New album titled 'MADE IN JAPAN'
 

Recent developments:

- More from TODAY revealed! (05/04)

- FLOWER revealed! (05/05)
Initial reveal:

i hope the DJ is Diego Vegas & Like Mike because she posted pic with them :yes

so no Colours vol.2 :( :( :( :no it's such a gem

Haha, perhaps. You never know with Ayu.

My wish that she will explore more new Japanese composer and arranger...that will made her album more diverse in variety and sound....

Newer, younger talent sometime will bring a lot more to the table with their ambition and passion. She really need this..new arranger especially.

I actually just translated her part about the tour:

----

Also, the interview does NOT mention a release date, nor does it mention she will perform b-sides. It just says: "some songs which she hasn’t sung in a while".

I think she should probably just ask of more from her current team. We know Yuta and tasuku are capable of just about anything, but she needs to ask them to push themselves.

That said, she could do well with collaborating with a few new composers at least.

I knew it. I think for Chinese fans, to them those are B-sides. Thanks for the translation! I am really unsure about my understanding of the Japanese so it's nice to know that my suspicions were correct overall, lol.

Oh man, her thing about the online bullying... she's gonna go IN on people.

they?
http://i.imgur.com/gPmQUqhl.jpg

I can provide high quality pictures of full interview

I just saw a bit of discussion about it in the Oricon bar. I think they were thinking either them or Afrojack since she had met up with them, so they figured that they were possibly involved.

A lot of fans want dance music and a "wafu" style cover with a very Japanese look.

Though a lot are expecting A ONE 2.0 with like, progress 2.0 among other things.

Also, it seems the album's lyrics will be quite dark. She jokingly mentions that she thought "Will this person be alright?" when she reread the album's lyrics. But she's happy to have gotten those things of her chest and she's in a good place now.

I think she's going to be very critical of those who insult others willy-nilly on this album. Like alterna, but more general.

"wafu" ??
Thank you the little translated portion is quite interesting so it seems she will write about other subject than "love" !! Actually I don't know what to expect musically lol and Yeah for underperformed songs :)

ayu herself is the victim of online bashing, she understands it very well

Seems London finally inspired her to create something dark

"Wafu" or "和風" is a word to describe "Japanese style", I guess, haha.

It tends to be used when describing cuisine in the West, but at times it can be used for other things as well.

Thank you XD yeah it would be cool ! And what would be cool too is a dance songs with some japanese folkish in it !

Yes! I am ready for a dark album! Curious what she is coming up with. Bring it, Ayu!

at the end, what do we know about this album?
* She's working on it
* Some lyrics may be dark

that's all?

The album's lyrics may be dark and it is straightforward like the tour is.

I think the album is very close to done. She's been working on this for a while... I wonder if it'll be big.

what about the title? Is it confirmed?

I really like MADE IN JAPAN! And since both album and tour will be "straightforward and frank", I think it's good idea to name both the same

This title "MADE IN JAPAN" makes me think of "I am..." . A worldy theme with both traditional and hi-tech elements.

I am satisfied.

I'm ready for anything she'll throw at us! As long as it's not another LOVE again lmao
And I'm excited for the tour, I hope she does sing B-sides

I think the title is confirmed. She basically said "the new album is MADE IN JAPAN, the title is this way because..." etc.

nice
I hope Numero photoshoot isn't for album. It's good for magazine, but to similar to A ONE/sixxxxxx and I don't want it again

IM SUPER EXCITED KNOWING SHE'S NOT WRITING ABOUT LOVE! LOLOL
Super pumped for relatable and emotional lyrics. Regardless of whether it will do well, I just wish she produce material that are personal and really provocative (not in the sensual way) because that is who Ayu is.

I'm ok with the album title and IM SO EXCITED she's gonna sing rare songs because I'm going to the final!!! Hope the album will be out someone in the middle of the tour though

(and when i saw this A ONE 2.0...i thought she might call it A TWO lmao)

Yes but that's chinese over baidu who make these suppositions according to the pictures of the last Numero Tokyo but we actually have no true indication except what inspired her for lyrics !

