Known for her pleasant sound, clear voice and unique lyrics, Yuinishio is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who has begun to attract attention from fans all over the world. Recently, she has been called upon to contribute songs to a variety of anime series. Most notably, her songs Beautiful Day and routine life were both used as opening themes for "Banished from the Hero's Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside” and Selfhug Biglove was selected as the ending theme for
"Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire".
Yuinishio made her major debut on Nippon Columbia with the album tasty city in October 2022. On March 6th this year, she released her second major album, weekday. Shortly before the release hit stores, JaME had the opportunity to ask her some questions about the themes behind the album, her influences, anime and her plans for the future.
For any readers who haven’t had a chance to listen to your work yet, how would you describe the music you make?
Yuinishio: My music captures the trivial moments of everyday life that we tend to forget when we are busy. I write songs mainly for women in their 20s, my generation.
It’s characterised by the frequent incorporation of sounds influenced by the “Shibuya-kei (Shibuya style)” genre.
What inspired you to start making music?
Yuinishio: I started playing the piano at the age of four, inspired by my aunt who is a piano teacher. While playing the piano, I began to compose my own music, and I started writing songs around the age of six.
Are there any particular artists, genres or moments that inspired your current sound?
Yuinishio: I am inspired by this music duo called “rough laugh,” whom I got to know in a BOOKOFF store (*second-hand bookstore chain in Japan) when I was a middle school student.
I bought a chord book by rough laugh and played the guitar every day looking at this book. Gradually, those chords became my style, and I still compose music influenced by their music.
What do you want to convey to listeners with routine life and its music video?
Yuinishio: There are times when you feel so weak that you lose strength to even stand up although up to that point, you worked so hard all this time. But there’s no need to feel down or hate yourself.
When I was preparing for the music video, I wanted to encourage people to embrace life at their own pace through simple daily routine like closing the curtains at night and opening them in the morning as they wake up.
routine life is your second track to be used as a theme song for “Banished from the Hero's Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside”. How was it to return to writing music for this series? Is there anything you tried to do differently this time?
Yuinishio: This anime has a special place in my heart and the characters are like my family and friends, so when I was asked to write the opening theme for the second season, I was so thrilled. I wrote the song as if I was writing a letter to my
family, friends and loved ones.
Also, the previous song was centred around two characters, Rit and Red, but this time, the song was written with Ruti in mind.
You also contributed the song Selfhug Biglove to the anime series “Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire". Going along with the theme of that song, aside from your singing and songwriting ability, is there something about yourself as a person or a talent you have that you are particularly proud of?
Yuinishio: I’m proud of my sensitivity to cherish the ordinary moments of life. I’m actually good at remembering things that people ask me, “How can you remember such things?”
I believe this inspires my lyrics.
While you’ve recorded a number of anime theme songs, are you a fan of anime yourself? If so, is there any particular character or series you like and/or relate to?
Yuinishio: I like the character Rin Hoshizora from “Love Live!”
She embodies a tomboyish persona, yet struggles with the gap between her tomboyish nature and her fondness for girlish things, and I was encouraged by the way she gradually evolves.
Why did you choose weekday as the title for your new album?
Yuinishio: Weekdays occupy more than weekends and holidays. It’s very difficult to take long holidays especially in Japan, so weekdays weigh even more.
I know some people work hard during the weekdays for the weekends and holidays, but I thought that by valuing the weekdays, which account for a large proportion of our time, we could lead a richer life, so I produced this album focusing on weekdays.
Did you try anything new on the album? How does it differ from your previous album tasty city?
Yuinishio: My inability to sing high notes has been my inferiority complex and a challenge, but my upper register has been expanding bit by bit thanks to my vocal coach. I think I’m singing the highest notes among my songs so far, in the latest
album.
Additionally, my vocal coach also taught me how to do faking, so I challenged myself to incorporate faking in songs like me & cat.
Most of the songs featured in my last album tasty city were based on the experiences of my friends. It was like writing a novel, as it included my opinions and third-party perspectives.
And the majority of the songs in this album, weekday, are based on what I felt in my daily life, and I created the songs as if I were writing an essay.
If I express them in colours, tasty city has vivid colours, while weekday has pale colours.
Do you have any interest in performing overseas in the future? If so, assuming you could perform anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?
Yuinishio: My goal is to tour abroad someday. I performed live for the first time in Taiwan last year, singing with my guitar. I want to visit there again, hopefully next time with a band set. I also like Finnish culture, so I would love to tour
in Finland. Please invite Yuinishio to your country!
What else can fans look forward to from Yuinishio in 2024?
Yuinishio: Since I finished the production of my second full-length album weekday, I’m going to start writing new songs again.
I’m eager to try new things like playing the drums and reading a lot of books for my input so that I can continue crafting greater songs.
Please leave a message for your fans overseas.
Yuinishio: I’m over the moon to know that you listen to my songs in a language that’s different from your usual one. I always check your supportive messages on social media and YouTube. Thank you!
I hope to hold a lot of live shows overseas someday. Let’s sing together when that happens!
JaME would like to thank Yuinishio and Vegas PR Group for this interview opportunity.
Links to download and stream weekday on various online music platforms are available here.
A digest trailer for the album can be streamed below.
