NEXT LEVEL tracklist + CD2+DVD cover

[darkcarousel]

i hope none of you misunderstood me. i've been observing a lot. it's just getting to the point that mostly everyone's comments here are negative and it's overflowing over the positive things. this forum isn't as fun as it used to be. i didn't mean to cause an argument sorry.

i have a feeling that the first few tracks will be very electronic-inspired. kind of how GUILTY starts off as rock tracks, same with Secret.

[Queen Bee]

Originally Posted by emiko

I don't understand why someone who wants Ayu to succeed would look for reasons to hate something.

Isn't it entirely possible that there are people that just don't like it? Of course there's realms of reason...I guess some people have been in it, and others not.

Details can make the difference from something being awesome and something being awful.

In a piece of artwork, every little thing contributes to the overall picture as a whole. Like a signature. The pictures used, any brushes, any textures, any effects, any colorings, any bit of text. The placement of those things, and what they convey to the viewer.

Covers are the same.

For example...how would it change the picture if that bit of hair wasn't there beneath her ear? Or if the camera had panned out a bit...or if the text NEXT LEVEL wasn't sideways?

What does making the text sideways convey to the viewer? What does it say about what they are trying to get across?

People at this forum are all different. They all have different talents and attributes. Some people more adept to composition, some to color, some don't care, some focus on only this or that.

Just like in music. Some people focus on the composition, others the lyrics, others the arrangements, and others the songs as a whole.

Whatever your talents lie, it's good to bring them to the table...to discuss!

A photographer or artist might see one thing looking at the picture...and someone who's an engineer might see something else.

imo it's important to see everything and be open, to get all points of view...but of course, not everyone is like that.


I really would like to think that no one here who has voiced their opinions wants Ayu to fail, or is looking for things to critique.

Maybe I'm being too optimistic.

I have to agree with you here. As an artist myself I look at covers as a photographer first rather than a fan. Also since I've been taught to look to make sure everything works in a photograph so elements that don't work I notice right away, like the fluff of hair.

[Uemarasan]

I, for one, am glad this is provoking so much debate and even active dislike. Guilty was as boring as ef.

I would love it if this album was as silly, frivolous, trifling, superficial, shallow, gaudy, and tacky as its cover. If Ayu undercuts it with the same irony that she did with Beautiful Fighters, then I'd be willing to call it the best album she has put out thus far.

I hope she doesn't include a lot of ballads or midtempo rock songs just to add some unnecessary "depth" to the album. Give me some hardcore POP! Superfluous, lightweight, trippy, happy-to-the-point-of-annoying electronic POP!

[ArchangelLegend]

Originally Posted by darkcarousel

i've been observing a lot. it's just getting to the point that mostly everyone's comments here are negative and it's overflowing over the positive things. this forum isn't as fun as it used to be.

It is natural for topics and news like these to be extremely opinionated. You don't have to view these as negative, just opinionated.

There are many lesser opinionated topics in this forum, those are fun. People are more accepting with each other, but that's not to say disagreements weren't fun as well. HOW someone argues can actually make a disagreement enjoyable. That's far from negative.

I personally think Ayu's hair is not puff enough. I want it puffier. Like exaggerated afro puffier. That way, there might be some chance that there will be an afro ayupan version. I know, wishful thinking, but I want it to happen. ^^;

[YuriChan]

Originally Posted by Ayumi626

I have to agree with you here. As an artist myself I look at covers as a photographer first rather than a fan. Also since I've been taught to look to make sure everything works in a photograph so elements that don't work I notice right away, like the fluff of hair.

I can see where you're coming from... Maybe because I create covers for fun! XDDD

[Uemarasan]

I hope this doesn't turn into another "tasteful" album like Guilty. When Hikki started becoming more tasteful, her music became more boring by the minute.

I am praying that this album sounds trashy yet ironic, like how its cover looks like.

Tasteful sells more, but true art contradicts.

