#and went through heavy processing in order to recreate the sound of the original voice

[miodiodavinci]

in light of posting the UTAU guide i'm breaking my personal NDA to say "please please believe that salvador_AR is not the full extent of my UTAU capabilities i swear i know what im doing i swear" hh

song: lower (one's eyes) ust: HiepTran/Hye

[adrrianraines]

choose me.

—chapter i. | chapter ii. | chapter iii.

genre: romance

fandom: playchoices: the royal romance

pairing: LiamxMC (Riley Brooks)

disclaimer:

characters used are owned rightfully by pixelberry. all rights reserved. this is a trr UA (universe alteration) original idea storyline. unlike an AU or Alternate Universe, Universe Alterations or UAs are set in the canon universe, but with "alterations" to accommodate the plot.

grammatical errors, misspellings & typographical errors that i might have overlooked are to be expected. – thank u for doing the proofreading with me, @bi-cookie 😘 really appreciate it. as always, special thanks love. ♡

taglist:

– of course, hmu if u wanna be tagged for an update! lovely people who wanna be tagged in this mess, thank you! ✨

@miss-raleigh-carrera @sunandlemons @wolfychoices @juminssi @onomatorina @ao719 @vaticanwaltz @texaskitten30 @princess-geek @janezillow @cordoniaqueensworld

Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker? — Garth Nix, Sabriel (Abhorsen, #1)

Breathe. Calm down. Concentrate.

A King would never falter in the face of adversaries. This is a minor setback. You can fix this.

Braving a face, Liam squared his shoulders, eyes fixated upon his reflection in the mirror. He stood still for a few minutes, trying to make sense of what was happening. Not less than 24 hours ago, he was at home, with a lovely pregnant wife, in Valtoria. And now, by some weird phenomena that he couldn’t fathom, he’s back at exactly where he was before he married his wife.

Riley. Somewhere in New York City.

Sighing, his hands made a quick work of his collar and then his jacket before he proceeded to present himself. Apparently, from what he’d gathered so far, he’s at the exact hotel where he and his friends stayed for vacation in America. Upon reaching the bedroom, he was welcomed by the sight of Drake sitting on one of the sofas, hands carelessly maneuvering the remote control in his hand. Maxwell was on the phone making a call just beside the large curtained windows.

Drake turned towards Liam, his scrutinizing gaze carefully studying the other. Liam assured his friend by giving a small and calm smile before clearing his throat to get Maxwell’s attention. Maxwell turned and raised his hand for a thumbs up while ending the call.

“Great! Tariq’s waiting for us downstairs. We’ll hit the restaurant first then tour New York after!” The Beaumont Lord grinned and strode towards the two men. He clapped his hand on Liam’s shoulders and smiled warmly. “I’ll make sure you’ll have the best night of your life, Liam! You’re in for a treat with the great Maxwell Beaumont’s Bachelor Paartttyy Express!”

Liam nodded, still unable to properly process the sudden turn of events. If he wants this figured out, he should gather all clues that would present themselves at his mercy then make use of it to his advantage.

Drake rolled his eyes at the other’s antics before propping himself up. “Guess this is the part where we enthusiastically shout ‘yay’ and hope to have a great time.”

Maxwell feigned an offended gasp. “You’re talking to the greatest entertainment master! Of course you’ll be in for a treat!”

Drake shrugged and moved towards the door. Liam followed silently while trying to recall how his first Bachelor Party went.

He met Riley at a small bar. She was working for that sudden stop they had at his last night in America.

Last Night... Therefore... He has a chance of meeting her tonight!

With a determined resolve, Liam figured a way of how to make sure he meets Riley and recreate the exact same moment of their first encounter. From what he gathered so far, if he was indeed jostled back, he needed to make sure everything played out exactly as what had transpired back then.

He halted, which made the two men stop and turn to look at him in question.

Somehow, they need to really make a stop at her bar. At all costs.

“Maxwell.” Liam’s deep baritone immediately made the other attentive. “I know you’ve got the entire night planned out and I entirely appreciate you for it. But perhaps, we can make a little detour towards a place I want to visit? If the itinerary so graciously allow...”

Drake crossed his arms, interested on how this could be handled. Clearly, he knew that Liam was not the one who would continually insist if the plan didn’t involve a certain matter at hand — considering how Maxwell behaves with regards to events he already have planned out.

Maxwell’s face fell, suddenly feeling sorry. “Aw, man. I know you wanna go to the Statue of Liberty but our time is really limited.”

Liam’s eyes perked up as he smiled. “Oh, no. That’s... not particularly what I have in mind.”

Because he already knew how the night would play out if he laid his cards right.

“This... is your last stop?” Maxwell looked incredulously over Liam, as if he had just knocked his head on the concrete and somehow survived but lost a few brain cells or two after.

“I believe it is a quaint little find.” He commented, his heart hammering loudly in quiet excitement. Riley was only a few meters and a few seconds away from him.

Maxwell grinned brightly. “Quaint? This is fantastic! How were you able to find it? Wait...” Then he eyed Liam suspiciously. “Are you after my own title as the world’s greatest party planner?”

Drake scoffed so hard he ended up coughing. Tariq only rolled his eyes. “I believe Prince Liam would never want such title.”

“Still, I’m impressed.” Drake smiled and nodded towards the entrance of the bar. “A greasy joint with local alcohol. Great find.”

Liam nodded, pleased with how he was able to control the events so far. He religiously followed Maxwell’s itinerary for the night, though he made a few arrangements of what was supposed to happen, such as suggesting the bar ahead of time. Still, he was glad they were able to find themselves outside Riley’s workplace. Just in time like before.

The guys went on ahead with excited chatters, still under the merriment from their previous clamoring adventures before they stumbled upon the bar. Liam remained outside for a bit just to gather his thoughts.

The very idea of the possibility of time travel tugged the back of his mind. After all, surely, he didn’t just dream a fantasy of his own wife and marriage. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be promising for the King of Cordonia to be suffering from such hallucinations. If there were any.

It was real. Even if nobody around him can vouch for it, he was certain. Everything was real.

However, when he finally entered the place, anticipating to see Riley waiting their group just like how it was supposed to be, he paused on his tracks.

The scenario played out differently than before.

“Daniel?” He whispered loud enough that the lad, who if he recalls correctly was Riley’s coworker, could hear. Daniel turned and raised a brow towards Liam, surprised at how he was able to know his name. Which, in due circumstances, sounded suspicious and alarming. Liam clammed his mouth shut but his mind was already in hyper drive. Millions of questions flooded like raging wildfire – and it wasn’t the most ideal set.

“Uh, how can I help you, er, sir...?” Daniel asked just as Maxwell moved to make space for Liam.

It took him quite a bit to process his thoughts but thankfully, he was able to gather himself. “My apologies. I’m with them.” Liam pointed towards their table as Daniel nodded slowly.

