Interview] You can hear plenty of May'n's new songs this summer!　New single "Fang and Wings" and 2nd mini album "YELL! will be released at the same time!

May'n, who has been working more and more energetically after its 10th anniversary, has released a new single "Fangs and Wings" and a mini-album "YELL! Fangs and Wings" is the ending theme song for the TV anime "Butterfly Ki: Young Nobunaga" and was arranged by Junichi Sato of fhána, while "YELL! YELL! both of which are strong releases!

Fang and Wings" is a song that expresses the entire world of "Butterfly Ki" while depicting the thoughts and feelings of the returning butterflies!

─ ─ "Fang and Wings" is the ending theme for the TV anime "Butterfly Ki: Young Nobunaga". What was the concept behind the song?

May'n: "A song that is both masculine and feminine, and that evokes the image of a returning butterfly rather than Nobunaga," was the offer. After listening to the candidate songs, I chose this song written by Tomoya Kawasaki because I thought it best fit the worldview of the work, which takes place in the harsh conditions of the Warring States Period, where life and death are at stake.

─ Indeed, the melody has a sense of tension.

May'n In the demo stage, it was more aggressive and masculine. I thought that if I added a feminine softness to it through arrangement, it would fit the work better, so I thought about who I should ask to arrange it next.

───That's when you came up with Junichi Sato of fhána.

May'n This is the first time I have worked with you, but I have been listening to fhána's music for a long time, and I felt that all of your songs have an interesting beauty.

May'n──How did the arrangement change your impression of the song?

May'n It has a feminine softness, and at the same time, it has a Japanese taste. When I asked Mr. Sato to arrange the song, I was thinking that I could use Japanese instruments, but he suggested that I dare to use strings to create a Japanese sound. He created a wonderful song that evokes the Japanese world of "Butterfly Ki" without losing May'n's originality.

───The lyrics were written by Danni Miyagawa. What is your impression of the lyrics?

May'n The lyrics can be listened to with the image of Nobunaga and other characters, but I think that May ' n did a wonderful job of expressing Kicho's feelings. Kicho is a character who lives with many conflicts and secrets, and I could feel her inner strength in the lyrics. I also felt both strength and tenderness in the title "Fangs and Wings.

─ What did you pay attention to when recording the vocals?

May'n It was still about beauty. I was conscious of singing smoothly and deliberately reducing the power of the parts that I would normally sing more strongly and aggressively. I believe that not only Kicho, but all of us live with secrets and conflicts in our hearts. I was able to sing the song with a realistic feeling by overlapping my own feelings with Kicho's way of life.

─ I think the lyrics, the sound, and the vocals made the song very grandiose.

May'n The song has a big world view, and rather than flying high in the sky, it gives us a sense of the expanse of the earth. I thought the down-to-earth feel of the song was also very feminine.

─ ─ I guess you could say that it is a song that is inclusive. I also saw the music video (MV), which was both masculine and feminine at the same time. The scene shot at a waterfall with a cave had a particular impact on me. That is the Nobizo Falls (Turtle Rock Cave) in Chiba Prefecture, isn't it?

May'n I only found out about it during this shoot, but it was a very beautiful spot. We shot early in the morning, but there were already many tourists there, and I felt sorry for them (laughs).

(Laughs) ──There is a magnificent scenery in the film, but May'n's costume is feminine, so there was a gap in a good way.

May'n The theme of the music video is to get out of the room and travel the wide world. The costume was soft purple with frilly lace, which I had never worn for work or private life, so it was fresh. But when I walked into the natural surroundings of rivers, lakes, and forests in that outfit, it conversely created a mysterious atmosphere. Most of the staff members for this music video were women, and I think it had a texture that could only be achieved by women.

─ ─ Since there is a lot of nature in the music video, it can be linked to the world of "Butterfly Ki".

May'n Strangely enough, there is a sense of time travel back hundreds of years. It was my first type of music video, partly because it was shot on a full-scale location.


─ The second song, "I Love You" is a very soft love song, isn't it?

May'n The main point of this song is that Chihiro Ozawa wrote the lyrics. She is a singer-songwriter and a friend of mine since high school. There are four of us who have been good friends since high school, and two of them have recently gotten married in succession. Chihiro and I often talk about marriage, so we decided to write a song about our shared feelings.

─ ─ The song starts with the lyrics "vivid stained glass", so it makes sense that marriage is the theme.

May'n I think it is amazing to be with someone forever. I love you" is indeed an important word, but it is not enough to make a life together. If you are together, you will fight, and you will see the other person's bad side. In such a situation, the one thing you can always say to the other person without changing is his or her name. I want to call your name all the time" is what I wanted to express most in this song, and that's how I came up with the title "'I Love You' What".

─ In that sense, it is a love song for adults, isn't it?

May'n Yes. I think I am able to sing this kind of song because I have gotten older, and as May'n, I feel that I have arrived at a song that I can sing only after 10 years.

─ ─ The third song, "Starring," is the first CD version of a song that was released in January 2019 for limited distribution and is the opening theme for the PC game "Stellar Girls - Do The Scientists Dream of Girls' Asterism? The song is energetic and catchy, and the lyrics were written by May'n herself.

May'n We have already performed this song live, and everyone gets really excited about it. I wrote the lyrics in line with the game's worldview and what I wanted to convey.

May'n - What was the theme of the song?

May'n It is a message from me to everyone: "Everyone is the hero of their own life. Only you can seize your future, and for that reason, I think it is important to believe in yourself first. I would be happy if you could feel the power to face tomorrow from this song.

───Negative feelings are also depicted in the lyrics, and I felt the depth of the song, which is not merely positive.

May'n Even if you are working hard toward a goal, you will inevitably have feelings of anxiety. I wanted to write a song that would help us seize tomorrow without turning our eyes away from that.