[Translation] Miyashita Yuu - Skream! Interview 29/12/2018

宮下 遊　Skream! インタビュー

Interviewer: 秦 理絵

Original Link: Skream!

Interviewee: Miyashita Yuu 「宮下遊」 

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Translator's Notes:

I have a few backlog of his other interviews to translate but I really liked this interview bc he's painfully honest so I decided to rush this one out! lol
The interviewer really knows their stuff and this makes the whole flow really natural. As usual I 'adapt' into English toning to capture the same vibe, so it may not be a word-to-word translation. Enjoy!

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I like the whispery-voice tenth track, "Honoo".
It's like a series of boiling emotions within the subdued sounds, isn't it? I've always liked whispery voices in the first place, and I began to be able to sing that way myself.

Do you like music that are like post-rock or shoegazer?
I like shoegazer.

I thought so. Isn't that an unusual genre for utaites?
Yes, I don't think there's a lot. Rather than most energetic electronic rock songs in what we call the trending list on NicoNico Douga (NND) or Youtube, songs that slowly permeate the soul suit me better. I like songs that are close to BGM or game soundtracks. Though when we put these together it basically just says that I like dark music (laughs). Of course a lot of popular songs on NND are wonderful songs, I also sang/covered a few of them, but as far as enjoyment goes, I enjoy recording/singing them more [than listening].

Who's your favorite artist?
I like YUKI. The music I listen to are mostly BGM or game music, YUKI is probably the only human singer I actively listen to. (T/N: really tho...?i recall he also listens to MYTH&ROID...)

What made you want to become an utaite?
Originally, I went to an arts school.

Right, you're also an illustrator, am I correct?
Yes. I was in illustration major, at that time I had not dabbled in music yet. During that period, I made friends with people from voice acting and entertainment arts majors, and when we went to karaoke for the first time, I realized I actually could sing. My mind went like, "Wait, maybe I could even sing better (than them)" (laughs).
NND was also very popular at that time, and after watching some of the videos, I thought "I could probably do better, right?" I really had that confidence with no basis at all!
Not long afterwards, I bought microphones and started covering songs.

Do you remember which was the first song you covered?
It's a song from No. D titled "Seeker".

Did you plunge in and continued on as an utaite from that point on?
Yes. For a short period of time I just sang without really thinking too much, but afterwards I felt like if I stayed that way, I would never be able to move to the next level. I wanted a breakthough, and that was when BousouP released a 'tongue-twister' kind of song titled "ANTI THE∞HOLiC" and I covered it. I inserted a few spoken lines in the video that were not in the original song, and the views really shot up by a lot.

And how long was that after you started singing?
About a year. I realized it's possible to achieve concrete results if I just gave things a deeper thought.

There are a lot of ways to showcase your music, was there any particular reason you chose to enter the online utaite/Vocaloid scene?
Maybe because it's similar to art, being able to do something in line with how drawing works really affects. When you draw, you start with lines, and add the colors in. That's how I approach both drawing and music. Disregarding the difference in forms, in terms of the know-hows, they're actually quite similar as well.

By the way, you realized you could sing when you went to karaoke for the first time - did you enroll in any music classes afterwards?
No, I'm self taught. Instead of attending special courses, I put in my effort for something I wanted to do. For example, the whisper voice that we spoke about earlier - I've gone through a long growing journey from thinking "I want to do this!" to the point I'm at now. Originally I could only sing well in softer songs, but over these two years, I've also began to sing more rougher-sounding songs.

In this album, Roki is an example of your 'rough' singing right?
Yes, and "Voracity" or "Melty Land Nightmare" as well. My normal way of singing is like "Unknown Mother Goose" or "Ao e Mukau". There's also the 'silky' singing in "Butaisei Nanika". I'm slowly adding more of these into my arsenal.

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You made a major debut two years ago with "Tsumugi no Ki" (first album released in 2016). What motivated you for that?
It seemed like a good year, so I wanted to get some results. I aimed to reach a higher stage, which I wouldn't be able to achieve alone.