“Hey, lots of whiskey, alright?” Drake called in, drawing back Daniel’s attention. The waiter nodded then scrambled to immediately cater the order.

“I suppose a deluxe burger wouldn’t hurt...” Tariq’s disappointed voice said as he laid back against the withered leather couch they were sitting at. Liam gingerly walked over to the empty pace beside Maxwell and sat. Despite the lively chatters of his companions, his mind reeled back to the course of events.

Why was it not Riley who was waiting their table? He was certain that it should’ve been her. After all, how would they meet each other if she was not the one who took care of them? It was the key moment that should happen! Liam clenched his fists in frustration, unable to find answers for his questions.

“Liven up! It’s about damn time you all know how to live like a local.” Drake smirked just as the first round of whiskey were delivered.

Fried food and the faint smoke of something being grilled wafted in the air. Only men stood behind the bar counter.

She was nowhere to be found.

Disappointment and confusion infused in his system due to his inability to correctly follow through the course of events. The men were getting rowdy and they were getting more demanding. When alcohol finally hit his companions’ system and they were starting to loosen up, he stood and excused himself, in the guise of asking about their orders.

He needed to breathe. Without much of a second glance, he went straight towards the door. Liam stepped out to the crisp, chilly night breeze, taking in the glitz and glamour of the city lights before him. But somehow, with no clue to lead him, he felt more alone than when he first came to New York.

It was excruciating, to be feeling both complete helplessness and loneliness in a lively city. Without Riley by his side, with suddenly being thrown into such predicaments, with only so much that he can understand.

Just then, he heard movements from behind, followed by heavy footsteps and a grumbling voice. Alarmed because of his lack of security and in a completely foreign country, he turned to take a look, ready to take action. But to his surprise, it was... completely something else. Or someone.

Liam’s eyes widened in shock that almost knocked his winds out.

The stranger halted, trash dangling midair, mouth in a thin line. 

Liam’s heart pounded rabidly against his chest. It was as if everything zoned out around them.

There was nothing else but the faint sounds of footsteps from the street, a few car horns in the distance and the smooth breeze in the air.

“Riley...” Her named rolled off his tongue, the familiarity almost crushing his rib cage. It was a mix of being excited and being afraid. Riley stared back at him with no hint of recognition. At all. As if he was a stranger she never met in her entire life.

Riley seemed to be taken aback but was quick to recover. She settled the garbage down and cautiously inched away from Liam with her brows furrowed in suspicion.

“Who are you?” Her voice drawled. Liam almost choked. He did his very best to maintain a friendly, neutral expression but his resolve slipped almost immediately.

“I...” He began, only to nimbly locate the correct words he needed to use. He paused as he tried to gather himself. But before he could even speak—

“If you try something funny, I won’t hesitate—” She fired with vitality in her voice it almost made his heart do a somersault.

Liam wanted to laugh at his hasty and unplanned actions. Approach the woman who owns you completely as a stranger she never met in her life, just beside a local dumpster. Brilliant.

“My apologies. I...” Thinking of a quick excuse, he blurted out the very first thing that came to mind. “I was wondering if you needed any help?” He immediately regretted it.

Riley snorted in amusement and Liam wanted to mentally smack himself. Riley still has that effect on him. She was always able to surprise him in more ways than possible, which rendered him speechless half of the time. He’s still undeniably in awe.

“Yeah... right. How gentlemanly of you to offer that to a stranger you met at a dumpster.” Riley laughed and proceeded to throw the garbage bags in the bins. When she finished, she turned to meet Liam’s gaze squarely and crossed her arms over her chest. She raised a brow, as if asking him something.

He swallowed and smiled sheepishly. “Charmed to meet you, then?”

“I’m not sure how you know my name but we can talk out in the front if you’d like.” She gave him a half-smile that made her eyes twinkle.

Liam couldn’t suppress a smile of his own while he gently nodded in agreement. He felt giddy all over, as if his spirits were lifted up in the air.

“That sounds like a good plan.” He chimed.

She grinned. He returned the gesture like a lovesick boy.

“Meet me inside.”

“As you wish.”

And as he followed her inside, he momentarily looked at his reflection on the mirrored windows of the bar. He paused in his tracks, almost too tired of the many surprises he’s had.

For there was the very same rectangular-shaped bar just a few inches on top of his head, but somehow, unlike Maxwell’s and Drake’s, his was filled with a quarter of color red.

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

LINDSAY SCHOOLCRAFT – An Interview with the Artist

Hi Lindsay, welcome to Femme Metal Webzine, how are you and how life is treating you right now?

I’m good, thank you. Life is going pretty well. Really really well, actually.

The last time I interviewed you was back with Mary and the Black Lamb, we can totally affirm that a lot of water is passed under the bridge, so, considering that this band is part of your musical background, how Mary and the Black Lamb show up in your debut full-length “Martyr”?

Oh my gosh! [Laughs] Wow, what? It has been 11 years since we released the album “The City Sleeps”. Unfortunately, Mary and the Black Lamb is no longer a band and that is ok. But it’s just crazy to look back and think about it. When I came to that project, I was one of the main songwriters and I was writing “Martyr” as a solo artist and I felt that the song “Stranger” from Mary and the Black Lamb would fit the sound of this album. So, that song was written between me and the keyboard player Matt Kelley  and I got his permission, of course I treated him really fair and I made sure that he received his royalties. We went ahead and we brought it to Rocky and my producer Tyler and we just worked on it. I’m so happy how it did come out and so, it’s Matt. I’ve been slowly pushing to my solo album and I think it will be the last album on which I’ll do recreation of old songs but I want to do songs like “Stay Away” because I really love it. However, I’ll try and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. I’ll take maybe two more songs from Mary and the Black Lamb because I feel like those songs deserve an update and it might work very well and if they don’t work, it’s ok. At least, I can say to myself that I did try. My songs are like my babies and I always feel like they deserve a fair chance, you know? [laughs] And they have to grow up with me [laughs].

So, we have talked about Mary and the Black Lamb and I’m gonna focus on the production of your debut album “Martyr”: how was it? When did you start collecting the first ideas and planning for it?

