yufuwrite

[yufuwrite]

Kimi ga Waraeba Koi Nano Desu

ヘッドホンの中にあなたがいてコードつながなきゃ連れ出せもしない誰のアドバイスも聞こえないの　耳を塞ぐからね

Released under the unit Yuffytas Release date: 25/02/2015

The last rarity for a while, this collaboration and “cover for cover” deal brings Yufu together with now disbanded band Phenotas in a single that highlights both acts’ capability to adapt to different sounds, all while showcasing Sho Yamamoto’s versatility and strength as a songwriter and producer.

Another —and luckily the last one for a while— rarity-by-design release, Kimi ga Waraeba Koi Nano Desu was sold as a Village Vanguard limited release meant to commemorate both acts’ major label debuts, which they celebrated by allowing former Phenotas member and composer, Sho Yamamoto to take the lead in the production for the entire thing.

Kicking things off is Phenotas’ cover of Yuffy’s Zenzen, which from the very get-go takes the single to its peak in sweetness. Despite being equally as lively as the original, this version takes a softer, (somehow) more cutesy approach to the song. The result is an alternative version that, while mostly enjoyable on its own merits, has the unfortunate downside of vocalist mico not being able to capture the “crowd hyping” energy of the original. Zenzen is followed by Yufu’s take on Headphone Girl, one of the band’s earlies releases and a personal favorite within Terashima’s catalog. Hearing Yufu offer a darker take on her vocals while delivering slightly darker lyrics over a more aggressive synth melody manages to remain fresh within her entire discography, but it also makes me wish she’d allow herself to go in this direction more often. These two tracks create an interesting contrast that not only allows both acts to show their strengths (with Yufu getting bonus points here for going out of her comfort zone), but that also shows Yamamoto’s talent at reworking his own compositions into new, reinvented forms.

Closing things is the collaboration track: a duet version of Sayonara Made ga Renai Desu, a track previously performed by a special unit consisting of Phenotas members and solo idol Mikichu. After an instrumental opening that invokes traditional instruments, the song builds itself a playful, if slightly nostalgic, dance number. A special personal noteworthy point being the possibility of hearing Yufu take on lower harmonies on several of the track’s verses.

Yuffy has frequently worked with Yamamoto Sho throughout her career, the duo producing some of my favorite idol songs). In the context of her solo discography, this single feels like an exercise in mutual trust, with both of them being able to complement and enrichen the other’s body of work. A welcome addition to Yufu’s catalog, it’s unfortunate that this single is essentially unavailable to wider audiences.

[yufuwrite]

Suki ga Hajimaru II

ねぇキミはそのまんまでいて わたしは変わらないから 涙もこぼれる 「愛してる」

Release date: 02/08/2015

A rare gem amongst Yufu Terashima’s discography, her second limited mini-album showcases the idol’s expressive vocals as one of her main strengths, its main hindrance ironically being its rarity-by-design status.

Despite this sequel EP kicking things off on a high-energy note, thanks to the SAWA-produced Juliette no Paradox, it quickly becomes apparent that this release will have a heavy focus on heartbreak. As the sparkly synths of Juliette wear off, the moody Koibito Datta no sets in, its melody and layered vocals creating an atmospheric landscape in which Yufu muses of lost love. From this point onwards, it becomes obvious that the idol will once again focus on love, more specifically on heartbreak; with the rhythm of the release placing a slightly heavier emphasis on slower numbers.

While the prospect of three ballads on a seven-track release might sound daunting, this EP feels better planned than its predecessor, with a tracklist that evens out energetic songs like the playful Onegai Bacchus or the anison-tinted Suki ga Koboreru —now a fixture in Yuffy’s live shows— with more slow-burn tracks like the nostalgically tragic Hatsukoi no Silhouette, or the daunting cover of the Spitz classic Kaede. As most early Yufu releases did, Suki ga Hajimaru II seals the deal with a bonus track: a remixed version of Neko ni Naritai! that, in a smart nod to the 80s aesthetic of the original, reinterprets the track into more of a club offering.

Yufu’s second beginning at love (heh) remains one of the most impressive displays of her vocal skills, showing not only an improvement in skills but a natural penchant for dramatics. A sweet, short offering, this EP has the unfortunate weakness of being pretty much inaccessible, with only two of its tracks (Suki ga Koboreru and Hatsukoi no Silhouette) making it to more widely available releases.

[yufuwrite]

Neko ni Naritai!

目ヂカラが猫になれない 愛されたくてうるんでく

Release date: 17/12/2014

At this point in her career Yufu had crafted a persona that was very open about not shying away from the most complex side of romance, which meant it made perfect sense to develop a flipside and start having fun with it! Probably one of her most catchy and energetic releases, Neko ni Naritai! remains both a standout single in her discography and a personal favorite of mine.

