Interview] An album featuring songs from the "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" series sung by Ayaon, including the new song "Analogy," is now available!

Ayane sings the opening theme "Analogy" for "Higurashi When They Cry Graduated" which started in July 2021. Along with "Analogy," an album "Analogy ~Ayane HIGURASHI Song Collection~" will be released, which includes all the "Higurashi" songs she has sung in the past.
She first sang the theme song for "Higurashi When They Cry" with the single "Grief in the Forest" released in February 2007. She has continued to sing theme songs for video games, and in 2020, she finally made her first foray into an anime series with "God's Syndrome," the ending theme for the "Higurashi When They Cry Industry. This album contains 13 "Higurashi" songs in total. The album also traces Ayane's career as an artist.
We asked Ayane, who has been a big fan of the "Higurashi" series since before she sang the theme songs, to talk about the songs from "Analogy" through the years!

While the songs are from the same "Higurashi" series, the lineup is very diverse!

The "Analogy - Ayaon HIGURASHI Song Collection" is an album that includes the opening theme song "Analogy" for the current TV anime "Higurashi When They Cry Graduated" as well as all the theme songs from the "Higurashi" series that Ayaon has sung up until now. When I learned about this project, how did you feel about it? How did you feel when you heard about this project?

Ayane: When it was decided that I would sing the opening theme for "Higurashi When They Cry Graduated," I heard from the staff that they were going to release an album that would include that theme song. I have sung many theme songs mainly for the "Higurashi When They Cry" game, and I had always hoped to someday release an album of those songs, so I was really happy.

─ The first "Higurashi" song you sang was "Grief in the Woods," the opening theme for the PS2 game "Higurashi When They Cry Festival," back in 2007.

Ayane: "Grief in the Woods" and "Complex Image" (the opening theme for the PS2 game "Higurashi When They Cry Festival: Mio Zasshihen") were released simultaneously as singles, and both became standard songs at our live performances. So, the release of the CD was a good opportunity for me. Therefore, I was not aware that it had been 14 years since the CD was released. Looking back at the time of release of the songs on the CD, I felt a variety of emotions.

─ What did you think about the time when "Grief in the Woods" was released?

Ayane: When I recorded the song, it had not been that long since my debut, and I was able to meet many fans for the first time through my involvement in the big "Higurashi When They Cry" project. Higurashi When They Cry" is a work about the bonds between friends, and by singing its theme song, I believe I was able to form a bond with my fans.


─ ─ This may be a big question, but what is "Higurashi When They Cry" like for you?

Ayane: It's a story about a peaceful life where people happily go to school and participate in club activities, but then suddenly a tragedy strikes, and because you love your friends, you start to have doubts and fears about them. This work made me realize once again that great love can turn into intense hatred. I loved "Higurashi When They Cry" even before I sang "Grief in the Woods" and "Complex Image," so it gave me great pleasure when I was asked to sing the theme song for the game. I was also very excited when I was asked to sing the theme song for the TV anime "Higurashi When They Cry Industry" last year.

─ Many of the "Higurashi" songs sung by Ayane also focus on the bonds between friends. And when I listened to all the songs on this album, I was surprised at the variety of sounds.

Ayane That's right. While there is a major axis, each piece tells a different story, and the songs are diverse accordingly.

─ ─ The album contains a total of 13 songs, including new songs. What I would like to note is the order of the songs, which are not arranged in the order in which they were released.

Ayane: Starting with "God's Syndrome" (ending theme of the TV anime "Higurashi When They Cry Industry"), we tried to create a natural flow that makes it easy to listen to the whole album, and finally, "Irregular Entropy" (new ending theme of the TV anime "Higurashi When They Cry Industry"). The order of the songs is to come back to "Irregular Entropy" (new ending theme of TV anime "Higurashi When They Cry") at the end.

─ I thought that the two songs of "Kyo" coming at the beginning and the end made a circle, and the composition made me want to listen to all the songs over and over again on a loop.