Are You Happy? Pamphlet Translation - Aiba Masaki




There are rough edges in this album – in a good way. But I feel like those areas would be where we can show variety in our live performances.

While my overall impression of this album does somewhat revolve around the word “happy,” it’s not like it’s filled with songs that only project the idea of “happiness.” It’s more like a part of it is “happy” and the rest is an album where you’d go, “they can be this versatile with their songs—?!” Since the album title asks Are You Happy? as expected, the answer would not all be “happy” and most likely, there would be some who’d answer “unhappy.” This time, we didn’t limit the album to a specific image or scope in which to produce our songs, so we were able to widen the range. This then allowed us to produce an album that compiled various songs which fit different genres. I also developed slightly different impressions on the whole album between the first time and second time I heard it… I really think it’s quite a rich album (laugh). I believe it has become an album which can exceed your expectations and can be easily enjoyed over and over again.

In the “under supervision songs” (aka. USV songs) which each member was responsible for, we thought of producing songs which haven’t really been heard nor seen up until now. In Seishun Boogie, which I was responsible for, I actually decided the concept from an early stage. Though it was mostly an image I had of the live performance. It included the idea of it having Yosakoi Dance elements [1] along with Japanese elements and a certain hardness… which is similar to the manga Sakigake!! Otokojuku [2] image I have. (laugh) I matched those ideas with the Yosakoi Dance, and decided I’d like to mould it into a form never made before. That’s why ultimately, the song has the image of a group ensemble. Even in the past, I vaguely thought it’d be interesting to do a song like this. The song’s content is quite out there, so we can’t really include it as the B-side track of a single (laugh). That’s why I thought it’d be nice to do it once we found the chance.

From the image I had of the song, more ideas started popping out, and I started thinking about how I can produce a song which matches this concept. Since it is a song, I wanted a catchy chorus, but I also wanted to aim for a slightly nostalgic tune that was found in popular songs… I thought about a lot of things (laugh). That’s why the intro is quite catchy, isn’t it? It's quite a catchy song. The lyrics are as well. The lyrics have the idea of standing back up no matter how many times you get rejected… I wanted to make it into the “if pressing it once is no good, keep pressing it!” sort of lyrics. As expected, putting all those ideas into the conception of the song was difficult (laugh). In order to incorporate the various concepts, prevent them from becoming at odds against each other, and avoid any bias or areas which stand out too much, we did it again and again to attain the balance. That’s why, when the five of us finished recording our voices, the moment of completion, I was really happy. My vision had successfully been produced into a song. “It went really well!” …was what I thought (laugh). I’m completely satisfied with the end product! Although I was told by Nino that it was an odd song (laugh). Everyone’s singing was really well done too. In Seishun Boogie, there’s a part where you have to sing really fast, and in that part I thought once more that everyone was really great. Our vocals were able to match up. In this song, everything’s “sung in unison.” Normally, there would be parts where we break up to sing in pairs and trios, as well as solos, but here we sing everything as the five of us together. There’s not really a song where we sing all together like this… so I really like it.

For my solo, I thought I wouldn’t be creating a particular character with the song this time like I did with the previous two solos in particular, Disco Star and Mr. FUNK (laugh). So then I came up with Amore, although I initially thought “amore” might have sounded a bit silly (laugh). In the crucial parts of the song, the phrases “amore” and “amigo” appear, so I thought why not? That’s why I ended up deciding it as the title. Although I accidentally slipped up my words at the end. It’s not a song title you’d really hear nowadays… Plus the English lyrics at the very start of the song is also unusual (laugh). This beginning is also something I’m really set on personally. There was a Japanese version along with various other things, but I ended up finding the English one interesting and got really into it, I guess. It’s like having a start where people go, “eh… What is this? What sort of song will this be?!” which evolves into the song it is (laugh). The song’s good… It’s really good. If I was to put it into words, it has the feel of a fast food restaurant I guess. It has the unique feeling you couldn’t receive from a high-class restaurant (laugh). The melody’s also really nice. They really let me cram a wide range of things. I’m also really hoping to be able to get pumped up together with the audience in the live performance. The last two songs have been mainly me getting excited alone after all. It was mainly the audience getting pumped up in order to pump me up. I seemed to have relied a bit too much on others back then, so… (wry smile) That’s why this time I had to produce a song which would allow the audience to go along with the performance! Otherwise the audience would get tired of it, you see (laugh). Well, that’s why the song turned out this way. Rather than just dancing, I wanted to have a song which could be enjoyed together with the audience as well.

Ah~ I put quite a lot of effort into both of those songs, you know (laugh). Having to not only take care of my own solo, but also direct a song for the five of us was quite tiring. However, it was enjoyable! There has never been this method in the production of songs in the album, after all. I didn’t know what sort of songs would be created from the other members’ USV songs either. When I recorded vocals for the songs, I listened to them and was like, “Oh, it’s this sort of song?!” Our unique attributes really shine through. Leader’s [3] had vocal parts which were really complicated and difficult. Nino’s [4] also had vocal parts which were already decided upon from the start, and is a song that has never really been heard or produced by Arashi before. Sho-chan’s [5] is characteristically Sho-chan’s, which is a song that incorporates the rap he wrote verse by verse. I sang it quite a lot of times. Matsujun’s [6] is one which we sang with a refreshing sort of feel. We sort of sang it going with the flow. Now that I think about it, there’s also the bonus track [7] which doesn’t involve the members’ supervision, but counting it makes it 3 songs. With it, you’re able to see the members’ charms. It might be an album which can be particularly enjoyed by those who have watched us from a long while back and know us to the core (laugh). It’s not like you have to be concerned with who was in charge of which songs or anything, but by knowing it, you may be able to enjoy the song even more.

During this time’s live performances, I think it’ll be centralised on the member who was in charge of the USV songs we each produced, but who knows? I think there are rough edges in this album – in a good way. In each song, everyone is largely involved after all. Combining songs that have unique attributes and combining it all into one concert may be difficult, but I feel like it’ll be a performance which would show off the variety of songs we’ve produced. I believe it’d be wonderful if it becomes a tour that captures a wide range of “happiness.”

T/N:

[1] - Yosakoi Dance (よさこい) - is a unique style of dance that originated in Japan and are danced at festivals and events all over the country. (Source: Wikipedia)
[2] - Sakigake!! Otokojuku (魁!!男塾, lit. "Charge! Men's Private School") is a manga series written and illustrated by Akira Miyashita. It was originally serialized at the Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1985 to 1991. (Source: Wikipedia)
[3] - Are You Happy? - Track 14. Miles away
[4] - Are You Happy? - Track 9. WONDER-LOVE
[5] - Are You Happy? - Track 15. To my homies
[6] - Are You Happy? - Track 1. DRIVE
[7] - Are You Happy? - Track 17. TWO TO TANGO

Special thanks to Toni (tapsilogue) for all her help in correcting any grammar and English mistakes and suggestions in making the translation smoother. Without her you would all probably be tearing your hair out asking "WHAT IS AIBA TALKING ABOUT?!" the entire way through so. XD She was also the one who encouraged me to do this project in the first place. Hope you enjoyed the interview! Next up is Matsujun's. :D

Images are taken from my own pamphlet. Please do not repost/retranslate without permission! Thank you. :)



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