thought, "The vocals are so loud. The vocals express the urgency to deliver this message now.

───What did you put into the title "Howling"?

ASCA The chorus of the song says, "Keep shouting," so I named it "Howling" because I wanted to raise my voice together with everyone in these times.