Talking about the Current Hot Topic of Yakosei - YOASOBI Edition

Hey everyone, have you ever heard of Yakosei?
In Japanese the word for nocturnal animals is 夜行性 (Yakousei) and these animals are active at night, but the band name Yakosei (夜好性) means “those who like the night” and it’s not an action.
This does not simply mean that they “like the night”, but in a sense, you could say “I like the night”....

In fact, it is a general term for artists who are currently popular.

• YOASOBI
• Yorushika
• Zutto Mayonaka De II Noni.

These are three artists. All three groups have “night” in their names, which is why the term 夜好性 (yakosei) is used as a general term for these artists or as a term for their fans.

Some say that it is too confusing to lump all artists together as “night lovers,” since each artist has his or her own unique charm! However, please take the time to acknowledge each group’s unique image.

I was going to introduce all three groups this time, but since the article is getting to be quite long, I would like to focus on YOASOBI first!

■ YOASOBI

Many of you may have heard of YOASOBI who has participated in Kohaku Uta Gassen on NHK two years in a row.
YOASOBI was formed by Ayase, a vocaloid P artist, and ikura, a singer-songwriter.

This is the most famous one.

○ YOASOBI / “Yoru ni Kakeru” (Running into the Night)

Created based on the novel The Temptation of Thanatos, this song was released in November 2019 and quickly became a hit.
The catchy melody and delicate lyrics made it a huge hit, especially on social media.
I also fell into the habit of listening to it a lot as soon as I heard it, and I think I listened to it all the time for a while.

Ayase is the creator of this catchy melody. I think his most popular song is “夜撫でるメノウ” (Stroking the Agate at Night).

○ Hatsune Miku / “Yoru Naderu Menou” (Stroking the Agate at Night)

The lyrics about partings and goodbyes are particularly moving.

Listening to this song, I think that Vocaloid songs are very difficult because the pitch of the song changes so much. Of course, the song is not made for human singing, but the robot sings it at the correct pitch, so even a song that would have been difficult to sing before can be created if only Vocaloid can do it! This is what I'm talking about.

By the way, have you ever sung “Yoru ni Kakeru”” at karaoke?
It is very difficult to sing because it’s hard to get the pitch. It's a song that I feel like I'm Vocaloid P. I'm sure Vocaloids can sing this song easily, but it’s hard for me! (haha)

However, the vocalist of YOASOBI, ikura (Rira Ikuta), sings this song beautifully! Her clear, beautiful high notes and soft voice really draw you in.
She is a professional, after all. She is very good at what she does. And, she’s so adorable! She is just sparkling.

The synergy between Ayase and ikura created a wonderful song.

Now, I mentioned a while ago that this story is based on the novel The Temptation of Thanatos, which has a rather heavy theme of life and death.
I won't go into too much detail because it would spoil the story. However, if you watch the music video, you may be able to get some idea as to what the story is about.
To put it simply, it’s a story about the main character's lover being ruled by Thanatos. (It's actually much deeper than that!)

If you read the novel and then listen to this song again, you will appreciate the depth of this song even more than before, so I personally recommend this book!

“Yoru ni Kakeru” is particularly based on this novel, The Temptation of Thanatos, but there are other songs based on the novel.
The song alone is great to listen to and the music video will get you more into the YOASOBI swamp. And, if you read the novel before listening to it, you will be even more immersed in their world! You can enjoy it at least three times with a fresh mind.

From this perspective, I personally recommend the song “Gunjou”.

○ YOASOBI / “Gunjou" (Ultramarine)

This one really makes me cry!
For those who have been chasing their own dreams or are still chasing their own dreams, the lyrics are very sympathetic and touching when you listen to them over and over again.

There are many other songs by YOASOBI that are addictive and full of charm! Please try listening to them!

Now, let me introduce Ayase's equipment.

audio technica / ATH-M40x Monitor Headphones

According to Ayase's tweet, he uses it when he creates music.

Native Instruments / MASCHINE MK3

This one looks like it was used in a previous live performance. It has not been officially announced, so this is just a guess, but he was certainly playing around with something like this during the live performance....

NORD / NORD ELECTRO 6 HP Combo Keyboard

This is the main one. I think Ayase was using the Electro 5D 73, but it is discontinued now, so here is one from the same series.
I recently had the opportunity to attend a Nord webinar at Sound House's headquarters and was thoroughly impressed with their products.

The main product used is Piano 5, but he talked about Electro and other series in the video.

How was it?
When I listened to these songs that I wrote about for this article again, I felt deeply about how awesome YOASOBI is (lol).
I hope you all enjoy the charm of YOASOBI as much as I do!

Next, I would like to talk about Yorushika and Zutto Mayonaka De Ii No NI as well! I was actually going to talk about all three groups in this blog, but it kept getting longer and longer as I was telling you how wonderful they are (lol)!