Oh man, well, we actually started making it without a plan. Unfortunately, next time we will have it and everything started at the beginning of June 2016 when Rocky Gray contacted me with the serious intent to collaborate together. So, we worked on the first two songs: the first was The Cure‘s cover of b and it did turn out really good, we are really proud of it and then  “Warn Me” and “Remember” followed. Back than, both songs sounded quite differently from now. At the beginning, they were just simple ideas but I like that because Rocky sends it like that  and then, you have room to build the melody and the lyrics. I love working with him and he’s on board for the next album too, which is good. In the end, there was no plan and we kept on writing together and then I took my old phone into the night from my first DP. At one point, probably at the end of 2017, we had 17 songs and we took the decision to stop because it turned out to be too much and we had just to pick 13 songs which includes 2 bonus tracks and went ahead to finish this album. It was intense because there were other people involved like Spencer Creaghan who played the strings and also, he wrote the strings sections for songs that may or may not be on the album. We didn’t want to waste anyone’s time cuz’ we are all very busy people. So, at the end we strategically decided to adapt everything and finish with the guest vocals on which different singers have participated. That was it. It was concluded and mastered at the beginning of 2018 but due to my commitments with Cradle of Filth and not finding a record label, there are a lot of delays. It’s fine because I make it work anyway. However, it was a long process and I’m hoping that, for the next album it won’t be long as between the beginning (the production). I think this time we’ll have a clear plan and we’ll just focus on the 13 songs that we have and just that. For sure, we won’t waste any time and it was a big learning curve for me, for my producer Tyler and all my team. Now that we know how we work together, we also have a system and it should not go as long as before.

You have been recently nominated as a Juno Award artist. How does it feel to have reached such a milestone? And how this event will reflect on you and your music?

It’s a dream come true. I was not expecting it. I didn’t know that was going to happen but it did and when I found out, I just couldn’t stop crying. I was so happy, I’ve been through a lot in the past months. Not necessarily good things, that’s ok, they come and go and when this happened, it was such a huge honour because I had been dreaming of it since I was a teenager. I didn’t want to win but just get a nomination and the fact that happened is totally unreal to me.

Beside being an amazing vocalist, you are also an amazing harpist. Now, I would like to focus on your musical background: considering that you enrolled at the Royal Academy, how much did your academic upbringing impact your music?

I started singing when I was a little kid and a big influence on me was Disney, well a 90s child that is going to happen and I was also singing in a choir at school. The first time I learned about harmony was very interesting and I was such a young child. I didn’t start taking serious music until High School and at the time, I was in a punk band and I was taking bass lessons and singing too, even if not so very well. Then, I decided at the age of 21 to start taking music seriously and that when I found about the Royal Conservatory of Music where I went studying classical piano, classical voice and I was learning my theory and I did for about 3 – 4 years while in the meantime I reached a certain level. After, I was considering the option of going back to University at the age of 25, though I did my final application when I was 26. I got into University and I did my first semester and I was chosen for the minor “Classical composition and conducting for orchestra” and my major was “Opera Singing” but it got cut short because I was called by Cradle of Filth. Eventually, one day I may go back to my education. Nevertheless, for now, I’m taking the time to learn the harp from a few people and I would love to go back to study theory. On the other hand, the business and other things in my life have been very intense. I’m on the right path, so, once business is settled maybe I’ll come back to learn more about theory which I would love to do. It’s still a goal of mine in life.

“Martyr” was released via Cyber Proxy Independent. Does it have to be considered your own imprint or are you taking in consideration other external deals?

So, it’s my own little record label composed by me and my laptop in my corner of my room. [Laughs] it’s nothing crazier, still it feels nice that I have that. The reason that happened was because there were a lot of things I was going through like getting distribution, getting the CDs in the European and North American stores, filing the royalties and there’s even more that I do independently with my assistant. All these actions justified a label’s name, so we did come that. Actually, the origin of the name is due to the fact I’m a huge fan of cyberpunk and my favourite anime is Ergo Proxy. I know, the name was just last-minute and we didn’t put a lot of thought into it [laughs] and we just made up the name. Simply, that was it. We were kinda like “We’re Cyber Proxy Independent which is literally me and my assistant in my bedroom named after all my favourite anime” and we just kept going and that’s that. Anyway, it’s just a name in order that people have something to refer to my music, I guess.

You know, if we talk about distribution and licensing, will you consider some external deals?

Yes, what I have to do is that I have to wait until the end of Juno‘s because with a nomination there’s a lot of opportunities for me of which I’m very happy. For example, I have a better chance to have my music featured in movies and TV and it does represent one of my biggest dreams and I would love to do that. Whoever if I win, I don’t care if I win or not, if Kobra and the Lotus, if The Agonist or The Striker and the Single Mother, I’m happy for whoever wins. I’ve always kept the attitude that in the heavy metal world community we always support each other. If I win, owning the title completely changes everything and I’ll have increased opportunity to reach out to a wide audience. In the end, I’m just waiting to see what happens and I’m just being smart.

I think that being appointed just a nominee changes because the name is out, they know how you are and people start raising their heads…

Oh yeah, Canada is a big deal and because of that I gained a few fans. It’s crazy.

Yeah, I know because at the time back in the 80s artists like Alannah Myles, Rush, Autograph and Bryan Adams…

Oh, I love Alannah! Yeah, oh man, I don’t know if Bryan Adams‘s gonna be there and I hope, he’s and I would love to meet him. I hope that Billie Eilish and The Weeknd show up because I love them both. It’s crazy. it’s just crazy. So, this year at the Juno’s is the 49th edition and Jenn Arden, who has been an huge influence on me as a singer-songwriter, of course she’s one of those dark folky types of music really famous in Canada, she’s getting inducted in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and that’s simply huge. Also, the Canadian musical legend Ann Murray is getting inducted. I think my dad is more excited for that than I am [laughs]. Well, my dad has met Jenn Arden and I really hope to meet her too. There are a lot of women in the Canadian music industry like Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne, Chantal Kreviazuk. They all proved to be such an inspiration that they pushed me forward towards my artistic percorse as a singer-songwriter. Even if it was a bit stressful to get ready with the outfit for the red carpet, I’m just so honoured. We’ll make it there and we’ll make it work. [Laughs]

We know that we have recently split up with Cradle of Filth and the intent of this question isn’t delving into the situation, per se but what did you learn about this experience and how did you improve you as an artist?

What I’ve learned while I was in Cradle of Filth is that it totally pushed me on a more professional level when it comes to handling the touring and the business side of things. It was an amazing opportunity and I’m so grateful that it did happen. I still have so much love and respect the band and the boys. You know, we’re still friends and it’s good. On a final note, it taught me which are my strengths and my weaknesses, so in this case I know where I should improve. Unfortunately, it’s not an easy industry and in my case I’m very lucky because I have a group of good friends who are in the industry and we all understand what’s going on. Although, when it comes to mental health in this industry, I don’t think there’s enough support and respect towards people who suffer from it. Sadly, this industry has taught me too, whatever the situation a lot of good things happened and one of them for sure is to live honestly, to live the truth and to be truthful to what I believe in and to what I want to put into the world. I think I’m ok and I’m grateful for that experience, so to say.

Now all this mental health issue raises a question: in which way, we can start spreading awareness in this industry? Because you know I like writing, I like doing interviews and both you and me, we share a similar history. From an artistic point of view, what can we do?

