Trying Something New, my Impressions of ArtemIs and personal introduction to nayuta

I don’t think I am really good with words, but here I will try.
Background, I first found nayuta through EastNewSound because I also love Touhou and listening to Touhou vocal songs. So my first time hearing her voice was through “Beneath the Scarlet Moon, The Crazed Blossoms' Severance” (“緋色月下、狂咲ノ絶”.)

I loved this song and so I went to look up this vocalist “nayuta” and I had a friend who shared her songs with me as well. Back then I didn’t know how to find or import these cds from Japan (I live in the US) and without knowledge of Japanese I was quite lost (language translators weren’t as good back then). Thankfully technology has progressed well and things have become much more accessible.

Maybe i’ll just admit it here, nayuta in the most honest sense, has given me reasons to live. Before, while I had blurry dreams of wanting to visit Japan or learn Japanese, I could not push myself to actually work towards it. Nayuta really has given light to my world. What also cannot be replaced was my connection through other nayufans, an amazingly kind community that I think is a good reflection of nayuta’s own kind heart. Thank you Nayuta and nayufans for pushing me to grow and try to achieve dreams I didn’t know I still had.

^^some personal favorites and recommendations! (Sorry I don’t know if all of those links will work)

Moving onto impressions of the new album! Unfortunately, this will only be based on feelings and emotions because I am still working on reading the lyrics and story. What more can I say than “I love it”? RD-Sounds’s composition compliments nayuta’s voice perfectly, crafting beautiful imagery in my mind. 

Beautiful Album Jacket

“presented by nayuta” why do I love this wording so much? I hate how slow I am with learning Japanese because I am only getting half or even less of what nayuta is trying to give here. This album isn’t just music, but a beautiful story and I desperately wish to be able to read and experience it fully! I also love the use if capitalizations to highlight certain letters in a single word the “A” and “I” in ArtemIs in this case. AI can be used for both “artificial intelligence” as well as Ai for “愛” for love. I love wordplay, although I am not skillful at using it myself.

This next section will be a short impression based on feeling of each track as well as title, unfortunately I cannot base a lot on lyrics yet.

Track 1 nameless moon

The beginning of the journey or story, floating through the cold, dark, lonely, but also beautiful void if space. Astronomy was my favorite science subject in school and everything about space is mysteriously beautiful to me. The title of a “nameless moon” I wonder how far away this moon might be. Space is just amazingly large and… empty, this moon I wonder does it even have a planet or a star?

Track 2 determinism(機械仕掛けのココロ)(Mechanical Heart)

This one has a music video! Hmm let’s start with the title “determinism” this is a doctrine that essentially says “free will” is fake and that all actions have already been determined. If we go along the theme of AI then perhaps the one in this story laments their existence as “pre-programmed” The concept of free-will is one that is inherently “human” so it is easy to visualize parts of this story through context clues!

A "mechanical heart", easy comparison can be to think of it as "cold", and without a real "heartbeat", compared to a "warm", "beating" heart of flesh, but that doesn't mean the person can't be human. In fact completely artificial "mechanical hearts" exist today as an option for heart transplants.  

Track 3 ne/ne(ヒトらしくあるために)(To be Human)

Oh? What do we have here “To be Human” I wonder once I can read the full story how many tears will I shed, nayuta’s voice alone.

How I am interpreting this song so far is our AI questioning what it means “to be human". What does it really take or mean to be human? Is it our ability to think deeply and understand ourselves? I have seen it in shows or anime where the "AI" character can be kinder and more understanding than the human characters.

I hope the AI in this story is able to find the answers they are looking for. The final phrase of the song sounds so hopeful~.

Track 4 upon a star(ネガイゴト)(“negaito” It seems to translate as “wish”,”dream”, or “prayer/oracion”)

I’m sure the phrase “to wish upon a star” is one many of us are familiar with. The twinkling stars throughout the song evoke a beautiful scene of the shining night sky. Nayuta’s shining voice lifts me up as if riding a shooting star through the sky.

Track 5 beside you(夢の続きへ)(To the continuation of the dream)

This one… the intro i’m not sure how to describe it. Its as if i’m getting ready for a journey, perhaps this is the “continuation of the dream” in the title? A feeling that “beside you” anything is possible. Ahhhhh…. Nayuta’s voice is just beautiful beyond words here.

This feeling of hope for the future, this is the nayuta I can fall in love with over and over again! At 2:10 and onwards I am just breathless from the powerful, yet also gentle care in nayuta’s voice.

Track 6 until my last breath(生きる証を)(Proof of Living)

Where to even begin on this beautiful song, after the adventurous rush of the previous song. Nayuta’s gentle voice, like waking up from a beautiful dream, this song was going to be a favorite when I first heard it from the XFD.

Each beat in the background is like another step on the path of life. “I did my best”, “until my last breath” this song… it feels like the end of the journey. “Thank you for being with me” is the message I feel from this song. Hearing this at the end of a live, im sure the tears would flow endlessly.

Track 7 ArtemIs

Here we have the final track, the title if the album. Artemis goddess of the moon. A warm gentle instrumental that already brings kind, nostalgic memories. The moon, an ever present companion in the night sky.

Track 8 ???

A secret track?! I don’t want to say too much, but this was a fun puzzle to decipher, I did have to ask for help in checking my result because of going through multiple translators and decoders. To my surprise there was a hint in the storybook that I didn’t see because I am taking a long time to read it.

Conclusion

This album is a collaborative work with a lot of love and hard work poured into it. I once again lament my slow learning for Japanese, because I have not yet received the full message that nayuta, rd-sounds, and さんしお wish to deliver. Maybe i’ll make another post in the future going into more depth after I can properly read both the lyrics and short story. Nayuta’s voice captivated me about 10 years ago now… i’m really glad to have found her because she has also led me to many other lights that have shown me a path to life that I want to take. Thank you so much Nayuta as well as everyone that took part in this project. I would also like to thank なゆふぁんず an extremely warm and welcoming community that I am very lucky to have encountered.

Thank you dear reader for making it to the end of my ramblings about my favorite singer nayuta and her latest album ArtemIs. I was never really good with words or explaining my feelings so I can only wish I conveyed things well.