Aya

:"Not to be confused with Aya Kamiki, another female Japanese rock artist."

AYA is a female J-Rock artist on the BMG FUNHOUSE label.AYA's latest song, Over Night (2006) is used as the ending theme to the Anime "Le Chevalier D'Eon".

Aya was born in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, in a small town with a population of 2000. Most of her childhood was spent doodling while listening to her parents' oldies. Aya received a bolt from the blue in primary school when during a Ventures' concert she heard electric guitars for the first time. In junior high she henceforth devoted herself to hard rock and punk, and joined a girl band right after getting her first electric guitar, doing covers on bands like the Sex Pistols. Bored with school and with few friends, she missed half of the term and dropped out of school at 15. Then she discovered Nirvana's 1991 album "Nevermind", which introduced her to grunge and would have a huge influence on her own musical career. Leaving home, she wandered around various cities in Hokkaido before ending up in Tokyo. While making a living by singing in bars, she was invited to audition for a band at a pop vocal contest. She won, but her luck ran out when the band's songwriter died just moments before their debut. She considered abandoning her dream of becoming a professional musician, but was pleasantly surprised when she discovered how easily songwriting came to her. She immersed herself in song writing, and the first song she wrote became her debut song, "HANDS".

Making demo tracks took up a great part of her time, but she also managed to sharpen her musical skills by performing on American army bases and on the streets of Shibuya. By the time she signed with BMG Japan, she already had 30 well-crafted songs ready for production. Aya arranged the songs and used an 8-track multi-tape recorder to create all the various effects and harmonies, playing guitar, bass, and drums (machine) herself.

American producer Adam Kasper (of Soundgarden and Foo Fighters fame) heard Aya's demo tape and was greatly impressed, and immediately agreed to produce her. In December 2000, Aya traveled to Seattle to record 3 singles at "Studio X", which was well-known for its association with '90s grunge bands Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Nirvana. Adam Kasper invited top Seattle musicians to create the "ideal" sound for Aya. Included in this all-star line-up were drummer Matt Cameron (formerly of Soundgarden and currently of Pearl Jam), guitarist Kim Thayil (formerly of Soundgarden), guitarist John McBain (formerly of Monster Magnet), and keyboardist Glenn Slater (formerly of Walkabouts). Each one, just like Adam, fell in love with Aya's music.

In June 2001, they reunited in Seattle to finish the debut album, but this time they were joined by Krist Novoselic, the bass player from Nirvana, whom Aya had long admired.

The album was titled "A FLOWER IN THE BATTLEFIELD" (Japanese title "Senjyo-No Hana"), and debuted in 2002 to glowing praise in Japanese rock circles and the German press. To promote the album Aya consequently spent the best part of the year concentrating on live performances, doing little press. Soon after her debut she was invited to play at "Summer Sonic Festival," one of Japan's biggest rock festivals, and her wild and aggressive performance was one of the highlights of the 2-day festival. When she opened for grizzled Japanese rocker Eikichi Yazawa's 30th anniversary stadium gigs, she proved she could work a crowd of over 50,000 people with exceptional confidence.

In Spring 2004, Aya decided to release a 7-track EP album, "THE FORBIDDEN SONG" ("Kinjirareta Uta"), a release that expressed her worldview in a more direct and straightforward manner. Instead of using grunge legends to back her, she decided to record with the three musicians who had been with her on stage since her debut. This was partly to prove that she could do an "Aya" sound by herself, but also stems from her discomfort with the idea of using two 'bands' (one for recordings and one for live performances). The result was a tighter album than the first, with a more standard rock feel in general. This mini-album helped Aya secure a more rabid fan base in Japan, and Japanese rock critics hailed the work, stating "Aya reveals her true feelings and intentions with tremendous strength and purity in this landmark album".

Following a sold-out Japanese club tour, Aya went to work on her second full album, "BAGHDAD SKY" in 2003 and 2004. "BAGHDAD SKY" was the album that Aya had been seeking throughout her career. A "meaty" feel exemplifies the album's harder, more genuine rock tracks ("NOBODY" "1999" "SINGIN' IN THE RAIN" "BETTY" "DEAD END"), while songs like "WE" and "MISS ROCK & ROLL" are essentially pop songs with strong hooks. "SHADOWS ON THE ROAD" and "BAGHDAD SKY" are ballads with a brazen acoustic feel, while "BLUE BUTTERFLY" is an over six minute epic that showcases the breadth and depth of scale of Aya's talents, with a montage of Metallica and Radiohead set against a majestic soundscape. The album overall has a grander sound than her previous work, and is considered the first to represent her own musical vision.

Discography

Albums

* [2004.06.09] BAGHDAD SKY
* [2003.03.26] Kinjirareta Uta (The Forbidden Song)
* [2002.04.24] Senjou no Hana (A Flower in the Battlefield)

ingles

* [date not yet revealed] Over Night (Le Chevalier D'Eon ED)
* [2003.10.14] AYA BITCH PROJECT (Special Live CD)
* [2002.03.20] Sentaku no Asa (The Morning That I Choose My Own Way)
* [2001.07.25] Crazy Mermaid
* [2001.04.25] Hands

External links

* [http://www.bmgrock.com/aya/ Official Website]
* [http://aya.shiroi-hana.net/ BAGHDAD SKY | an AYA unofficial fansite in ENGLISH]
* [http://www.no-blue-sky.net/aya/ Blue Butterfly, the AYA fanlisting]
* [http://www.chevalier.tv/ Le Chevalier D'Eon Official Website in JAPANESE]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2iKClT8GNs Dave Grohl of Nirvana/Foo Fighters talks about meeting Aya]