MANILA, Philippines - Japanese music duo Yaosobi, composed of Ayase and ikura, recalled that they felt nervous but had “fun” performing for the first time in front of the Filipino crowd during the Head in the Clouds (HITC) Music & Arts Festival in Manila last December. They also assured their fans that they would be returning to the country to stage a solo show.
Through a translator, Ayase described in a Zoom chat his Manila experience by saying, “It was a fun experience. It’s the first time for us to hear the actual voice or scream from the crowd. It’s our first time to perform in (front of) Philippine fans so it was very… (we) were very nervous but (it was a) very fun experience.”
ikura also shared how she had a “great time” in the Philippines. “It was my first time to hear the actual voice (cheer) from the crowd,” she echoed Ayase’s comment. “It was a very happy moment. I realized that I actually have fans overseas listening to our songs. It was such a pleasure.”
One moment that really stood out during their short visit to the Philippines — they only stayed for one night — was when they entered a casino for the first time in their lives.
“It was like very fright (shocking) and very shining space or place and I was kind of surprised but it was fun,” shared ikura.
The STAR asked them if they have plans of coming back to Manila for a show, Ayase replied, “We don’t have the exact date yet, of course, but we will definitely come back to the Philippines again and maybe do a solo concert some time.”
The two just dropped their English-language EP called E-Side 2, an extension to their last year’s first English release E-side. The E-Side 2 includes earlier tracks such as The Blessing, The Swallow and the new one If I Could Draw Life.
They also churned out Sukida as part of the EP, a ditty which was part of their collaboration with Naoki award-winning authors Rio Shimamoto, Mizuki Tsujimura, Miyuki Miyabe and Eto Mori. Sukida is based on the latter’s original novel titled Hikari No Tane (Seed of Light) A Story to Read When You First Profess Your Love.
Ayase shared that he made the translation based on their original songs. “I made it the way the pronunciation sound(ed) like the original Japanese lyrics. And then, ikura (sang) the translated lyrics. That’s the process of the creation of the EP.”
The duo is “known for turning novels into music.” Hence, the message that they want to send to their fans is “the same from the story or the original novel.” They also input “some of their actual experiences into their songs.”
ikura furthered that although she is “not a regular animé watcher,” there is one particular animé called Kirarin Revolution that inspired her to be a singer.
“I watched Kirarin Revolution when I was young and then, I was very inspired by the main character called Tsukishima Kirari. She was like an idol singer. That’s actually where I thought for the first time that I want(ed) to be a singer from that animé. So, that’s how animé revolution inspired me to be a singer,” she stated.
Yaosobi was recognized as Artist of the Year at MTV’s Video Music Awards in Japan last year. They also reached the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, ranked first on the Billboard Japan Top Artists Chart and racked up over 2.7 billion streams across releases.
The original Japanese version of their song Into The Night snagged the No. 1 spot on Spotify Japan’s “Most Streamed Songs in Japan in the Last Five Years” category with over 700 million streams.