I was performing in a band, but not in any kind of professional capacity. I was just an unknown composer handing out my demo to lot of companies looking for music. Then one day, I got a response saying that they wanted to use the work as a character song in "Scared Rider Xechs!" They wanted to feature the music as a sort of leitmotif for the characters portrayed by Mamoru Miyano and Tatsuhisa Suzuki! I didn't really know anything about character songs, but I was so happy that they wanted to use my composition and that I would get the chance to make my debut in the music industry. At the time I did not even know anything about the two voice actors they mentioned to me.... And so my debut song as a composer happened to be in an unknown genre of music known as... "Otome-kei." I thought it was just going to be used as an edgy rock tune, but when I heard the final version I realized that voice artists performed the song in quite a sexy way. I thought... Oh I see... In that instant I started to understand "otome-kei" and how this style of music might appeal to female listeners' hearts!

Then I started to participate in some really unique projects. I worked for an anime production that features a female protagonist falling in love with hunky blood sucking vampires known as "DIABOLIK LOVERS" and the charming two-dimensional idol with cool, original lyrics "MARGINAL#4." I was really able to gain a deeper understanding of Otome-kei. Initially, I was involved with the production side of things for Otome-kei style music, but I finally got a chance to contribute as a vocalist. So, how did this differ from the work I had been doing behind the scenes? Until that point I had done some work with the chorus. I thought laying down the vocals for a track would pretty much be the same regardless of your role. However, providing the main vocals and contributing as part of the chorus are two quite different challenges. I had to ask myself... How do you express yourself as the main vocalist? There are certain things that a vocalist needs to keep in mind whatever the genre, including the melody and how to sing the lyrics in a way that is good for the listener. This means seeking out aspects of a track that are not always expressed on the sheet music and finding a solution using your voice.

In contrast, the role of the chorus is to accompany the main vocals. It is a real craft. If the vocal is serene, the chorus is too. Similarly, you can add an emotional chorus to emotional vocals. I usually add the chorus after taking into consideration these characteristics... And then... While I was writing this, I noticed something... I listen to the main vocals when I am recording a chorus. But when you work behind the scenes on a strong, unique song for one of the handsome characters that features in an Otome-kei story, you sometimes wonder whether there is a disparity between the music and the vocals. It seems that up until now, I have been dealing with vocals that are incredibly "expressive" due to the production work that has been done on the chorus...