Did you feel that you could not continue activities alone?
Rather than that, it's more like I ran out of things that I could do alone. I sang, I drew, I also got to compose songs about 5 years ago, and I released original art books and self-produced (doujin) albums as well. During that period, I and my friends participated in a live show (?*) too, so in the end there was nothing much left to do. I asked myself, do I want to continue my activities like this forever? And I thought it would be boring if I did.

How did you feel after releasing "Tsumugi no Ki" in response to those feelings?
Previously when I was releasing self-produced albums, it was only a small scale. Only the listeners who were following my music would know and it made them happy, that's all. My activities didn't spread out much. However, I genuinely felt "Tsumugi no Ki" brought me to a level that I had not reached before. The amount of my Twitter followers hugely increased as well. I think this kind of impact wouldn't have been possible if I were doing everything alone.

What were the gaps that "Tsumugi no Ki" filled in and gave you a sense of accomplishment?
I discovered a lot of new things after having songs written for me. Since the Vocaloid producers wrote the songs specifically for me, it really prompted me to think what could have gone through the composers' minds when they were composing those songs. That really improved my song interpretation skills and helped me increase my musical skills as well.

You also produced a series of Vocaloid songs before, and when making self-produced albums, you also did songwriting, composition, and arrangement. But you continued in "Tsumugi no Ki" and "Ao ni Aruku" as a singer. What are your thoughts?
I like myself as a singer. I like being a lyricist and composer as well, but by singing songs produced by Vocaloid producers, who have something I don't have, I hope to draw out things inside of me that I may not know I have.

I see.

Plus, haven't I been riding on Vocaloid producers' works all this time? Singing their songs helped me get into the utaite scene and become known. Therefore, I want to continue contributing back to them. Among the composers in this album, there are also those who are not largely famous. For example, Shannon-san who wrote Ao e Mukau has only been posting videos for a year. By having Shannon-san in my album, I hope more listeners will discover Shannon-san's music.

It's been two years since you were known as "Miyashita Yuu" after your previous works. What did these two years meant to you?
Besides posting cover videos, I also worked with seeeeecun for Doctrine Doctrine. It was a period for me to return to singing.
Previously I was tied up with composing and such, so since then onwards, I was able to solely focus on singing. That resulted in 2017 having the highest spike in views I've ever gotten ever since I started out 10 years ago. I thought it was a miracle. [In the beginning] it seemed like my releases were stagnant, there were people saying like, "Miyashita-kun, what are you doing?" while inside my mind, I was just content with having some progress. I felt like a dormant inflated marimo (laughs).
T/N: an example of what a floating marimo looks like

That's how you diligently exercised your singing muscles for your upcoming release, in this case "Ao ni Aruku".
It's really a two-year training session, indeed.

What were your production concept or aims for this album?
I tried to rid the sense of nostalgia. In "Tsumugi no Ki", since I re-recorded past covers, there were many songs dating a few years back. Listening to the album would make you think "Ah, this song is so nostalgic."
So when discussing the concept for this new album, I greedily asked if it's possible to have many new composed songs, a new anime song cover, or the like. I wanted a new twist to a new direction.

"A new twist", did you consider doing this to your previous works?
Well, I've been in the scene for 10 years after all, so those songs will likely be nostalgic in one way or another. That's why I tried to create an album with new songs that are more memorable to listeners instead. As such, I requested to have more newly composed songs and I was also quite particular when selecting which songs to include in the album.

The newly composed songs that you requested from Vocaloid producers seem to portray the theme of a new journey.
Yes. I asked for "something like a memento that helps in your travels", something around those lines.

What was the reason of choosing that theme?
Simply put, I've been in this scene for 10 years, I've been doing this for quite a long time, and I had moments where I ask myself "Do I want to remain in this status quo after 10 years?"
I stepped away from how my first album "Tsumugi no Ki" was, but not entirely since it's still a part of myself. I started from the online utaite scene so I definitely wouldn't want to disrespect or discredit those who are in this scene as well. Hence the first one is facing inwards while the remaining half only 2-3 songs are facing out.