What we can do is be kinder to each other and when a person in a band, in a community is suffering, it’s nice to reach out and support one another. I think it’s something that can save lives by acknowledging that we are only humans and we are not money music machines. We’re not robots and recognizing that comprehension when we reach a limit because you have been working too hard and you need a break is important. Nowadays, we live in a period and age where there are a lot of expectations towards the touring musicians and where it is required to hold from 3 to 5 different job titles. It’s not healthy and it’s not fair. Fine, it saves money and in the beginning, you have to do it for a few years after that, please consider the mental health and wellbeing of the other band members too because if you don’t start hiring people for these positions, there’s an enormous chance for a burn out. It’s a terrible experience and lately, it comes down to respect and kindness. Naturally, this industry is stressful but we are all in it together and we should all take care of each other. If we lose that idea, we just lose one another.

It sounds really good but tangibly speaking, what can we do for example starting spreading information? It’s something that is really interesting but how can we be much more proactive towards it?

There’s now a hotline for musicians in the United Kingdom where they call in if they’re having mental health problems. I think we need more support like that. Recently, I have read this article about this girl that is actively fighting for women’s equality at Download when it comes to the woman being on the stage and I don’t necessarily think that is needed because there are plenty of women working there. However, what is really needed for example is having a tent in the backstage where women can go when they don’t feel safe or what we should have access to is counselling. I think festivals should start offering a private tent with counselling and if someone needs to go talk about their problems, grieve, cry or have a safe space. Surely, that would make the biggest difference and save lives because touring is not so easy. You miss weddings, you miss funerals and there’s so much that happens to touring musicians and they are just expected to suck it up, carry on and deal with it. It’s wrong because it’s time to start providing more services to musicians to have a place to go. It’s time to put the business aside and acknowledge their feelings. It’s time to be heard and know that they are cared about, all this will make a huge difference.

Well, it’s something interesting, if you ask me, we can join forces together and see if that can work out because it’s something that no one has ever thought about and I find quite frustrating…

I agree. We have lost so many lives lately in the metal community. Some due to health and some other due to some related circumstances, but part of it is because of the drug and alcohol abuse to numb the pain while you have to work. I think if we just start to be kinder and respectful to one another while we set in motion to help everyone’s suffering, we can save a lot of lives so they don’t continue down the dark path and they don’t feel unseen and unheard. I bet what don’t have that this possible to achieve.

This was a complicated question and it does make it difficult to change topic. However, I had a question about your upcoming project Antiqva with Ne Obliscaris‘s Xenoyr. How did it come together and which are the latest updates?

Oh man, that was a drunk decision [laughs]. In 2015, we started to talk about the fact that I would like to do something musically different that wasn’t neither Ne Obliscaris nor Cradle of Filth. But, however something along the lines of traditional black metal that meets the classical sound with strings, choirs and Gregorian chantries. Oh my god, the whole massive idea and I was already composing some stuff which at the end it wouldn’t work out for Cradle of Filth at all. He is just Mr.Darkness like Dark Aestical all the time, always incredibly writing poetry into his lyrics, he’s such a creative source. Definitely, he’s one of my muses. We have just started working on things. Oh man, when I wrote these first demoes, I sent them straight away even though they were so bad. At the time, I was just working with what I had and now, it turned into such a massive project. I’m very grateful because the relationship that I have with the other two songwriters Justine Ethier  which she plays drums and we collaborate together on the orchestrations; and Fabian who’s known as Urzom from Negator which he plays the guitar and he collaborated on the writing and arrangements). Between the three of us, we have such a deep connection and friendship. It’s such a beautiful experience and I never really believed in the spiritual aspect of that gathering together and having the magic among other musicians when you write, however, we have definitely that. It’s really amazing and I feel really grateful to have that. Instead about the latest updates, It’s going good and we have to finish writing a few more songs to have a full album . Then, we are going into the studio in April to record the first single and all this, it’s just for getting the things started which is exciting. I’m really looking forward to it, I love the single, I love the songs we chose. The fans are already excited even though they have listened to anything and they have so much faith in us. I know what I want and I already have the ideas quite clear about the whole plan. It’s good that we’re starting with one song and surely, we will be included on the new album. By then I hope to have more funding to record a live string section and hire the required musicians. We’re just so excited and it has been challenging ‘cuz all the members all over the world and we have to keep up on communication and organisation. We do that very well and of course, they have me and Cyber Proxy. Now that I have established this label, I’ll take care of this band in the best way possible through the help of my team too. I think Antiqva has a good start and I’m happy for that opportunity. I love everyone in the band and I love working with them. They are so talented and they are such good people. So, I think that hopefully by 2022 all the engines will be set in motion for the album and playing festivals, everything depends on how quickly we get through the single [laughs]. But, I don’t wanna rush it, it’s a project of passion, it’s definitely a calling in life. I love doing my solo work, I’m so proud of it and whatever comes from “Murder” I enjoyed. It’s like my baby, my first child while with Antiqva is something that I wanted to do since I was a little kid because at the time I used to write classical music in my head but I didn’t have neither the knowledge nor the tools on how to translate out my mind in a tangible way. Now, I do and I have so much dark classical music in my head that I just want to give to the world. I think we are doing an OK job because I showed to some friends what we have written and they just burst into tears. So far so good but it’s a very slow process and I don’t like how slow it is. I feel like I’m waiting and waiting but I have definitely taken the initiative with the band to super plan our future and to do the best in keeping up with the tour deadlines and to take care of one another. You know, we have been all through a hard time in the industry and we’re not treated very well. This band also represents a brand new start because we’ll set our boundaries and we’ll get treated in the way we deserve. We’ll always try to take care of eachother and always do that, I love this because that can be a huge motivation for longevity with this project. You know, I’m approaching all this with a lot of optimism and positivity, even though I know that a black metal is about [laughs].

My last question is about your next plans: in order to promote your solo album, do you have any concert planned for 2020?

So, the problem is that touring these days is very expensive and it costs a lot of money. We’ve been trying to get some opportunities but how much it costs to go, it’s an insane amount of money and as a record label, I’m trying to be realistic about finances. However, it has been an opportunity for me to tour with just my harp and I love doing those harp tours and those acoustic tours because they are my favourite. I’ll announce some information on that later while right now, what I’m doing is celebrating my 10th as a solo artist by recording an ambient harp album and with that I’ll cover my entire catalog. I’m aiming to release this special full-length this summer. I’m looking forward to it, it will be a little different and it’s not gonna be like on “Murder” on which I dedicated a lot of promotion and I featured a lot of extras. It’ll be quite a soft launch and it’s something I want to do for my fans. Then, from there we’ll start working on the second album, there’s no schedule or deadline for that. But, I think once we dedicate the right amount of time, it’ll go very quickly because a lot of the music has already been composed. So, I have just to fix some lyrics and change some parts in the songs. It’s gonna be amazing because I’ll work with my team again, they are such talented and fun people. Also, I brought with me my guitarist Cody Johnston because it’s a really good songwriter and hopefully, he’ll have much more space on the album. Once again it will be a big project but we’ll start before Christmas. More than anything, the focus of this year is to make myself happy and take care of my health which so far, it’s going good. I just hope to continue.

