Interview】JUNNA released a new song "Iruimi" produced by Kenshi Furuya!

JUNNA, a high school singer with a high singing ability and supported by many fans, has released her second single for 2019, "Illuimi," which is already on air as the ending theme for the TV anime "BEM. The song is notable for its sound production by Kenshi Furuya, a.k.a. Kj of Dragon Ash. It is a soft and deep rock ballad that is different from the powerful songs she has sung in the past. The vocals also have an airy feel to them. It was a song that showed a new JUNNA.

I asked for a ballad that leaned more toward rock, and "Illumi" was born.

─ Did you know the original "Humanoid Monster Bem"?

JUNNA I don't know the anime, but I watched the live-action drama when I was in elementary school. When this tie-up was decided, I looked up the old anime and was surprised to see that the pictures were completely different from "BEM.

─ ─ "Humanoid Monster Bem" was reborn with a new look, wasn't it? Its ending theme "Iruimi" was produced by Kenshi Furuya of Dragon Ash.

JUNNA: "I was told, 'I'm going to ask a great person to write the ending theme for "BEM," so please look forward to it. I had always wondered who would write the song, and when I heard your name, I was honestly happy. My mother knows Dragon Ash and was very surprised when I told her that he was going to produce the album. My first impression of Mr. Furuya was that he is a songwriter who makes songs in which the words directly touch you, while placing importance on the melody and sound. So I was really looking forward to seeing how the song would turn out.

─ Did you receive "Illumi" with the lyrics and music completed?

JUNNA No, Mr. Furuya sent me the backing track first, but there was no melody. He wanted to know the range and sound of the vocals, so he asked me to freely put the sounds I had in mind that I wanted to sing on the soundtrack.

─ That's interesting. First of all, he wanted me to make a melody freely based on my own inspiration.

JUNNA That's right. It was the first time for me to add a melody to a backing track, so I was worried, but I managed to sing it and handed it over.

───That means you also participated in the composition in a sense, didn't you?

JUNNA No, my melody was not included in the finished product (laughs). (laughs) It was only for Mr. Furuya to get an idea of how I sounded. But it was fun to put a melody on a rhythm track. I could say, "Why don't you add a little more here?" or "Why don't you go a little higher?" I worked while receiving advice from the director.

───So, when did you meet Mr. Furuya for the first time?

JUNNA It was before I started this recording. Mr. Furuya, myself, and the staff had a meeting, and we started by talking about anime, and I first told him about our order. I also told them what kind of song I wanted to sing.

───What exactly did you talk about?

JUNNA I told them that I wanted them to write a medium-tempo song, and that most of the ballads I had sung in the past had piano as the main part, so this time I wanted to sing a ballad that is more rock-oriented.

─ ─ "Iruimi" has a strong rhythm and is definitely rock-oriented, isn't it?

JUNNA Yes. I thought it was a cool song, just like Furuya-san.

───The lyrics are also written by Mr. Furuya. What was your impression of the lyrics?

JUNNA I had an order for the lyrics, and he wrote them in the image of Bella. Bella in "BEM" is a high school student like me, so I thought I could sing from the same perspective. I thought that Ms. Furuya's lyrics were very easy to sing, as I could feel the feelings of a girl of my generation. I wanted to express the sadness of wanting to be human but not being able to, which is in line with the story, and I wanted to express that well as the ending theme.


─ How was the recording process?

JUNNA Mr. Furuya took the lead in directing the recording. It was the first time for me to have a vocalist direct me, and I was able to learn a lot from Mr. Furuya's skills, such as "There are other ways to sing this way, and it is easier to sing this way.

───Junna, how did you yourself plan to sing "Illumi"?

JUNNA At first, I was going to sing strongly like I usually do. But Mr. Furuya directed me to "try singing a little softer". I recorded the song with a gentle expression, something I had never done before.

─ So it was a new challenge for you as a vocalist?

JUNNA Yes. If I had sung with my usual strong voice, I would not have been able to get the effect of two layered voices. I thought that by using two gentle voices, I could create this kind of atmosphere.

─ It sounds as if it has a floating feeling. Combined with the background music, it seems to create an air of pre-dawn haze.

JUNNA I think it is because you expressed Bella's feelings rather than pushing through with rock in terms of sound. The song has a cool rock sound, but at the same time it is very gentle.

JUNNA──What was your own impression of Ms. Furuya?

JUNNA It is partly because I am shy, but unlike the type of men I am usually around at work, I couldn't talk at all in the beginning. But he was very kind to me during the recording session. At the end, I was really happy to hear him say, "You have a nice singing voice," which gave me confidence to sing "Iruimi" from now on.