It happened for LOVE and sixxxxxx... no way this can't happen again. If it is some other concept though I would be FLOORED and excited.

i wonder are those feelings about the rumors about her divorse/twitter-mess she had earlier. i hope she comes out with some f*cking bitches ima do whatever i want i'm fabulous kinda songs and concept :yes

I wish she dressed like a transitional Japanese woman for the album cover.

I want her to wear yoshikimono ^_^

^ Nice outfit


*************


I'm all well ready for her next new album....

Don't know what cyber bullying has to do with Japan, at least not speficially as it is a worldwide problem.
Hoping for a well produced sound with an edgier image to darker lyrics.

Hope to god she's not doing music with those two turds in that pic, or afrojack. Music will be all generic edm-style horns and firetruck-like alarms.

So what songs do you guys think?! OMG.

I hope she's singing monochrome n part of me~

I'm all in for dark lyrics *-*
I've said before, but I like MADE IN JAPAN as an album name. I'm just hoping for good mixing, please let the mixing be properly done...

I had a feeling about it, but I wasn't really sure about the name = tour title this time. Though it is a welcome title. I hope the cover looks iconic. IMO sixxxxxx did a pretty good job of that.

I can just speculate what she exactly meant, but when I read that part what popped in my mind was that when you go to Japanese message boards since a while, you have a lot of racism against "the Chinese" and "the Korean" going on. It's not even funny anymore. Also the comments which get the most likes are in 99% racist. Overall Japans right got a lot stronger during the last few years under Abe.
Of course she could have meant somerhing else and wasn't referring to that matter. But in case she wanted to refer to this she wouldn't have had the possibility to be clearer since artists get easily fired in Japan by their company nowadays for speaking up against anything.

Dark *and* isn't necessarily based upon love? Looking forward to the new album!

album full of Terminals please :love

Ah yes, my favorite. I hope she works with them.

I'm really curious where they just pulled a release date from lol


But I'm liking the inspiration

Every rumour I saw posted by voguehoney has been fake so far, so I really doubt it's a reliable source.

yes!!

Also, for the new tour, PLEASE do monochrome, vogue, far away, SEASONS, AUDIENCE, UNITE!, Naturally, NEVER EVER, Endless sorrow, Real me, Trauma, HANABI, and HANABI ~episode II~!

How weird, Chinese fans didn't mention her performing "B-sides" or releasing the album on July 13 either.
voguehoney perhaps misinterpreted it.

Yes, yes, I've been waiting for a new ayu album. I hope it's something different.

I'm happy that the album is going to be called MADE IN JAPAN. I actually wouldn't mind if it was #MADEINJAPAN, but anyway :D

If the lyrics are "dark" I expect a photoshoot a little different from the Número TOKYO one, since those pictures are very "light" and serene.

Awesome!! "B-side" style tour and album would be great. That's my favorite style. :)

I'm so excited for the tour! I hope she brings I am... and Part of me. And Moments, though she already performed it a few times.

I can hardly wait.

I will not be sad if there will be sum Terminal 2 on the album, but PLEASE NO COLOURS 2 -__________-.

I really really like the MADE IN JAPAN title, it could be confirmed for me. It does have "I am..." - personal, natural vibes. Something neutral, yet very personal. I hope the album will be dark, but not with "dark sad ballads" all over it :3 More WARNING vibes!

I wish she would put out a studio version of the rock version of green she's used in the CDL. At least as a digital single or bonus track.

Same, I love that version.

LOVE the new album title! I'm also curious about the direction it may take.

So is it a dark album? I love it:luv2:luv2

If there's a good bit of alterna-like lyrics, I'd be happy.

If you are afraid of change
watch from a distance

There are lots of tour version songs are better than album version

GREEN (CDL 2015-2016 version)
immature (2005 Tour Version)
Voyage (A BEST live version)
evolution (Tour of Secret version)

^
M (from PoM 2011)
vogue~Far away~SEASONS (from PoM 2011)

Duty (from ARENA TOUR 2015) anyone?

