The album title sounds odd, but I hope and pray to god that there are no more embarrassing low budget PVs. I still don't know how she thought XO or Angel were appropriate for release and not some awful awful joke.
I also hope to god the collaboration with this JJ fellow will be nothing like their Seasons duet, which was awful! A song that is a gift from the sky sets the standard pretty high. I'm expecting something Akin to Heaven or Hanabi now lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeke.
Ayu used to have some of the best mixing in the business. Her top-notch works and higher quality productions have some of the best mixing I have ever heard in my life.
The reason for this, is because the mixing process seemed to be a bit more meticulous. They would take the time to adjust the levels in the layers as well as their positioning between the speakers. This created an effect where at every possible angle, a different layer was highlighted. It's like if you think of the sound as a 360 degree environment. 60% of one layer may be in the right channel, 90% of another layer may be in the opposite channel. Etc. Now, everything is so flat and kind of just coming at you head on.
Listen to No way to say or some of the tracks that were re-mastered for A BEST 2. No way to say has that really wicked syncopated/vibrating guitar in the left channel, which basically carries the entire track. Meanwhile, in the right channel, more of the focus is place on the gentle and warm strum of the stringed instrument(s). The tension that arises pre-chorus kind of travels across the entire soundscape leading up to an explosion of everything in unison. This was always a key strength for much of Ayu's songs - you could listen to them time and time and time again, and focus your attention between all the different layers of sound and get a different experience each time.
Another example of absolutely wonderful mixing, as well as composition and the way it was arranged is walking proud. Regardless of whether or not you like the song, listen to how absolutely LUSH and LAYERED everything is. Each layer is highlighted even before she begins to sing! Listen to how they all roll so smoothly right into each other. It's miraculous how all those layers just build into each other and transition so smoothly, working so HARMONIOUSLY. It was truly well-planned out and you can tell that a lot of time and effort went into tweaking those details.
The poor mixing in her recent works give the pieces less of a replay value. You listen to the song and there's not as much to discover. The song is taken at surface value because that's all that it has to show you. It's all right there in the center.
I wish I could have a listening party with Ayu fans and really sit and converse over the intricacies within her music. To pick apart and highlight the layers together.
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You know, slightly off topic, but for NIN fans, on albums like The downward spiral and The fragile, these intricate layers are essential. It really makes the song transcend being simply a piece of music and elevates it to a different level of experience.
I think its not just production (or PVs) that Ayumi has become lazy with but also the instruments she uses on her tracks often seem artificial, muted and lifeless. All of that maybe fine for a casual listener who may not invest the time to thoroughly enjoy a track, but to keep fans coming back, these things are important.
Many fans will say we are asking for too much from her, but it was her that elevated this herself to that standard and didn't care to maintain it *shrug* And the end of the day though, its reached a point (for me) where if she can continue to release songs that I can listen to and enjoy even on a superficial level, then that's good enough for me (i'll still criticize her awful/embarrassing videos though). Hopefully the rest will come back in time??