YOASOBI makes maximalist pop with minimal tech
YOASOBI's Ayase and Ikura break down the five pieces of tech they can't make music without.
YOASOBI, the Japanese pop duo, create music that appears complex, but the technology behind it is surprisingly straightforward. Ayase, the duo's producer, builds their songs using bright piano melodies over electronic beats and unexpected sonic flourishes, with Ikura's voice smoothly moving through dense arrangements. This relationship between music and technology has been present before YOASOBI's rise.
Ayase, after leaving a rock band in his teens, turned to Japan's thriving Vocaloid scene, using a laptop and voice-synthesizing software like Hatsune Miku to compose and produce his songs mostly on his own. Even as YOASOBI's ambition grew, Ayase's toolkit seemed to shrink. When asked about the five essential pieces of technology in their music, Ayase struggled to come up with a fifth.
His list includes a MacBook Pro, Splice for access to a digital library of sounds, Logic Pro for production, EarPods for their simplicity, and the most specialized item, a high-end Sony microphone. Despite their maximalist sound, the duo's setup is minimal, with Ayase utilizing the tools he has to create music that stands out.
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