If Madeon and ayumi ever collaborated I would go nuts! It needs to happen

Random: I never really like vogue and always skip it when I am listening to Ayu in shuffle but for whatever strange reason I always love seeing it live. :yes

Will is probably a given I think. I wonder what the new songs will be like.

Dark lyrics? Yes, bring it. That's what I live for.

I came back to the Ayu fandom just in time for a new album it looks like. That's a first. I usually come back sometime after an album's release.

Good news: New Ayu release!

Bad news: Well...there's multiple:

• It's not a new single, for those who think Ayu's going to release a new single (don't think that's pretty much viable anymore because of Johnny's and AKB/Nogizaka)
• It's not A BEST 3
• Umm...July 13th - isn't that the same day as Ayaka's best album?

But "dark" lyrics? Ooh... We'll see...

Anyways, looking excited nonetheless!

who said she will not release single before album? Release date is fake
if ayu will sing one of the new songs at the tour, I think it's highly possible that she may release it as digital single really soon

I truly don't see how not getting a single nor ABEST 3 is bad news.
I must be really bad at music too because the version of GREEN from the last CDL doesn't sound anything like rock to me o.O can somebody's day enlighten me on this point?

Anyways, I'm getting excited for this album, I like the title and it could be very promising. I just hope the pictures from that TOKYO numero thing aren't related to the cover, she needs to use the Japanese theme fully.

Maybe it's not evident in TV version, but even before concerts, when I was listening to rehearsals it was clear that guitars play big role in this new arrangement and the sound was really bass heavy, so combined it all sounded kinda heavy and rockish. And then at the actual concerts this effect was even bigger.

I don't really get the obsession people have with singles nor do I see why would anyone want a best of filled with tracks we've heard instead of a new album...

Totally agree!
Back then I rly loved singles because of Remixes, but nowdays the only thing we get is an instrumental, and maybe a good Cover art.

I see, thanks !

On another topic, I now hope she won't include Winter Diary on the album, I don't think it would fit the Japanese theme... But I guess she will anyways.

i think they will cut that horrid opening away since it's called (Original mix) on A7. i bet it's gonna be (album version) without it on upcoming album

And why would anyone want A BEST 3 right now?

Maybe you should edit out the fake release date in the first post, truehappiness? To prevent misunderstandings by people who can't be bothered to read properly.

This. So much. What's better than getting a lot of new material?

I loooooooove the opening ♥ And iirc the PV didn't have the opening and i thought it sounded weird :irked

I know i love getting a lot of new material at once but having like 1 or 2 singles out beforehand is nice too, i remember loving looking forward to her singles.

Idk, all her singles say "Original mix" regardless whether the album version is any different.

I wouldn't mind if she included Winter diary, I'm in the minority that actually loves the song lol

Will would be awesome *-*

also BALLAD and ourselves would fit in perfectly...

Kiss o' kill. I love this song, it would be awesome to see her performing it. Did she ever perform Pray live? I love this song too and would like to see it.

^ I think she did Pray during TA tour last year but i'm not sure anymore

^ She did but I think it wasn't recorded

Well singles used to mean lots of new lives and magazines. Then she stopped promoting.

But I mean it used to be a given that we'd have a entire year to build up to an album with great videos and promotion in between.


Her albums got to the point where there'd be like 6-7 music videos. Because she had lots of time to record them over the year for the singles, then she would make videos for 2-4 songs on the album.

So singles used to mean a lot... Haha

Too bad, I wanted to see it, I really love this song

ayumix 8 pls

Because that's how artists promote themselves. Like tokyoxjapanxfan mentioned, it always meant lives and interviews and whatnot. Not to mention singles usually come with B-sides and remixes. But Ayu rarely promotes herself nowadays so whatever lol

^ Whenever I'm writing a post right after your I get distracted by your sign lol (not complaining tho)

I wasn't expecting the album to be named MADE IN JAPAN, that's a surprise for me lol I guess that's an opposite route of the usual? To me it looks like the tour named the album, not the other way round.

