Oricon Style - May - Concert Solos

二宮和也
「Gimmick Game」
アレンジにこだわりあり
Ninomiya Kazunari
"Gimmick Game"
Obsessive over arrangement

自分がやったことないことに振り切ろうと思って、これまで愛とか恋とかしか書いてなかったから"未来は明るいぜ"、楽しく生きようぜ!"みたいな詞にしようと思ってたんです、最初は。でも俺はゲームしかしてないし、説得力ないなと。恋愛の詞は物語として成立するから、説得力とかは考えてなくて。というわけで、音楽は音を楽しむものとして、今回はアレンジにこだわってみました。「Gimmick Game」はだまし合い、しかけ合いっていう意味でつけたんだけど、音をスピーカーの右と左に分けるんじゃなくて、円として響くようにと。ピコピコが反射している感じになるよう、細かく地味～に設定して。まぁぶっちゃけ、そんなにはわからないんだけどね(笑)。
I was thinking of expanding into things i'd ever done before, because until now i've only written songs about love or passionate feelings. At first i was thinking i wanna write themed lyrics like "lets brighten the future!" or "live happily!", but all i do is play games so i dont have much skill at persuading people. When i arranged the lyrics into a story, i wasnt really thinking of is persuasiveness or anything. So along with that, if music is sound that lets you enjoy yourself, this time i tried getting into the arrangement of it a bit. "Gimmick Game" has the themes of both cheating and tricking each other in it, but the sound isnt just devided between the left and right speakers, but tries to resound through both. It has a sort of vibration-like feeling, but set up in a simple manner. Well to be honest, I'm not even that sure myself, ne. (laughs)

大野智
「Take Me Far Away」
壮大な世界観を大人気分で
Ohno Satoshi
"Take Me Far Away"
A splendid world-view through an adult's eyes

…またまどこかのトイレに入っているときに、洋楽のミディアムテンポの曲が…GMで流れていて、いいなと思って。そのイメージに一番近いものを選び…した。普段から音楽はメロディ重視で聴いているんですけど、この曲はメロディが強いし、全体的にちょっと大人っぽい雰囲気だし、世界観も壮大というか……広すぎ(笑)。イントロからグワ～って開けてますからね。しかも、ゆっくりも踊れるし、激しくも踊れる曲調だから、コンサートでどう表現しようか迷いますね。いっそのこと、まったく踊らないで休んじゃうのもありかなって(笑)。とにかくロマンティックな曲なので、シャンペン片手に、夜景とか見ながら大人な気分に浸って聴いてください。
...when i was in the bathroom somewhere, there was this western song with an average tempo playing in the background and i thought it was kinda nice. I picked the closest thing i could to that kind of image. Usually music is listened to with the melody as the main focus, and the melody is strong in this song, the whole thing has a bit of an adult-like feel to it. Speaking of the world view of it... its too wide. (laughs) Since it opens from the intro with a woosh~, ne. Nevertheless, you can dance both fast or slow to the lyrics, so i'm a bit stuck on just how to perform the song during our concerts, ne. And then theres always just not dancing at all and resting. (laughs) Either way, since its a romantic song, with champagne in one hand while overlooking the sky at night, please immerse yourself into an adult's mood while listening.