[jimex289]

I honestly don't know how to feel about this album overall. One thing's for sure at this point in time: it feels like she's going in a radically new direction, as the album title would suggest. I'm going to refrain from making any unnecessary judgments right now though. I thought NEXT LEVEL would be something totally different from what was heard in that CM. Though some of the song titles are a little indicative of certain music genres, this doesn't have to be the case.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by ArchangelLegend

The cover looks more disco than electronica. I would like to hear at least one funky 70s disco song in this album. Even better would be having Ayu with an afro in one of the PVs. Of coarse I know I am wrong. I always am.

haha, actually a funky 70s sounding song from Ayu wouldn't be too bad. I can do without the afro though.

And yeah, I already consider LOVEappears her techno/electronic album and I much prefer the tracks on that album (even PSII) to Sparkle. Maybe I'm insane.

[jimex289]

The main vibe I'm getting from that cover is "futuristic". It seems like everything is tying together nicely with the concept of taking it to the "next level".

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

haha, actually a funky 70s sounding song from Ayu wouldn't be too bad. I can do without the afro though.

And yeah, I already consider LOVEappears her techno/electronic album and I much prefer the tracks on that album (even PSII) to Sparkle. Maybe I'm insane.

No you're not! P.S. II is pretty darn good! I prefer to think of Sparkle as an updated version of LOVEppears tracks yet different from them at the same time.

And a 70s song! Omg I would just die of joy ;_;!

[orangeland]

This cover screams Ladies Night, part II.

[Gasuko-chan]

Thank you!!
I love the cover.
OMG, there'll be PV for Sparkle!!! *DYING*
The tracklist is very different from what she did until now, I can't wait for it to be released. ^^

[Megshere]

Thanks for posting this news. I'm very happy so far and am glad I ordered it. I love the cover and the songs sound like they might be more Pop and different from GUILTY, which is good for me. I think GUILTY is probably my least favorite album of hers, so anything different from that and I am already happy. I do hope it is more techno/electronic pop as some people are suggesting.
Ayu seemed to go too far into rock for me and it got a bit boring. I haven't genuinely liked anything since BLUE BIRD. It's not like I hate her recent stuff, but they have had to grow on me. With Sparkle, I liked it on the first listen and haven't gotten sick of it yet. I think it's better than anything on LOVEppears and I really love that album A LOT. It's one of my favs now and I can't wait to see it live. She better perform it when I go to AT09 or else I'll be one sad lil fan.

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by Lady_Eowyn

I can't speak for others, just for myself. And i don't wanna hate Panda, but it's just that i have never liked mainstream pop music until i met Ayu and j-pop. electropop it's just not my thing. I don't want ayu to be another copy of Namie Amuro or Lady Gaga or Rihanna or anyone of them. There are too many artists out there making average sounds of pop music with average, stupid lyrics; i mean, there's more than enough of that. But Ayu is different. She is one of the few artists (that i know) that manages to be mainstream, popular, but intelligent and deep at the same time. i don't really wanna see she is going to lose that touch with this new album and the titles doesn't look very promising; Tho i'm really hoping i will be wrong

This kind of reminds me of how people react when an indie band "sells out". To us fans, sure, Ayu is very 'different' and 'unique', but there are also people all over the world that see her very differently, as a really, very, run-of-the-mill popstar. I get the impression that a lot of people are more bothered by Ayu being grouped into a category with such 'average' pop artists. I don't know, to me, it comes off as being somewhat like a musical 'elitist' or just kind of uptight. Yeah I understand, Ayu is different, you have different expectations for her. I totally get that. I totally agree with you. Personally, I try to stay optimistic at these early stages, because I end up liking much of what Ayu puts out naturally. Image, song titles, and genre do foreshadow what the album is going to be like, of course. But I know some people, to this day, that don't like her image, her song titles, or the genre of music she does, yet they're still able to enjoy her music for some reason. Ayu has this incredible power over people, you should have confidence in it. If she wants to go in a different direction, fine. Electropop isn't your thing, it isn't mine either. It isn't Ayu's either. What is Ayu's 'thing'? Ayu shows strength in many different genres and subgenres of music. In my opinion, she pulls off everything pretty damn well. If she wants to follow music industry trends, so what? We all know Ayu looks up to Madonna very much, and that's exactly what Madonna did with her latest album. She employed Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, etc. It's arguable, but the album still turned out very 'Madonna'. Imo, Ayu has the same musical versatility to make it work for her. She proved that to me with several songs, most of which are on (miss)understood.