This was my last question. Please be free to say hi your fans and our readers. Lindsay, I really thank you for this interview. It was a real pleasure. This is your space.

Thank you. That’s amazing that you gave me my first writing job in the industry. How long was that? Maybe 12 years ago and I thank you, because it all started with you, thank you I found my way to Eve’s Apple, because of Eve’s Apple I found my way in Cradle of Filth. You have been so supportive of my career from day 1. Thank you to you and Femme Metal Webzine. Also, I would like to send you a quick thank you to my team that helped you to launch my album. Last but not the least, I want to say thank you to my FANS who didn’t give up on me and they are still supporting my career despite my departure from Cradle of Filth. The fact that people want to stick around and see what I’ll do next that just means so much and I’ll promise that I’ll work very hard and I won’t let you down.

[zak-bucks01-blog]

Twin Head Gator - Songwriting (B)

Introduction:

For this track, I made a certain precaution to make it as different as possible to my previous composition by taking different steps throughout the creative process and laying out some rules for myself to follow. During the period of trying to envision exactly what I would like to achieve for this track, I found myself struggling to settle on one particular idea – primarily genre related. In relation to another module I was working on, I had been writing an essay discussing ancient Scandinavian music which is something I have a strong interest in – because of this I thought it might be quite fitting to attempt a modern recreation on that style of music, however I realised that I would obviously struggle a fair amount with the instruments that are available to me. I had also thought of trying to record a soulful or mournful acoustic guitar composition but I felt as though I had little inspiration to do so. Eventually I had settled on creating an experimental electronic track as that area of creativity seems to be quite wide, more relatable and inspiring to my personal taste. I also made a decision to not use any live instruments whatsoever, the full track was to be all MIDI. This was to limit myself purposefully and to ensure that the track did not start drifting off into the style of my previous guitar-filled composition and was likely to cause a few problems in terms of keeping the flow of the track interesting and captivating, also adding vocals to a track like this would likely be challenging but I thought it could be interesting to see what I could create with just a little bit of limitation, also pushing myself slightly out of my comfort zone.

The recording process and MIDI plugins:

To start the process of recording, I decided to open a wide selection of bass plugins with no particular direction in mind, I simply chose them purely because I found their aesthetics to be somewhat appealing and then later in the recording I could go back and pick a few of the bass choices that seemed to stand out to me. The next step after choosing a range of bass plugins was to start setting up some drum sounds. I did have an idea in mind for the drums, I wanted an 808-sounding kick and snare, the kick sounding dark and bass heavy and the snare sounding like an artificial clap/click. The “Depth Charge,” plugin provided this for me, it had pretty much the exact snare sound that I had in mind the kick had this unusual rattling noise on the release which I thought was interesting. The plugin also came with some siren-like sounds and a drum that seemed to emulate something similar to hitting a large metal bin with a baseball bat. I used the siren-like sound and this drum to kick off the drum beat which resulted in quite an abrasive intro. This was fine but I wanted to start the track quite subtly and slowly bring up the tension throughout, so after the loud intro I tried to bring it down and I wanted to explore a feeling of a dark, sludgy, almost sticky aesthetic. I wanted the bass to emulate this feeling with a pulsating rhythm, the “Hollow Pumper” plugin worked perfectly. After creating the drumbeat and the bass and listening back to it, it was clear that it needed a sound that was clearer and sharper in order for the track to not become stale quickly. The “Pitch Twist Builder” synth plugin was very useful although its primary use is to build a climax quickly, I used it sparingly instead. As the name of the plugin suggests, the pitch of the synth bends and wobbles the longer the sustain of the note is, this appealed to me on an experimental level. In short bursts, the pitch always bends downwards but the longer you hold it, it starts going up and down so I used mostly short bursts but towards the end of each section I would let the pitch wobble, slowly building tension throughout the track. But this synth alone was obviously not going to be enough to keep a track interesting for three minutes, I decided to have a look through some arpeggiators. I was looking for something that sounded future-like or imagine if electricity had a vocal language, what that might sound like to us. I settled with two different arpeggiators, one that could be used in a subtler way in order to keep building tension and another that could be used during the climax. I had also added some synth chords with “Echo Chords” in order to flesh out the what I had made so far, this synth ended up working remarkably well with the drums out of coincidence, making them sound more heavily pounding.

Change in direction:

At this point in the track, I was actually getting quite frustrated. Although I was more or less happy with what I had made so far, I had no clue where to take it from there. I felt as though even though I had started make the composition, I hadn’t given a second thought to what kind of structure of song I was aiming to achieve. For some reason, I didn’t feel like making a chorus, nor did what I already have sound like a verse but this reminded me of something, a track that I had heard only a few times before that had a very similar structure but used to its advantage. The majority of this track literally goes nowhere, it’s very understated and aimless but then towards the end we get a very sudden jolt of energy. I aimed to use this idea as inspiration for my own composition, by making a break after the first half of my track I proceeded to create almost an entirely different sound and emotion for the second half. This refuelled my creative optimism and allowed me to continue what I had already started. I also found it fitting to sample this song, almost as a respectful way to include it, other than in writing. In the original track, there’s a voice exclaiming “how long did it take to get to this place,” which is relatable, so I went ahead and sampled it, placing it at the beginning of the track, adding delay to the word “place,” and letting it ring out within the drum beat.

The song can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EpdFpUPKu0 The sample can be heard at 1:41

As I had now decided to essentially make two halves to the structure of this song, the first half ends abruptly, making use of a synth found under the “Arrangement FX” section called “Bike Riser.” Then the break between the first and second half was originally going to be silent but it felt a little too out of place so I carried it over with a heavy, distorted techno bass a slowly bring up the volume of the previous arpeggiator, “Crystal Flight” that had not been used yet with the help of automation. When I chose this synth I was going for a sound similar to the one in the track “Whatever I Want” – Death Grips, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dcZYux0CnY - heard from 0:33 onwards.

This was effective in building the suspense dramatically. After adding delay to the arpeggiator, it started sounding like there was almost a vocal choir embedded within the sound. This sparked the idea to use an actual choir plugin along with the synth to enhance the feeling. Then after a small break, the second half begins. My idea was to roughly keep the same instrumentation but to bring up the energy as much as I could for the remainder of the track without it feeling too overwhelming. I used another new plugin called the Techno 808 for the drums this time in 16th notes to really bring up the intensity, almost like a metal blast beat coupled with the original kick drum from the first half in ¼ notes to emphasise the rhythm even more. Of course, if I let the 16th notes run throughout the remainder of the song, it would become tiresome so I added a few bars of a punk-rock-type beat to switch the feeling almost instantly, then added a new snare drum and hi-hat from the 808 in another new rhythm with a lot of reverb which seemed to open the space of the track, although a lot is going on here. I also brought in a very techno sounding synth called “Crush Stepper” in the back of the mix which helped the aesthetic become more robotic and futuristic. The instrumentation mostly disappears quickly in the last few bars, leaving the drumbeat to play by itself which I imagine the listener would be craving (I would myself.) The Echo Chords really paired well with the drums again here, almost giving it a military feel. To end the track, I replayed the sample “how long did it take to get to this place?” lining it up to the last beat of the drum which I thought would be a perfect outro now that the listener has heard the first half of the song which could seem quite tame and dark, comparing it to the second half which was full of energy, brighter and intense.