松本潤
「Naked」
"裸"の自分をストレートに
Matsumoto Jun
"Naked"
A direct show of my 'naked' self

聴いた瞬間、純粋にかっこいいと思ったし、普段も聴きたい音楽だって思ったんです。ジャズなんだけど、ドラムンベースっていう、そのバランスがすごくかこいいし、新しいなって。歌詞は今回僕も参加させてもらったんですけど、あえてストレートに書いてるんで、一瞬クサイかな？と自分でも思ったりもしたんですけど、聴いた人がいろいろな想像を膨らませてもらえたらいいなと思って。自分の内面というか、1人の人間に追ってる感じを表現したくて。まさにテーマは"素"、"自分自身"。この曲を通して、少しでも僕の存在を身近に感じてもらえたらうれしい。でも、歌詞だけ読むと恥ずかしいんで、ぜひ音と一緒に聴いて、楽しんでほしいですね。
When i first heard it, i thought it was genuinely cool, but then I was thinking this is music i usually want to listen to anyhow. It's jazz, but the balance between drums and base is really innovative. This time i also helped work on the lyrics, but i challenged myself to try to write them honestly, sometimes i even thought things like "i wonder if thats bad" just for a second, but I think it'd be good if the people who do listen can expand their imagination with it. As for my honest feelings, i tried to present a feeling of chasing after a single person. The themes are "unadorned" and "me, myself" for sure. I'd be glad if by listening to this song you can feel a little more familiar with my existence. But just reading the lyrics alone is a bit embarassing, so by all means listen to them together with the music and enjoy yourself, ne.

相葉雅紀
「Hello Goodbye」
出会いを大切に楽しんで
Aiba Masaki
"Hello Goodbye"
Put importance into enjoying getting together

とにかくこの曲は展開が多くて。倍速になったり、転調したり、戻ったり……その変化がすごく楽しいと思いますね。しかも、曲調が明るくポップだから、レコーディング中もつい笑顔になって、それが声にも表れていると思いますね。だけど、歌詞を読むとただ楽しいだけでない、出会ったら必ず別れがあるという、切ない部分もあったりして。だから、出会っている間はできるだけ楽しく時を過ごしましょうという、この曲には出会ってから別れるまでのすべてが詰まっているし、何より前向きなメッセージがたくさん込められているので、ぜひこの曲を聴いて、みなさんも小さな出会いを大切に、前向きな気持ちで日々を過ごしてもらえたらうれしいですね。
In general, this song has a lot of developments in it. Doubling in speed, changing keys, returning again... I think those changes are really fun, ne. Nevertheless, the lyrics are bright and pop-ish, so even while i was recording it i'd suddenly break out in a smile, and I think you can hear it in my voice, ne. But just reading the lyrics, its not just all fun, when you meet someone later theres a definite separation, and that painful part is also included. So, when you're still together you need to have as much fun as you can. Everything from meeting to separating is bundled up in this song, so more than anything it has a lot of messages to keep moving forward. So by all means, if everyone can listen to this song while treating your time together with care, passing the days with a feeling of progress and moving forward, that would make me happy, ne.

櫻井翔
「Hip Pop Boogie」
聴けばアガる名刺な1曲
Sakurai Sho
"Hip Pop Boogie"
If we listen my business card songs will increase [??? lol no idea sorry XD]

嵐でのソロ曲で、まだ全部ラップの曲って俺やってなかったな、と思ったのと、ポップさを意識しながら、嵐とはまた違う目線で書きたかったっていうのがあって。まず、関西の韻シストっていうグループにトラックを作ってもらえないかとお願いし、いろんなことを試した結果できた曲なんです。嵐の櫻井翔の名刺となる曲を作りたかった、っていうのが一番しっくりくるかな。個人的なことを書いたつもりだけど、聴いたスタッフに「励まされた」って言ってもらえたんですよ。パーソナルな曲だからわからないこともあるだろうけど、1センテンスでも共感してもらえたら、それでいいのかなって。自分でも相当気に入ってて、ずっと聴いてるしね。正直、アガります!(笑)。
As my solo for Arashi, i started thinking that i've never done a song that was completely rap, even while feeling the definete pop-ness in Arashi, at the same time i wanted to write something on a completely different wavelength from our norm. First I asked the Kansai group In-cyst [??] if they'd help me create a track, we tried a lot of various things and this was the result. I wanted to make a song that would become my business card as Sakurai Sho of Arashi, I guess thats the most fitting way to put it. I was only planning to write it for myself, but the staff who listened to it for me told me it was an encouragement to them. Since its a personal song, there are probably confusing parts, but even if its only one sentence, if you can feel the same as i did, i think thats enough. I was extremely interested in it myself, almost constantly listening to it, ne. Honestly, it raises up! (laughs)