Interview] The theme is puberty. Shikano releases her third album "rye", a double album of originals and covers.

Shikano, a singer who hails from a video site and has sung numerous anime and game theme songs, will release her third album "rye. The theme of the album is "puberty. The title "rye" refers to rye, and is taken from the eternal coming-of-age novel "Catcher in the Rye. It should be noted that the album is a two-disc set: "Side-A" contains the latest seven original songs, including two TV anime theme songs, and "Side-B" is an acoustic set of covers of vocaloid songs she has sung in the past. This work is a rich taste of Shikano's gentle singing voice.
On November 25, 2018, Shikano appeared in front of the camera at a live "unveiling press conference. What a figure she was! 　This interview took place just before she donned her "Bambi-chan" costume for the first time. First, we asked her how she felt about it.

From now on, I will appear in front of everyone in a Bambi-chan costume!

Bambi-chan was unveiled to the public at a live "press conference" on November 25, but I had a chance to see it before that. But I was able to see it earlier than that.

Shikano: I'm going to try it on for the first time today. When I read the instructions, it said, "It's extremely hot and heavy, but hang in there" (laughs). But it was really cute, so I'm looking forward to wearing it.

──Who came up with the idea for the stuffed animal?

Shikano: A staff member. At first I thought it was a joke, and I was just smiling, but then I realized they were serious. But I thought it was a good target. There are no other singers who wear stuffed animals, are there?

───The ladybug was perched on the deer ears.

Shikano: That's cute, isn't it? The person who designed it improvised it. I can add ribbons and other accessories later, so I would like to change the accessories for each season.

─ ─ I look forward to seeing Bambi-chan in action in the future (laughs). Now, today's main topic is about your 3rd album "rye. It is a 2-CD set including both originals and covers, with a total of 14 songs, and it was very satisfying to listen to.

Shikano: I had a feeling of going back to my roots, of valuing my fans and my own activities once again. At the same time, the theme of the album was "adolescence. I wondered when was my adolescence since I started working as Shikano? I wondered when I was singing Jin-san's and kemu's songs. That's why we decided to make a two-disc set, Side-A (original version) and Side-B (cover version).

─ ─ It must be great for your fans to be able to listen to the cover songs of that time again.

Shikano: I wanted people to know what I would sound like if I sang the songs now. Through my musical activities, I have absorbed many things, and now I am able to express my emotions in this way. I would be happy if you could feel the difference.

─ ─ The cover version is an acoustic version of all the songs. I was glad to hear that too.

Shikano: Thank you very much. My hope is to do acoustic versions in my live performances in the future. In that sense, I decided to start with the soundtrack.

─ How do you feel about the content of the original version?

Shikano: First of all, I really wanted to have Jin-san write the music. The lead song, "Q" & "A," is a song that fulfilled my wish. The other songs were also written by the creators I had hoped for, making it a cohesive piece. There are some intense songs and some uplifting songs, but overall I think it is an album that can be listened to in a relaxed manner.

─ What is the meaning of the title "rye"?

Shikano: It is "rye" from "Catcher in the Rye. I decided on this title because I wanted to sing about the struggles of adolescence.

─ I see, so it is "rye" from "Catcher in the Rye".

Shikano: That's right. And although the spelling is different, it is also a pun on the word "lie. I thought that if I kept on saying that I wanted to be this way and that I wanted to be this way, then someday the lie would really change. I chose this title with these various meanings in mind.