This month's issue focuses on solo works of Aqours members including Akatsu Saito, Nanaka Suwa, and Aina Suzuki! [Monthly Seiyu Artists Bulletin, November 2020 issue

In November 2020, the three members of the voice actor unit "Aqours" released a series of solo artists' works, and we would like to review their sounds and their thoughts through their songs. We would like to discuss the sound of each song and the feelings they deliver through their songs.

SUNFLOWER / Akatsu Saito
Akatsu Saito's second mini-album "SUNFLOWER" was released on November 11. The lead song, "Senshinzenrei," is a synth-rock number based on notes that Ms. Saito wrote during the period of self-restraint from going out, with the full throttle of her engine in mind for the live space with her fans. The following "It's the moon, it's the stars, it's the sun!" also depicts the synergistic, positive relationship between himself and his fans.

The lyrics to this song were written by Aki Hata, who is also well-known as Aqours, and it is a song that has never seemed to be on Saito's track list ......, but rather makes you wonder "How did I ever live without this song? It is a song that is so fitting to Saito's career as an artist that it makes one wonder how she ever lived without it.

Another song on the album that was particularly playful was "Dear My Men," produced by DJ Misoshiru and MC Gohan. In this song, Saito took on the challenge of rapping for the first time, and the song is just as exquisite and loose as a singing rap song, with a flow that makes you want to shake your shoulders slowly, a chorus in the upper register that is layered to make the song even catchier toward the hook, and the cheerful cowbell and scratches that ring throughout the song. The song is full of comfortable elements.

By the way, the title "My Men" does not mean "my men," but rather "noodles," which is her favorite word on ....... It is her favorite "noodle. The lyric "Yurero "HEY"" that appears toward the end of the song is also unique in that it is a double meaning: the lyric is a hip-hop way to "get the floor going" and at the same time sings about noodles being boiled in a pot (and in the middle part of the song, she sings "Itadakimasu! Itadakimasu! ), but it takes about two and a half minutes from the beginning of the playback to the same phrase. ) The trained Zhu Xiajin and others may have already sipped their cup noodles with the "ideal al dente" flavor.

Her debut album "Kutsuhimo," released in August 2019, was a piece in which Ms. Saito confronted a weak part of herself that she had not shown until that time, but this album is a piece in which we can fully feel the innocence that everyone imagines, or more specifically, the "Akatsu Saito as Akatsu Saito. The first single, released in November of the same year, was a single album that faced the world. With the three albums to date, including the first single "36°C/Papapa" released in November of the same year, we can finally enjoy the music filled with the personality of Akatsu Saito in a form that is close to perfection. Furthermore, as represented by the song "Himawari," which compares herself to the sun and her fans to sunflowers, the songs on this album are all about cheering them on in high spirits as they go about their daily lives. This straightforward attitude symbolizes more than anything what she wants to deliver as an artist.

Color me PURPLE / Nanaka Suwa

Nanaka Suwa released her mini-album "Color me PURPLE" on November 4. This is her second release, and the concept of the album was based on her favorite color "purple. However, even though the color purple is the same, it is different in shade and brightness, such as "morning glow" in "Morning glow" and "lilac" which has "first love" in the language of flowers in "Lilac". The shades and brightness/saturation of the colors vary from song to song. Likewise, Ms. Suwa's voice is richly expressive like a gradation, which is a key point in deciphering this album.

For example, compare the glossy, chaotic "Poison Girl" and the bouncy piano rock song "I want to sway. Both songs are about love, but the former has a more rushed, thorny voice than the other songs to complement the somewhat paranoiac aspect of the lyrics. On the other hand, in the latter song, which is a sequel to the song "Melting Like" from the first album, the song is about the thought that "the progress of love depends on one's own courage," and the song's bouncy tone of voice echoes the feelings of being slightly flustered by such a situation. In other words, it is possible to hear the aforementioned Saito's voice.

In other words, if Mr. Saito's style of singing is to face the listener head-on, Mr. Suwa's style is to become the main character of the song and let the audience enjoy the various vocal arrangements, in other words, to deliver a complete show. The production director for this work is Tetsuya Inoue, who has also worked with Aya Uchida and others. His technique of weaving together a sense of unity, mainly girls' rock, which is his forte, while at the same time incorporating songs of various tastes into a single album, was certainly felt in "Color me PURPLE" as well. For a deeper understanding of this, please refer to the disc review he has written in person (Reference: " Color me PURPLE" All Songs Review ).

■More Highly / Aina Suzuki

Aina Suzuki's second single "Motto Takaku" was released on November 18. The title song is the opening song of the TV anime "Iwakakeru! - Sport Climbing Girls -" and is a refreshing pop number used as the opening theme. It is a song that represents the feelings of girls who aim to reach "higher" physically and mentally through sport climbing.

In this song, Ms. Suzuki demonstrates a high affinity with the mid-tempo track, with her natural ability to express the subtleties of her vocals in a dignified yet delicate manner. However, the "fist" in her singing, which she has developed through her folk singing skills and which can now be considered her originality, is not particularly apparent in this song. Since the song is a tie-in song for an anime, she was conscious of singing with a less fist so that the message of the song would be conveyed smoothly.

This is not only true for Ms. Suzuki, but her approach to expanding her range of expression through anime tie-in songs is more like that of an ani-song singer than that of a voice actor artist. In addition, she has always had a strong desire to sing, as evidenced by her participation in the "Anime Song Grand Prix" when she was a student, so it may be more accurate to describe her style as "a voice actress artist who also has the face of an anime song singer. In addition, she is scheduled to appear in October as a member of the "Takatsuki" group.

In addition, Kanako Takatsuki made her debut as a solo artist with the single "Anti world" in October, and Ai Furuhata is scheduled to release her 2nd mini album "Make Up" on December 23. Ai Furuhata's second mini-album "Make Up" is scheduled to be released on December 23. Ms. Furuhata, in particular, has released "Moonrise," a serious revival of 1980s sounds, in the short span of only three months, and her full range of activities can be clearly seen.

Including Ms. Takatsuki and Mr. Furuhata, most of the above five have already released their second or third works. Because of such timing, we can not only predict the future direction of each artist, but also enjoy in real time the freedom of expression that has been expanded by the number of works through the lyrics and sounds of their songs. We look forward to following the girls' activities with great anticipation in the coming year and beyond.

(Text by Kota Ichijo)