In terms of lyrics, I mean, people are pretty much assuming that this album is going to be full of 'mindless' lyrics, much like 'Sparkle'. I just want to make sure that there's a clear line between mindless and uninspired. GUILTY, though not mindless, was an uninspired album. Period. She admitted to this in interviews, she had no inspiration to make this album. Depending on your personal definition of 'mindless', NEXT LEVEL may be just that. It may not float your boat, but I have a feeling already that if it isn't seen as the 'NEXT LEVEL', but rather some kind of degeneration, people will be quick to call this album uninspired. People already have called the album rushed, which it was in a sense, but I truly think that this album was made out of inspiration. This might be one of Ayu's more cohesive albums in a very long time. It's clear from CMJK's blog, that she has gotten him as one of the main masterminds of the album's production. This is the first time, I believe, that CMJK actually commented about one of her album's as a whole and not just the song's that he worked on himself. To me, this looks like an inspired piece of work. Of course, it doesn't mean the music is going to be good, but it leaves me feeling better at the end of the day knowing that she put a lot of thought into the direction and attempting to make a cohesive album. I think this should be exciting for a lot of us!

Sorry about the long post, I'm totally jolted on caffeine right now and I can't get to sleep.

[JEWELian]

^That's actually really interesting to read so don't worry.
I generally like CMJK's work, "Sparkle" has a great arrangement, and until that Day... is a fantastic song.

I was also thinking maybe one of the reasons why she does the album at the last minute is just because it's also a way of preventing the songs from leaking. ai otsuka obviously writes her songs ages in advance, so when she needs to do the album they've probably already been recorded long before hand, and that's why for instance with LOVE LETTER the whole thing leaked a month early.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

People already have called the album rushed, which it was in a sense, but I truly think that this album was made out of inspiration.

Really? Because to me it seems like this album is being squeezed out at the last minute so that it can go on Avex's yearly financial statement to their investors in time. (The Japanese financial year ends in march) If it's really an album borne from inspiration, I would think there wouldn't be any need for such a rush.

[jimex289]

Bottom line is it's too hard to judge what the songs will be like purely on the titles alone and the image. We can say all we want about how the cover looks etc. but it shouldn't be used as a basis for judging the contents of the album. No use worrying about it until you hear the thing as a whole. NEXT LEVEL turned out to be something I totally didn't expect. So far it looks promising for me with the inclusion of Days / GREEN. Rule / Sparkle wasn't all that bad either and I liked what I heard from the short preview of NEXT LEVEL.

One thing is for sure though. Clearly, like Coelacanth pointed out, this album is an inspired piece of work that Ayu has been putting together. I was not around during GUILTY so I don't know the situation about that. I do know the news about her close friend and her hearing loss very much affected her motivation for making the album one way or another. She seems so full of optimism for this album though. Even if it turns out below my expectations, I can go away satisfied knowing at least she tried very hard for her fans.

[zoomzoom]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Really? Because to me it seems like this album is being squeezed out at the last minute so that it can go on Avex's yearly financial statement to their investors in time. (The Japanese financial year ends in march) If it's really an album borne from inspiration, I would think there wouldn't be any need for such a rush.

Honest question, why do you think the album seems rushed? I know she's been working like crazy recently flying to LA and all, but does the album need to take months to make to be better or to not be "rushed"? I mean, she's kinda almost 3 months late with the album if you consider her habit of releasing around Christmas/New Years.

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Really? Because to me it seems like this album is being squeezed out at the last minute so that it can go on Avex's yearly financial statement to their investors in time. (The Japanese financial year ends in march) If it's really an album borne from inspiration, I would think there wouldn't be any need for such a rush.

Oh it definitely was rushed in that sense. But I mean, that probably has more to do with Ayu having to satisfy a contractual obligation to put out an album before a certain period of time, plus new material in order to support a nationwide tour. Not really sure if Ayu has the freedom to work at her own pace, especially when she's one of Avex's top earners.

[skydiver4lyfe]

thanks for the amazing quality photo!!! ^^