Vocals and lyrics: Recording the vocals was by far the most challenging part of this recording, I knew that my natural voice would have most likely not suited this style of music and so I had a plan to record using a vocoder, much like herd in these two songs;

Death Grips – Why a Bitch Gotta Lie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVHly92RQRM Heard from 0:50

Death Grips – Little Richard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j-7IkOq8Js Heard from 0:40

It was challenging to make my voice sound like the way I imagined it to be, the plugins that are available to me on Logic are quite limited, I ended up using a Vocal Transformer, a Roswell Ringer guitar pedal and a Microphaser Modulator along with delay and reverb. With these plugins combined – I was getting closer to the sound I was imagining but I wasn’t sure if I wanted my voice to be pitched higher or lower. After trying out different options, changing the intensity of the Vocal Transformer, pitching my voice up and down and testing with and without the Microphaser, I ended up using a mix match of all options throughout the track. Most of the vocals have been pitched higher.

For the lyrics, I took inspiration from the Death Grips track “Hot Head” which has quite abstract lyrics. I tried my best to avoid direct plagiarism by mixing particular words from these lyrics with my own.

Here are my lyrics;

Dressed for Ebola, But it’s not over, Cobra eye behaviour, Favour, Raven forsaker, Phallic creator, Shut you in like twin head gator,

What’s the business, Don’t nobody, Suck it to don’t see it coming, Running, New existence, Old resistance, Fuck the filter like my pistols,

Overall, I’m fairly happy with this track considering my purposeful limitations. I almost treated it as an experiment itself and although a challenging process, it seems to pair fairly well with my previous track while being wildly different in nature.

[tapirsallthewaydown]

This is the second part of Pirelo’s chapter, the first part of which I posted last week.  Since I’d already written PoV chapters with one girl and two guys, I wanted the fourth chapter to feature another female PoV character.  I also wanted to put an older female character in this story.  However, the stats I generated for her were 12,12,11,15,13,6.  After I worked out what an older woman with those stats might be like, I decided that she was a little too badass for me to do her justice in the amount of time I had.  So I’m just going to introduce her from a less experienced character’s point view here and save her PoV for later.

In the meantime, click below if you love Pirelo and/or nitpicky worldbuilding details.

At the top of the steps, Pirelo pointedly gave the new porter a silver demilunar, “in lieu of the expected beating.”  Then he went to his office and tried once again to figure out how to avoid sounding barking mad in The Meeting.

 Most of the work Pirelo did for Seruvia amounted to keeping supply lines running.  He read requests originating among the many branches and twigs of Seruvian government or from its semi-dependent client governments for rare, often magical, goods and directed them to people who specialized in supplying the relevant goods. He also collected, copied, and filed notes acknowledging the receipt of those goods.  Thus, he had documents showing that a dealer in Tellurem had shipped five static-boxes to Seruvia, where the Port Authority had noted the arrival of five static-boxes.  Subsequently, the department that had placed the original order received three static-boxes. The wizard in charge there hadn’t taken it amiss because static-boxes were so difficult to craft that he’d assumed the dealer didn’t have five of them in stock at any given time and that the other two would get to him eventually.  But the Port Authority had definitely recorded five in the shipment.

 Pirelo had reported the discrepancy to his then-supervisor, whose chief concern had been determining whether or not Seruvia had already paid for the static-boxes. But the question of where those static-boxes had gone lodged itself in the back of Pirelo’s mind for months.  Then another piece of information caught his attention.

 Seruvia’s client city Dralco boasted an old and revered college of wizardry, for which the Dralconite government had requested the loan of a single static-box.  The paper trail showed that two static-boxes used during the war had been cleaned up and marked for transport to the college, which had sent back a receipt and a letter of thanks for the one static-box that had been requested.  There could have been an honest clerical error.  That was the simplest explanation for this second discrepancy.  But what if it was not really the second discrepancy, but the third?

 Pirelo had told Tamario about the first discrepancy, reasoning that Tamario would know enough about static-boxes and their uses to give him some context for judging how serious the matter was.  Tamario had mulled it over and said, “Well, if it was theft on the overland route, they’d need more than one inside man.  Static-boxes are heavy.  Can’t just pull one off the top and run.  Could get an honest carter drunk, but he’d notice the weight difference when he got going again.”

 “And only a wizard, or someone working for a wizard, would go the trouble,” Pirelo had ventured.

 “Nah, you’d be surprised.”  As it turned out, Tamario had plenty of awful or darkly funny tales about undereducated soldiers, overconfident officers, or some blighted wretches from the navy misappropriating or misusing static-boxes or, much more often, cold-boxes.  Most of them involved taking heat-sensitive potions out to make room for recreational beverages.  The really horrible ones were about what happened when a static-box was needed but an officer with a little knowledge decided that a cold-box would do. Because static-boxes were rarer and heavier than cold-boxes, the reverse situation rarely happened.  But Tamario had heard of a captain in the navy who liked the idea of putting suspected spies in a cold-box prior to interrogation and decided that putting a man in a static-box should have similar results. As far as the captain was concerned, cold-boxes and static-boxes had basically the same effect on potions and foodstuffs, except that a static-box was efficacious over longer time periods. So, he’d reasoned, the same should hold true for their effect on spies.  But when the captain opened the static-box to resume interrogation, the suspect was dead.

 Pirelo had expressed doubts about the reliability of Tamario’s sources for that last story. He’d slept poorly the following night, unable to shake off the feeling that his tiny room was somehow shrinking to the size of a navy cold-box while his eyes were closed.  

 Three months after that conversation, as he copied and filed the receipt for a single static-box delivered to the college in Dralco, cautionary tales about substituting cold-boxes for static-boxes (or vice versa) leapt out of the filing cabinets of Pirelo’s memory, along with the strained voice of a frantic young corporal who’d come to him about the disappearance of half a dozen cold-boxes.  During the three days since he’d copied that receipt, Pirelo had been trying to think of a way to explain all this to his new supervisor so that she would see the pieces together as he saw them.

