Quote:
Originally Posted by tourniquet
still the vocoder hate? xD that's really something subjective. I never found songs with vocoder less emotional or something. actually, I like that slightly distant, cold sound it produces.
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No, I don't hate the vocoders. You don't know how much I agree with you! rollin' sounds so freaking cool when her voice is all robotic!
In any case, the recent lives of Ayu (especially from AT 05), have been very visual... and she's going for that "all-rounded" route for a performance.
Coming from a symphonic band myself, my conductor once told us that in a performance, it's not only the music that counts, visual effects are important too.
I get the feeling that Ayu wants to bring more visual effects to her concert, thus all its flashiness since AT 05.
Well, I don't know what basis is the comparison of her old way of performing and her new way of performing, but I can only say that it's obvious she has sacrificed a little of her vocal performance for the visuals/dance.
And about the lack of emotion... I don't know. I'll try to give what emotion I feel from the songs in NEXT LEVEL that do contain emotion.
NEXT LEVEL - There's this ethereal of serenity, and I cried to this once... it's just so moving. I mean her voice has that "Don't be afraid, I'm right here with you" kind of tone if you ask me.
GREEN - This one has melancholy. Like, her voice is kind of like "There's hope around me, but I don't know if I should approach it". Kind of like the timid voice in I feel in GUILTY, but perhaps in a stronger manner.
Days - Her voice here is just stunning. Enough said... it's just cry-able, omg
Curtain call - I sent the link of the PV to a friend, and he told he doesn't like it cos "it doesn't sound depressing". Lol, well I told him I can hear nostalgia and hope in her voice, and he agreed with me on this one.
Of course, this album doesn't contain as many raw emotions as previous albums, but I guess it's due to the new direction that she's going.
I mean I know I'm a new fan, and perhaps I fit the stereotype of new fans (okay maybe because I hate the I am... album), but I certainly respect and like her old works too.
For example, LOVE ~Destiny~ is a very beautiful song... I like how another user here has said that the softness works very well, and it feels like she's telling a story. With the 10th anniversary version, it's definitely louder and more layered... but I don't know. It'll be hard for her to convey that same emotion in her voice that she did in 1999... nevertheless, it's still a good 10th anniversary (for me at least).
But definitely agree with
ayumisrael here that we should all respect each other's preferences to Ayu. We are all Ayu's fans anyway...
And oh @ panda87: Yes yes yes, I agree! There are some I am... arrangement influences in this album. But one thing I don't like about I am... is that the arrangements are so layered and complicated that they're noisy. In NEXT LEVEL, however, it feels like it's very layered too, but somehow in a more contained way. identity and LOVE 'n' HATE are both so arrangement-based, yet they work so well!