Featuring a catchy (perhaps her catchiest) synth melody and dynamic sequencing, Neko ni Naritai! builds itself as a lively track that showcases Yufu switching between animal metaphors and dated technobabble in order to convey an embarrassing realization: despite her strong desire to remain cool and aloof like a cat would, the prospect of love still turns her into an overeager puppy. Clever lyrics aren’t the song's only strength, with its vocal layering and stylish arrangement offering a pretty modernized take on the bygone eras the idol claims to have come from.

By this point in her career, Yufu had already made it clear how big of an influence the 80s are for her idol persona, something this single punctuates with its first b-side: a cover of Madonna’s hit Like a Virgin. Featuring a slightly more upbeat arrangement, the song manages to capture the essence of karaoke booth performances thanks to its electronic, reminiscent of MIDI instrumentals. Which turns the number into a more relatable —at the expense of sounding slightly cheap— take on the idea of covering classic pop songs.

Synths are once again amped to the umpteenth with the second accompanying track, the MOSAIC.WAV-produced Neraiuchi. Truth to the producer act’s aesthetic, this song’s energy borders on frenetic right from the start, even finding the time to take a tour-de-force in the form of a bridge in which Yuffy goes over herself while nonsensically babbling self-introductions, cheki requests, and many other things. As a final extra, some editions of the single include a remix of Campanula no Yuutsu by VOLA AND THE ORIENTAL MACHINE’s Anihito Inanizawa, who turns the brisk summer track into a layered, more atmospheric reimagining. Yufu’s versatility encompasses not only her performance range, but also the people she creatively associates herself with.

While reviewing this single, it was impossible for me to not remember that this was the one release that fully got me into Yufu. Not only because of my (by now obvious) affinity to cat-themed stuff, but because of how I found the charm Yufu put into performing these songs not only fitting of the idea I have of what an idol is, but also because of how the release shows the amount of fun she has while on stage. All in all, Neko ni Naritai! showcases yet another (by the time) new side of Yufu: that of a girl who can allow herself to be silly and have fun with topics she might have more earnest about at other times.

[yufuwrite]

Campanula no Yuutsu

カンパニュラの花言葉は「誠実」なのだけれど

Release date: 06/08/2014

Summer songs stand amongst the most idiosyncratic statements in the Japanese music industry, with artists all across the scene trying to appeal to one aspect of the season through their music, often with the hopes of having a hit to headline festival setlists with. Idols are no exception to this, their offerings within this subject tackling topics that can range from the many things one can do with their vacation, fleeting romance, and the gradual steps taken towards adulthood. Campanula no Yuutsu plays to the latter two topics, adding a layer of depth to Yufu’s more flirty side.

Focused on the idea of a “changing woman’s heart”, Campanula’s main disco melody invokes influences of samba, bossa nova, and even ambiguous —and slightly geographically misplaced— hints of luau to string together a brisk number through which Yufu explores a love she cannot bring herself to embrace with full honesty, despite signals and flower language encouraging her to do so. This more sophisticated sound, along with the themes of indecision the lyrics focus on, allows Terashima’s follow-up to present herself in a light slightly distant from the idealistic tone of her debut single, her character now acquiring a slight aura of refinement reminiscent of the idols of yesterday she models herself after.

This second single would also allow Yufu to start openly embracing a more flirtatious side of the “girl in love” character often associated with idols. Musically, the single would reflect this not only through its title track, but also via its b-sides: a cover of Yasuyuki Okamura’s seminal hit Daisuki, and original song 80 Denier no Koi. Both of these tracks would give the idol to explore a particular aspect of love: the former not only having Yufu sing more earnestly about the topic but also paying tribute to the 80s influences she proudly carries with her; as for the latter, a midtempo synth-pop number, it closes the release off by charmingly exploring the many emotions and complexities that surround “the one secret love every girl goes through”.

When looking into it as a whole, it becomes apparent that Campanula no Yuutsu’s main strength comes from the way it focuses its delicate soundscape into exploring a concept in-depth. Summer love is not a rare topic within the imagery associated with idol music, but Yufu’s take on it manages to feel compelling, thanks to both her commitment to different aspects of the subjects and to the sophistication with which she tackles it.

[yufuwrite]

Suki ga Hajimaru

僕のキャラクター伝わらなくても キミには届けたい思い いつまでも変わらないでいて

Release date: 01/08/2014 (Limited CD) - 10/12/2014 (Digital)

Originally a limited release sold at live venues, Yufu’s very first EP arrived —much like the second single Campanula no Yuutsu would— to keep fan hype going on, something the release achieved thanks to its rarity-by-design (it originally being a release limited to 1000 copies) status. Unlike what happens with the latter single, however, the lack of musical direction makes results, in this case, feel slightly disjointed.

