old events in tokyo

Chapter 166 Behind the Scenes
At around nine o'clock in the morning, Kazuki Akiyama and Takumi Ishida came to the VICTOR STUDIO recording studio in Jingumae Nichome, Shibuya District.

Opposite is the National Stadium, also known as "Meiji Shrine Gaien Arena", the venue of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.

It's just that it looks a little dilapidated now because of the age.

It is far from the new look and style of the latest Olympic Games in later generations.

And a few minutes walk along the street in front of you is the famous Meiji Shrine.

But they didn't come to play today. Looking at the white square building in front of them, it looks a bit like a large container.

There is the English name of the recording studio and a big JVC logo in the upper left corner, and the environment around the front desk became quiet instantly.

There are many vertical display cabinets here, and various types of stereos, earphones, cameras and photography peripherals are placed on layers of wooden lattices.

Without exception, the logos on every digital product are JVC or Victor. Friends who are familiar with digital products may be familiar with these brands.

SMAP's record contract was signed with Victory Music, which just changed its name to Victory Entertainment Co., Ltd. this month.

When Kazuki Akiyama heard Victory Music, the first thing he thought of was the American Victory Music Record Company.

This company can be described as a real century-old store, which already existed in the Republic of China period in China.

Japan's Victory Music was actually a subsidiary of American Victory at the beginning, but later, due to the war, it simply became an independent all-Japanese record company.

The parent company behind it is JVC, which is controlled by the Mitsui Zaibatsu and Panasonic Electric.

Japan's first TV was born in this company, so they can see JVC's electronic products here in the recording studio.

The entire recording studio is several times larger than Being's, with all kinds of lights and spotlights above the head, and the bright and shiny wooden floor that has been waxed under the feet.

Wide corridors, courteous staff.It is worthy of being backed by a rich and powerful parent company, and it is full of pride.

Sanzhi Iijima, who had been waiting here for a long time, saw them, and immediately greeted them enthusiastically.

"Akiyama-san, I will be taking care of you today."

"Iijima-san has been waiting for a long time, and it is my honor to be able to help everyone in SMAP-san." Kazuki Akiyama bowed and said politely and modestly.

Then, under the leadership of Iijima Santomo, a group of people walked through the wide corridor and came to the door of a recording studio.

After opening the thick screen door to enter the inside, the recording studio still looks very open.

The surrounding walls are covered with sound-absorbing cotton, and the lights are bright, not dark at all.

The six members of SMAP were all in place, and when they saw them coming in, they all stood up and greeted them.

"Akiyama-san, please take care of me today." After greeting each other, Nakai Masahiro, the captain, came forward alone again, thanking Kazuki Akiyama for his help today.

"Nakaju-san, you're being polite. With the hard work of SMAP-san, there is absolutely no problem with this song."

In fact, they debuted earlier than themselves, but they still called themselves very politely. Just this attitude made Akiyama Kazuki full of affection for them.

It is not surprising that many people are polite, especially in Southeast Asian countries that are deeply influenced by Confucianism.

After saying hello to the staff here, everyone began to prepare for the first trial recording.

The equipment and equipment in the recording studio here are top-notch, and many of them are their own brands, so it doesn't hurt to use them at all.

Because SMAP has six members, multi-mic pickups are used for recording, and several people can record together.

Strictly speaking, SMAP is a singing idol group, and there is no clear lead singer, and several members will participate in the recording of a song.

But since it is a song, there will be verses, choruses, and transitional sections, so there will be priorities when assigning.

Hearing what Santomo Iijima meant, I want Kazuki Akiyama to focus on taking care of Masahiro Nakai and Takuya Kimura.

This song has a slower rhythm and melody in J-POP, and the key is not too high.

It’s not too difficult for SMAP, and besides, they all had targeted training before their debut, so they didn’t have too many problems to cope with it.

Kazuki Akiyama wore earphones at the console outside, and listened to their singing seriously.

He still has some confidence in his sense of pitch, which is half innate and half brought about by long-term music theory study in the later period.

After listening to their singing, Kazuki Akiyama felt that it was reasonable for Mitomo Iijima to lead them to focus on variety shows and TV dramas.

As far as singing skills are concerned, it can only be said to be barely qualified. Nakai Masahiro's voice can be said to be hoarse and magnetic, and it can also be said to be a male duck voice in the eyes of laymen. .

As for Takuya Kimura, it was somewhat beyond Kazuki Akiyama's expectations, and his personal style is relatively strong.

During the singing process, there will be some impromptu personal performances, which will sound more emotional and passionate.

Another person who impressed him was Inagaki Goro, who can be called SMAP's intonation in this round.

Of course, it also has its own obvious shortcomings, that is, the teeth turn white when singing high notes.

As for the rest of them, they are relatively ordinary, without too many bright spots or too many flaws.However, Cao Yugang's timbre is good, and it sounds softer.

After thinking about it, Kazuki Akiyama communicated with the sound engineer beside him.After all, this is someone else's territory, and I'm only here to help, so it's not good to go too far.

The SMAP members who were quietly waiting in the recording studio were also a little apprehensive. The best performance since their debut was the first single when they debuted.

Ranked No.2 in the public trust list, this is the result of Johnny's secret efforts behind it.

Since then, my performance in music has always been insignificant, and when it was serious, the records could not be sold.

The most unforgettable thing for a few people was the concert in Nagoya, where they rehearsed hard for several days.

He turned his back to the audience when he took the stage, and when the lights came on and turned around to start singing, there were only two people empty in the auditorium.

They didn't know how they persevered at that time, and Kitagawa also summoned them afterwards.

I asked them if they wanted to give up on this path. A few people who felt very frustrated at the time finally gritted their teeth and persisted.

Since then, they have been suffocating in their hearts, eager to prove themselves on the music stage again one day.

This time they heard that Mitomo Iijima had invited Kazuki Akiyama to give a confession and music for them, and they were more or less excited.

Although Kazuki Akiyama has not debuted for a long time, his excellent creative ability has been widely recognized by the industry.

With the blessing of his works, this single is likely to be their "Battle of Barrels - Oda Nobunaga's Battle for Fame", and it will also be a turning point in their musical achievements.

Looking at Kazuki Akiyama outside the glass window and the sound engineer beside him whispering non-stop, several people were thinking in their hearts.

"It won't be a big problem. Akiyama-san is a very gentle person, and he probably won't yell like the staff-san I met before."

"Everyone in SMAP-san, let's make some adjustments." Akiyama Kazuki's gentle voice came from the earphone.
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PS: there is still at night

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(End of this chapter)