(TRANSLATION) Airi Suzuki 1st solo album "Do me a favor" Talk Session : Suzuki Airi ☓ AKIRA ☓ Imai Ryôsuke

Airi: Today we are welcoming AKIRA-san and Imai-sai, who mainly participated in the composition and arrangements of the dance numbers of my first solo album!
Imai: Thank you very much for letting us compose your songs.
Airi: No, thanks to both of you! We haven't really talked about these stuffs...
Imai: No we didn't do any "real" talk.
Airi/AKIRA: What should we talk about...
Imai: Without any script...
AKIRA: Well (Imai-san) as it's about dance songs...
Imai: Are you trying to get me talk first?
(laughs)
Imai: Well, there are a lot of times where somebody from a girls group is becoming a solo artist and it's surprising but we (as composers) have a leading role about it, when it comes to "rebranding" and how to show a renewed image as an artist. I think it's the same for AKIRA-san, as we're the same generation we usually share the same thoughts, but we have to think of these members as soon-to-become artists and help them try to make it. That was the same for Airi, "how should we do for her?". "How is that song?" and such...
This time, as they are mainly songs you can dance on, we had to think about adding more punch to them. On the other end you also had band-songs producers so, I guess it's a really renewed Airi.
Airi: That's right. These dance songs were almost all new challenges for me. Trying those made me think minutely about a lot of ideas and it was really refreshing...
AKIRA: "minutely" (laughs)
Airi: No but in a good way! In a good way! I'm very happy about it. Also, thanks to those I widened my singing range...
Imai: That's right, before hitting a high note you have to reach a lot of other keys first.
Airi: Right.
Imai: Like a puzzle!
Airi: There was also the english...
AKIRA: Yeah, you're singing in english a lot!
Airi: I'm very sorry for my english, really!
(laughters)
Airi: It took so long!

About "DISTANCE"
Airi: At first, for the dance songs, I sent a list to Imai-san. It was before recording anything.
Imai: Yeah and she came to the studio with a really fresh feeling.
Airi: I thought "I'm going to do it here! Let's widen my singing range!"
Imai: She didn't have many experiences recording RnB or "foreign-like" songs so we tried a lot of things. Before we worked together she sent me a really long sheet where she wrote everything she wanted to try and so on.
AKIRA: Really? I want to see it (laughs)
Airi: I knew you would laugh! (laughs)
AKIRA: Well of course!
Imai: It's just my opinion but yeah, that list was not from an Idol wanting to try new things but from somebody who had a clear image of what she wanted to be as an artist. But I think it's because of her age? She's in a period where you ask yourself if you want to be cute or cool, and you have both images, so I tried to convey that in the song and the music.

About "perfect timing"
Airi: About "perfect timing" wrote by AKIRA... It was mainly in english.
AKIRA: Yeah, a lot of english.
Airi: My lyrics sheet is filled with the pronunciation of the english parts (laughs)
Imai: In which writing?
AKIRA: Katakana
Airi: Yeah, katakana, it's smoother to read how it's going to sound like. But I'm blocking on the "r".
Imai: Ah, the "I cannot speak english 'r' pronounciation"?
Airi: That's right.
AKIRA: It's pronounced "Perfect Timing" but she asked me "Can we not make it Pufect Timing?" (laughters)
Airi: That was really difficult!
AKIRA: I didn't think it was difficult when I made it...
Imai: But the first time might be difficult.
AKIRA: Yeah, maybe because it's very different from what you had experienced until now.
Airi: But for this album I was able to pick up songs I liked, and I think I picked up the most difficult ones...
Imai: Right, the "To do's" list you sent me also had very difficult things but you've succeed to do most of them!
Airi: Really? Thank you!
AKIRA: But it's a really great thing because she's going to deliver those songs so to appropriate them she should like them first. So yeah she picked some, didn't pick some (sigh).
(laughters)
AKIRA: Anyway she picked this reggae-like song. We co-wrote the lyrics together, and it has pretty adult lyrics...
Airi: Yeah, I really wanted to make it mature.
Imai: How much time did it take you?
AKIRA: Well... Not that long actually, we had two ideas, and so I shaped them. Well there was one idea I had but it wasn't accepted... (Airi laughs)... maybe it didn't resonate in her heart or I pushed too hard. Well I don't really remember (laughs) To me I think it should've been a calmer song. That's it for "perfect timing"!

During the recording
Imai: I'm really glad we got to work with such a persona.
Airi: To think that when I was in highschool I had this "mysterious" aura.
Imai: What? (laughs)
Airi: Well members and friends always told me they didn't know what was I really thinking and such and called me "mysterious". So there's a part of me who wanted to go back to this "mysterious" aura but when I talked to AKIRA-san who knows me since my highschool days (t/n he worked a lot with Buono!), he didn't have any memories of the "mysterious" Airi
 (laughters)
AKIRA: Well I just told her that to me, she's the exact same as before.
Imai: I like this open character you have now! I think you just didn't know how to analyze yourself.
AKIRA: You were young.
Imai: It's not because you've never really been mysterious that you cannot become it now.
Airi: I'll do my best.
Imai: What?
(laughters)
Airi: I'm counting on your support from now on.
Imai: She's funny.
AKIRA: Right!
Imai: I think it's a great thing.