It's all about the balance, isn't it?
I agree. I think listeners are also expecting a parting memento (?**) that is Miyashita Yuu, so I wouldn't want to stray away from that. The first album was an introductory, it's the stage of letting people to know "Ah, he can do this kind of thing as well!". However, this time it's more like "Please support this new side of me as well!" so the second album is a small step out from the usual.

That said, it's interesting how different all the new composed songs turned out to be despite the theme given being the same "New journey".
I think so too. It really shows the diversity of the characteristics, hence I also felt like I don't want to lose out as well.

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Normally, the vibe of a theme like "New journey" is more towards bright, refreshing, or positive though...
There's surprisingly none of such songs inside, right? (laughs) For example, in Kairiki Bear's "Telestoteles", the lyrics seem to say I've been walking solitarily for 10 years. Additionally, "mask" is the keyword in Kikuo's "Butaisei Nanika", the lyrics seem to symbolize how Miyashita Yuu has different selves. Shannon's "Ao e Mukau" expresses the way Miyashita Yuu wants to move forward. Teniwoha's "Seinen yo, Gimon wo Idake" has a messy playful vibe. Even though everyone was composing for the same Miyashita Yuu, they all approached it differently. No songs are the same.

All the songs together come together to express who "Miyashita Yuu" is.
I agree.

In Mah's "Honoo", there is a line that goes like this: "You are still alive within the flames", do you think this portrays you as well?
It's a representation of how I pushed on and never gave up. I've been doing this for 10 years, and yet I'm still here, watching. To illustrate, I and Soraru started on the same date. Despite our first post being the same day, he's already doing concerts in Yokohama Arena or Makuhari Messe, isn't he? A part of me says that I won't reach that level, but there's a part of me that doesn't want to give up too. I also think "I want to be like that too~". I think "Honoo" is a portrayal of the burning, neverending passion inside of me.

To reach such a deep understanding, did you and the composers keep in contact with each other?
Mah and I collaborated on Sect during the making of "Tsumugi no Ki" as well. The rest are friends whom I talk to on Twitter. I've known them for a long time, so I think that's how they got to understand me.

Musically speaking, there are a lot of exciting twists in the songs, aren't there? Kikuo's "Butaisei Nanika" itself is a tricky oriental song.
It's an incredible song. In the first (album), I covered Kikuo's original Vocaloid song, but I was honestly surprised when hearing the demo this time, it was a "How did you come up with something like this!!" moment. It was really a song that I couldn't even imagine.

It seems like a difficult song to sing since it's a song with shouts and screams.
After all the shouting in this song, I couldn't record anything for 2 days. My voice couldn't come out. My throat died after about 10 takes. (laughs)

"Seinen yo, Gimon wo Idake" is more of a pop, isn't it a bit different from the rest?
It's a catchy song, I'm happy that Teniwoha wrote this kind of song for me. Teniwoha's songs have an elaborate story, like the previous song written for me, "Kosho Yashiki Satsujin Jiken" from "Tsumugi no Ki". I'm happy Teniwoha wrote such a good song for me, it really gives a distinct feel to my album.

The last track on the album is "Ao e Mukau", composed by Shannon who is a relatively new Vocaloid producer. This is the only song which title has a direct link to the album title. Is there a background story to this?
I met up with Shannon and discussed about it for a while. When I spoke about the theme being a new journey, he asked "What should I focus on?" and I replied "Something like a farewell tribute." In terms of the melody, I said I wanted something a bit rustic, plus some distinctive, heavy chaffing percussion. Before that I already said the album will be titled "Ao ni Aruku" (T/N: Walking to the blue), so when I said "a song that feels like heading towards the blues", we chose "Ao e Mukau" (T/N: heading to the blue) as the title.

So the album title "Ao ni Aruku" was already decided prior to that?
"Blue" has a refreshing vibe, but for me, there's also a lonely, cold, and mellow feel to it, and I thought that fits me as well. I'm stepping into a new stage, but I don't know whether this will this lead to bright path or a lonely one. Hence the album is titled "Ao ni Aruku", to portray the unknown path of "blue" I'm walking to.