Either way I hope she goes for some traditional Japanese elements on some of the songs. Like, I don't need her to sing enka on the album (would love it tho) but songs hinting on it, like Shape of Love and Will :yes

Getting two lots of new material. Only this. Or maybe three lots of new material.

I think also, singles provide for the opportunity to deliver a concept. A mini "world" and environment can be fleshed out from the songs and turned into a visual spectacle. It allows for a bit of extravagance, and the world of Hamasaki Ayumi seems much larger and expansive when you look back on a year and see all the different places she took you with her paintings of works. It's like the door opens every 3 months and it's a new place to explore, a new vision to be seen. I miss that feeling of waiting for the door to open again, and the curiosity as to what we will be shown this time. As the release date gree closer, we'd all have our ears pressed to that door. We'd begin to hear muffled sounds (snippets, CM spots) - processing the tease of what's to come. That's how I remember it.

It happens once a year now, and it seems to close faster than ever before. Also, it rarely feels like a world at all anymore. It's like a closet door with creaky floorboards and cobwebs. You can tell someone made an effort to clean it up; there are finger trails left in the piles of accumulated dust - but you always feel like more of an effort could have been made to really make that room shine. And you think to yourself "ah, I guess this is how it is now," and you try to accept the fact. But, when you leave that room, and after the door shuts once more, you can't help but wonder if when the next time it opens, what it would be like to see the room completely luminous again.

I love your metaphor :'D

Hell yeah! I would be totally in for that! ♥


Exactly this.

I usually try to keep the original posts there for posterity but I edited it out just to keep things clear. Kept my crossed out "THIS ISN'T TRUE" part though.

Love that post!

Also I think that when she had a few singles over the year her albums where more diverse. Party Queen was the only album since she stopped releasing regular singles that had a diverse sound. LOVE again, Colors, A ONE... they're all pretty boring albums when listening from start to the end.

+1

I don't even care about the number of singles etc, I was even angry that singles have 2-3 maximum new songs and album gives me a loads of more.. but everything you said above created Ayu. I coudn't write it more clearly.

I think it's just changed a bit as the industry has changed and as Ayu herself has changed. I don't know if we'll ever get that again with her pulling away from promo almost completely and no CM tie ups anymore.

When it comes to Ayu nowadays I don't care about singles anymore. Colours and A ONE were pretty short and something tells me that she's going to keep releasing albums with fewer tracks, so I'd rather have new material instead of a bunch of tracks from singles. It was different back in the day when a single used to mean a new PV, a bunch of TV performances, promotion, etc. Ah, the old days...

I'm not sure if I'm convinced that the album is going to be "dark" as we don't have much information to go on.

Same - to me it sounds more, well...Green-y.

I think if it makes Ayu think "Is this person going to be okay?!", I'm sure it's a bit different from the usual, lol.

I'd say GREEN was a (Band version) rather than rock... Yeah there was a guitar but that's not enough for me (M at PoM is an example of a rock version)

It was a japanese version instead of the original chinese arrangment...

GREEN (MADE IN JAPAN version) would be a great bonus to a single or album haha.

Darker songs (be it because of lyrics, instrumental, both or whatever) are definitely my favourite, but I never hope too much for her to make new ones because she said she writes songs depending on how she feels, and I obviously hope for her to feel good. So, reading what she said about dark lyrics, looks like ayu hit my sweetspot. I wouldn't mind something apparently upbeat and happy-go-lucky but with actually melancholic lyrics such as fairyland; also, I second who said an alterna-like song would be awesome for the internet bullying theme.

I also like Winter diary :)

Winter Diary's PV could be bonus track on the DVD/Bluray.

"To be continued..." message at the end of the PV makes me feel like this song will be linked to other song in the album. It may not be a bonus material for DVD/Bluray.