 To that end, Pirelo had collected all the information he could about the woman known to Seruvia as Erzetta Rialca, which was as close as most Gianorans were prepared to get to pronouncing Yrset Ryuwaelka.  Until the end of Seruvia’s most recent war, she had been a lieutenant and advisor to the captain of the Crimson Falcons mercenary company and kept the company’s finances in order.  All of Seruvia was familiar with some version of her deeds at Brindela Pass.  After the war, the Falcons as a company had been awarded Seruvian citizenship, formally disbanded, and folded into Seruvia’s peacetime governmental apparatus. Many former mercenaries were placed within the city-states standing security forces, although the governing body had placed others, especially the women, in decidedly civilian departments. Pirelo’s colleague Ariella was more familiar with the details of this last bit than most, as she’d been deeply involved in processing the paperwork for the mass induction and demilitarization of hundreds of people who had won citizenship through war.

 According to Ariella, Yrset Ryuwaelka was originally from Halania, now officially renamed West Griisland.  Given that she’d been among the last Haeylantic partisans to leave the region, Pirelo planned to stick with Halania or, better yet, Haeylan if the topic ever came up.  After Halania was lost, she’d moved south with the Falcons and married a mercenary whom one of “the old-timers”—that is, the Falcons-turned-citizens who were older than thirty—eulogized as “a gallant, silver-tongued fool.”  The consensus among young ex-mercenaries Pirelo had met was that she was a terrifying dragon of a woman

 So that was the person who had taken charge of Pirelo’s department during the demilitarization.  That was who he had to convince.  And yet, hadn’t his own brother accused him more than once of making up troubles that didn’t exist for attention or to make his rather limited life seem exciting?  He didn’t think he was striking at shadows this time.  But what if he was?  Or, worse, what if he wasn’t—but no one believed him?

 He was still fretting when Ariella tapped on his office door.  “Good morning, Pire.  I hope this isn’t an interruption.”

 “Ah, no, no interruption.  Good morning, Ariella.  I was just finished sort of mentally rehearsing for this afternoon.”

 “Right.  About that . . . your meeting got moved up.”

 “What?  No!  How long do I have?”

 Ariella glanced back over her shoulder, then smiled apologetically.  “I’m afraid she wants to talk to you first thing.”

 The implications of that barely had time to sink in before a stocky middle-aged woman in trousers was in the cramped office, pulling up the extra chair to sit facing Pirelo across his desk.  He began to rise to greet her, but she gestured for him to remain in his seat.  Ariella formally introduced him to Mistress Rialca.

 “I didn’t mean to take you by surprise.  My afternoon schedule got knocked completely off its wheels by a bunch of titled lordlings—no offense meant,” she added for the benefit of Ariella, who was a distant cousin of a viscount.

 “None taken,” Ariella replied quickly.  

 “Thank you for taking time to hear my concerns,” said Pirelo.  “In Seruvia, it’s customary to meet in the higher-ranking person’s office.  Shall we move to yours?”

 “Ariella already filled me in on the usual protocols.  She also mentioned that you’d need help with the stairs, so it seemed more efficient to come to you.  Should she close the door?  Is this matter confidential?”

 “Well, I’m not sure.” Pirelo looked past Mistress Rialca’s shoulder, to Ariella, who was waving her fingers as if to say, Go on, you can do this.  Pirelo realized that he could find the right words for this.  He didn’t know Mistress Rialca personally, and what he knew of her could, when viewed from one angle, create an intimidating impression.  But he knew veterans and widows.  “I’ve noticed some discrepancies in inventory forms. There might have been malfeasance—I can’t say for certain.  It’s your call whether to investigate further.”

 Mistress Rialca leaned toward the desk.  “Ariella, please close the door and make sure no one loiters in the hall.  Pirelo, do you have the forms with you now?”

 “Yes, madam.” Pirelo spread the documents on his desk. “As you can see here and here—” he pointed out the appropriate lines—“five static-boxes left Port Authority custody, and two of them remain unaccounted for.  Later, two static-boxes were prepared for shipment to Dralco, but one of them disappeared en route and is still unaccounted for.”

 Mistress Rialca frowned at the dates on the papers.  “A static-box costs as much as a warhorse, and weighs about half as much, and we’ve lost three of them on two separate occasions within the last four months. Unbelievable!”

“It really is unbelievable that this would be simple coincidence.  I reported the first discrepancy to your predecessor, and he considered the matter resolved after some financial discussion—but the two static-boxes that disappeared from the record after leaving the Port Authority were never found.”

 “What about the one that vanished on the way to Dralco?”

 “It’s possible that the wrong number was written down by mistake, and there never was a second one sent.  However, I know a wizard who told me some things that made me think the disappearance of some cold-boxes from military storage might be related.”  Pirelo pointed out the notes he had taken from the panicking corporal, whose problem had not been, officially Pirelo’s problem but who had seemed to calm down from seeing his problem entered into the record. “And as my father often says, three times is enemy action.”

[recentanimenews]

"Hanasaku Iroha" Bonbori Festival Report - A Fictional Event Becomes Real Life Tradition

Every tenth month of the year in Yuwaku, a procession moves along a path lit up by dozens of bonbori lanterns, guiding the young goddess, who once tamed a fox and therefore keeps getting lost, from the Yuwaku Inari Shrine to the serene Gyokusenko Pond. From there, she sets off on her journey to Izumo, the place where all Japanese deities gather once a year. In return for everybody who held their bonbori up to illuminate a path for her, the young goddess takes everyone’s wishes with her to the sky.

  What sounds like a time-honored and long-established tradition is in fact not much older than a mere seven years. And aside from a few inspirations from other Japanese festivals, the Yuwaku Bonbori Festival has no historical roots at all – it was completely made up for the P.A. Works original anime Hanasaku Iroha. This entirely fictional event inspired the town of Yuwaku, which served as the setting for the anime, to recreate the festival in reality. And now, it has been celebrated for the seventh year in a row.

  “If a lot of people get together and fest it up, it’s only natural that many things happen,” says Ohana in the final episode of Hanasaku Iroha, which perfectly describes how the Yuwaku Bonbori Festival came to be. Yuwaku Onsen is a quiet and picturesque hot spring town in the mountainous southeast of Kanazawa Prefecture, but in 2009 the region was hit by heavy rains that triggered devastating floods and landslides. Over 2000 buildings were damaged in the disaster, and over 25,000 people were forced to evacuate. After a few years of successful recovery, town representatives and officials from P.A. Works, a studio that’s deeply rooted in the region, came together to think of ways to aid and boost the local economy – paving the way for the Yuwaku Bonbori Festival we know and celebrate today.