For song covers, you chose pretty famous songs like "Unknown Mother Goose" and "Roki". Did you have any particular criteria when choosing?
I didn't think about it too much, I just thought I should add in some popular songs. We wouldn't know whether the songs are of listeners' interests before they listen to the original songs right? Since those songs have the originals published, the cover songs are there as an assurance. If we put it in a selfish way, it's a good luck charm in hopes it'll follow the popularity of the original (laughs). My previous cover of "Unknown Mother Goose" and "Roki" were mixed by myself, but now in this album the listeners will get to experience the true quality of these songs as mixed by professional sound engineers.

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You also sang English lyrics in Hachiya Nanashi's "Fading Ghost".
I'm not good in English, so I avoid singing English songs. However, this album is all about exploring and trying out new things, so I said "Alright, let's try it once!". In my previous album, I also sang Hachiya Nanashi's "One Off Mind", so I think of it as a parallel to that and tried my best.

How did you feel when singing the song? Your whispery voice seems suitable for it.
Right, my pronunciation changed and I gained a tone of voice that I didn't know I had. That was stimulating, it surprised me how my voice could change. That said, it was also insanely difficult.

Will you do it again sometime soon?
No, I'm good. For a while. (laughs).

In "Unknown Mother Goose", there's a jump in the melody line and you leaped into an astoundingly high pitch. Personally, I find it very interesting.
That was crazy, it's about 2 octaves jump! Frankly it's possible to trim that part and record it separately but I didn't want to rely on such things, so I recorded it in joint. Since it's a difficult song, expressing the song by stretching the human limits may even make it more appealing instead. Relying on editing will give you something that is oddly "in place", so I wanted to avoid that.

Strangely though, listeners will likely able to catch those kinds of falsifications.
That's right.

In that aspect, I think as a singer/utaite, Miyashita Yuu holds a certain pride in keeping it real. 
Since we're labelled as singers, in terms of singing, we'll have to sing in a way that nobody can find faults in, that's what I think.

Do you think you achieved the aims of this album, to be an album that shows the new Miyashita Yuu?
I was able to accomplish the theme that we decided on. I think my musical skills may have grown as well, so I think this is an album that shows a new facet of me and my singing.

Earlier on, you talked about Soraru. Nowadays, there are a lot of people who started from the online scene like Miyashita Yuu. Former indie content makers getting into music charts and having full-house on big concerts is becoming more and more common. What are your thoughts on this kind of music scene?
In terms of Vocaloid producers, the fact that more and more of them are leaving the nest is quite saddening, isn't it? VocaloP and utaite used to be like two sides of the same coin, but nowadays VocaloP's are independent, as well as utaites. The mutual relationship they used to have seems to be disappearing. Now, when being questioned, I thought "huh", but this time I had a lot of songs written because there's valuable memories in that. I also compose songs myself, but there are people who only sing, and people who sing but are familiar with Vocaloid. (?) If I release my own songs, I'd be happy when people sing covers. This kind of inseparable relationship between Vocaloid and utaite is fading in the past 2-3 years, and it makes me sad. Moving forward I'd still like to continue my utaite activities and keep my identity.

You'd like to cherish where you were "born and raised in".
Yes, I think it's something that I should never forget.

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Translator's Notes:

*Not sure if he had a live show before Doctrine Doctrine, if you have any info to verify, feel free to send me a message on tumblr!

**I think he meant parting gift as in, leaving the former self (the doujin MiyaYuu) into the professional MiyaYuu

I love reading album/songwriting backstories especially the struggles and the thought process leading to an album, so this interview is really an enjoyable read. Also, is it strange that I can hear everything entirely in his voice? lmao

It's also interesting how he noted that "Butaisei Nanika" partly represents how he has different 'selves'/voices, because that song is a very lonely song.

I mentioned before that Miyashita Yuu's mixing style tends to 'cover' his vocals to a certain extent and after reading this interview, I finally understand why! I used to think it's a bit 'zannen' since I like his voice a lot! I like shoegazer too so now I'm beginning to see his music in a new light.