Featuring four original tracks composed and produced by three different artists (longtime collaborator Yamamoto Sho being the only one to work in two songs) and a remix of #Yuflight, the release kicks off with the sweet and dreamy Suki ga Hajimaru, a soft rock-tinted number that, to this day, remains the perfect opening number for both any Yufu show and for her Suki ga series. From this point onwards, the EP embraces a more electronic sound, ranging from the playful synths that drive the verses in Yurukoi, the more aggressive, almost urgent-sounding contrast, and the obviously meant for crowd interaction melodies that make up most of Heroine ni Naritai.

Though it might read weird that a collection of songs about love (with three of them leaning towards an electropop sound) lack cohesion between each other, this becomes more apparent when listening to tracks two through four. While each of the songs on this stretch holds its own individual merits, they suffer from blending into each other a bit too much when played in succession, with contrast being not only the most unique-sounding of the bunch, but also being backed by a better production. This unfortunately renders the other two tracks less impactful than they could have been, taking away from the release as a whole. As for the remix, even if the heavy processing of vocals works great with the song’s new synth-driven arrangement, it further contributes to the previously described blending.

Though slightly mix-and-match in terms of production value, the first Suki ga Hajimaru represents a much welcome addition at this point of Yufu’s career, providing her with enough tracks to ensure live shows were not only longer and more diverse, but also had a corporeity to them beyond simply stacking promotional tracks (which by the time were few) one after the other.

[yufuwrite]

HOTARU

キミのこと 深く知る 自分自身に気づくから

Released as the unit YUFU♬MARI - Release date: 02/07/2014

Meant to give Yufu and former Dorothy Little Happy member Mari Takahashi some performance material in addition to their role as navigators for the 2016 edition of the @JAM idol festival, HOTARU can be considered a pretty unique addition to Terashima’s solo discography.

Featuring a cool, slightly darker synth melody with callbacks to more traditional Japanese instrumentation, the song’s early 00s-inspired production highlights the dual nature of the unit, with each girl taking turns in singing lead vocals throughout verses that flip the line distribution of the previous one. This all leads into a more intense final section that, after a mellow bridge (spoken word included!), takes the intensity up a notch by having both girls sing in unison the remainder of the track, as if to represent the strength gained from each other’s company the song’s lyrics allude to.

Despite unfortunately being a one-off release, HOTARU remains a testament to a more stylish, adult side to Yufu’s capabilities and presence as a performer. It has the added bonus of showing how, even at such an early stage in her solo career, her idol persona was one that with proper support behind it, could have developed in directions that go beyond the musical path she eventually went along.

[yufuwrite]

#Yuflight

でも 振り返らず進め... 飛べ... いま...！

Release date: 26/02/2014

Idol music debuts tend to have the intention of working as an introduction letter of sorts, showcasing what —within production and budget limits— a project has to offer musically and visuals-wise. For all intents and purposes, Yufu Terashima’s solo debut plays along to this rule but it also seeks to show audiences familiar with her time in the first iteration of BiS that her solo journey was taking her in a completely opposite direction.

Led by a delicate piano melody, reminiscent of the anison formula popularized by supercell’s Ryo, and accompanied by strings and soft guitars that add a layer of gentle dynamism to Yufu’s emotive vocal performance, #Yuflight’s main strength comes from the elegance with which it showcases the idol’s effort to muster the courage to take off and fly towards her dreams. Though the song first existed in the form of a demo titled Sakura Note, the reworked single version shines because of its earnest effort to capture her character and her clear intent of bringing others the dream she chases after. All while establishing what would become some trademarks of hers, such as her deep-black hair or her playful encouragement to keep up with her by “following her hashtags“.

This understanding, along with the need to convey the character Yufu was trying to define, might come from collaborator and former Dempagumi.inc member Nemu Yumemi, whose own insights and experiences as an idol would an extra layer of authenticity to Terashima’s first mission statement.

As for the companion track, Zenzen, it takes a more energetic approach, its catchy synth beats building into a bridge where Yufu —already a master of turning clumsy bashfulness into coquettish charm— confesses to the realization of being in love, despite knowing absolutely nothing about the object of her affections... or about the topic itself. From the very beginning, it was clear Yuffy was out to make the most of the idea of being a serious, orthodox idol, down to one of her debut songs being something nerds could chant, mix, and yell to their hearts’ content.

Despite being a pretty simple and straightforward release, #Yuflight works as a debut because of the way it checks all the boxes it needed to check: it puts Yufu and her goal as an idol right under the spotlight, it showcases two different sides she would gradually embrace as a performer, and it offers a radical departure from the sound and image people might have associated with her. An impeccable maiden flight into the land of orthodox idol activities.