  Not even a full month after Hanasaku Iroha’s final episode aired, Yuwaku hosted the first Bonbori Festival by recreating all festivities from the anime. The festival was instantly a huge success. This was, of course, not a given, and so the festival was designed so that a skeleton crew of no more than a dozen people could manage the event if it didn’t prove successful. But an impressive 5000 people turned up for the festival’s premiere, truly a boon for a small, remote disaster-struck town with no more than nine traditional inns. The made-up event has only grown since, counting more than 15,000 attendees in its seventh iteration this year, and things are looking bright for the future. It is safe to say that the fictional anime festival from Hanasaku Iroha has become an important and beloved real life tradition in Yuwaku, and thanks to P.A. Works' PARUS and JETRO I had the opportunity to fest it up and check out the festival for myself.

    As mentioned earlier, the anime’s fictional town of Yunosagi is based on the real Yuwaku Onsen, a small village hidden in the mountains of Kanazawa Prefecture. The made-up name Yunosagi is actually a word play on the real town’s hot spring source, called “Shirasagi no yu,” literally meaning "hot spring of the white heron." In addition, one of Yuwaku’s public bathhouses is called “Shirasagi no yu,” which, when partially spelled backwards, results in the anime’s Yunosagi. In the anime, Ohana encounters a white heron several times – surely also a nod to Sarah Orne Jewett‘s short story “A White Heron,” in which a young city girl has to move back to her grandmother's home in the countryside, just like in Hanasaku Iroha.

  As you can surely imagine, prior to the anime, Yuwaku Onsen was more of an insider tip, and certainly not a prime destination for anime fans. But the anime's broadcast hadn't even ended when the town began seeing an increase in anime tourists. While Yuwaku itself is fairly hard to reach (only by bus from Kanazawa), the town actually makes for a highly satisfying anime pilgrimage, as all the major spots from the show are easily accessible and not located too far away from each other. 

    We got dropped off close to the intersection here, which was already etched in my mind since I'd seen Ohana and Minko run past this spot so many times in the show’s first opening. Although the main event was still a few hours away, the place was already crowded with people, many of whom were taking photos of their favorite anime locations.

    I was also delighted to find Yuina’s inn only a few steps further ahead. While the inn is called Fukuya in the anime, the real one is called Syuhokaku. Aside from a few minor differences, especially the hotel lobby, which was a lot more spacious in the show, the inn looked just like in the anime. 

  Cosplayers: Michio, Toreko, Aoi

Set up behind Yuina’s inn was a small event area with a bunch of food stalls and a few shops selling Hanasaku Iroha branded goods. There were also a good number of cosplayers dressing up as their favorite characters from the show, often recreating poses and scenes from the anime.

    From there we headed back over Fukujin Bridge, another location from the anime, to Yuwaku’s center. 

    You may ask yourself by now, but what about Ohana’s inn, the Kissuiso? Well, if you’d follow the road on the right up the hill here, you’d end up where the inn was located in the anime. However, you won’t actually find a hotel there, at least not anymore. There used to be a western hotel called Hakuunro up there, which didn’t even closely resemble the anime’s Kissuiso. Unfortunately, it went bankrupt in 1999 and was later torn down in 2006. The area now serves as a public park, so you can at least still check out the would-be location of the anime’s Kissuiso.  

    Another spot from Hanasaku Iroha’s opening. This narrow main street makes up the center of Yuwaku, and leads straight to the Kanazawa Yuwaku Yumeji Museum, dedicated to the famous poet and painter, Yumeji Takehisa, who was a frequent visitor. 

    But more importantly, the street leads right to this flight of stairs, which is – you guessed it – another anime location. These stairs were also a main venue of the festival, as there were several live acts, performances, and speeches. Especially noteworthy here is the fact that there were actually none of the voice actors or the bands responsible for the show’s opening and ending songs present at the festival, as was the case in previous years. Performing instead were local groups and bands, like a small acapella group humming Hanasaku Iroha’s opening theme. It’s all the more impressive, then, that the festival has managed to keep growing at this pace.

An explanation for this change is that P.A. Works is now only taking a backseat when it comes to organizing the festival, as explained by the studio’s executive producer, Nobuhiro Kikuchi, who was one of the driving forces behind the first festival. The organizers have gradually shifted the spotlight away from the festival’s anime origins in order to widen its appeal to non-anime fans – a strategy that seems to be working. Of course, there will always be a strong connection to the anime, and the event will remain a popular destination for anime fans in the coming years, but the festival’s now also highly enjoyable even if you’re not an avid anime fan. 

    The stairs lead up to the humble Yuwaku Inari Shrine, marked by three vermilion torii gates and two kitsune (fox) statues. In the anime, Nako regularly comes here to pray to the young goddess who tamed a fox.  

    I still had a bit of time left before the main festivities were to begin, so I decided to grab a bite to eat. I obviously had to go for some yakisoba, which was also what Ohana and Koichi got before their big confession scene. I unfortunately wasn’t brave enough to ask the chef for a heart-shaped one, so this will have to suffice. 

    Right before the procession started to head to the shrine we were allowed to write down our own wishes on these wishing plaques, which would later be burned in the bonfire, just like in the anime.

    And as the procession started to move, the same soundtrack that was played in the final episode also started playing throughout the town, making me relive the final episode of Hanasaku Iroha in person. 

    After a quick pit stop at the shrine, the young goddess was guided to the nearby man-made Gyokusenko Pond. The stairs, flanked by countless illuminated lanterns, truly were a sight to behold. 

    The same goes for the exclusive pond area, which was fully surrounded by the hand-painted lanterns. 

    The procession fully circled the pond before stopping at the small platform with the bonfire. 

    Then was time for the Yuwaku Bonbori Festival’s grand finale. An actual priest recited a prayer before everybody’s wishing plaques got burned in the bonfire, delivering our wishes and prayers for a second season of Hanasaku Iroha to the sky and the gods above, all as the tranquil soundtrack from the same scene in the anime started playing. 

    The Yuwakau Bonbori Festival is without a doubt one of the biggest success stories when it comes to anime-induced tourism and efforts to strengthen Japan’s more rural areas through anime. However, it's only one of many community projects by P.A. Works, a studio that has always been considered a central player and on the forefront of the rapidly growing anime tourism trend in Japan. In 2015, P.A. Works even went as far as to set up their own Produce Area Research & Utility Support Center (PARUS) to study and support the development of the region and coordinate with local governments. Another one of their projects was kicked off just a day after the Bonbori Festival, which was a sister city signing between the city of Nanto, where the studio is located, and the fictional town of Manoyama from the recent anime, Sakura Quest. The treaty included a handful of tie-in events that were part of Sakura Quest’s plotline, creating even more incentives for fans to visit these anime locations.

  Anime tourism is definitely a growing trend in Japan, and with committed studios like P.A. Works bringing terrific projects like the Yuwaku Bonbori Festival to life and consequently putting Japan’s often overlooked rural regions on the map for tourists, I’m sure it’s a trend that’s here to stay.

    What were your thoughts about Hanasaku Iroha? And would you like to see the real life Bonbori Festival yourself someday? Sound off in the comments below!

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You can follow Wilhelm on Twitter @Surwill.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com