Seizing The World: An Interview with ASCA

ASCA is a music artist who rose to prominence when her song "Koe" was used as the second ending theme for the anime "Fate/Apocrypha". Her music would often continue to be used as tie-ins for various anime with other well-known songs being "Resister" (Sword Art Online: Alicization), "Howling" (The Irregular at Magic High School), and "Carpe Diem" (The World Ends With You The Animation), among many others. She's also made several overseas appearances including Crunchyroll Expo Australia and Anime Weekend Atlanta. It was at the latter event that we were lucky enough to interview her and discuss everything from her start in music, her inspirations, and her time in Atlanta itself. If you're a fan of ASCA already, or completely new to her and her music, check out the interview below and give her music a listen along the way too!

A-to-J: Thank you for the interview! Can you please give us an introduction and tell us a little about yourself?
ASCA: Hi, my name is ASCA. I was born on September 5, 1996 and it’s been five years since my debut. My debut single was “Koe” featured in "Fate/Apocrypha" which was released in 2017. It was also my first official debut release from a major label called SACRA Music.

A-to-J: For those new to your music, can you please tell us a bit about your sound?
ASCA: Most of my songs, as many you might know, are anime openings and endings. Since my debut, I’ve collaborated with numerous artists and dabbled in numerous genres, all different kinds.  I think you’ll be able to hear a little bit of everything in my music. Recently, I’ve been digging into songwriting more, so I write a lot of my songs. Most of my music is based on the anime so it was that kind feel and expressive type of music.  
Every day, I see a lot of people reach out to me saying: “Because of your music, I’m able to go forward today” or “I’ve had a good day today”. So, I try to incorporate that because of you guys going on and moving on to the next chapter is possible is what I try to bring into my music.

A-to-J: Can you give a bit of history on your background and how you got into music?
ASCA: It all started around 3rd grade. My mom and my teacher at the time had told me that they really liked my signing voice and kind of put a little motivation into me for that. I saw how hard my mother was working to raise my younger sister and watching my mother do that made me think, “What can I do to make my mother happy?”  And I thought: “She said she loved my singing voice so maybe I should continue to sing and that will make her happy.”
From there, I went to middle school and I started taking music lessons and getting involved in actual musical activities. I later on went to audition which is where I met my current management company and CEO of the management company. Even though music has always felt very close to me, becoming a major artist and actually signing to a record label felt very far. I say that because I come from Aichi [Prefecture].  Coming from there, I didn’t have any major deals lined up at that time, but something in me told me at this weird age of 20 years old that I had to get up and go and make that move. I’m glad I did because here I am today.

A-to-J: That’s a very inspiring story! Are there any musicians, or artists, that you draw inspiration from?
ASCA: Since I was younger, I was always inspired by women. Usually Japanese solo singers were the people I gravitated towards like Utada Hikaru. But the first one was Ayaka, a singer and songwriter, her debut single resonated with me the most. Since then, I’ve pretty much gravitated towards female singers with a strong voice because I felt I could aim to be like that as well.  Lastly, another singer I came across in middle school was Mao Abe, another singer and songwriter. I think for me, it’s all about the strong female, being able to be attractive to other females in a sense that you can see yourself in them.

A-to-J: That was really in-depth and informative. Most fans probably know you best for your many anison tracks. What would you say is among your favorites?
ASCA: [Stressed Thinking] That’s a very difficult questions to answer. [Laughs] From the past, the first anison I ever heard that I realized, “Wow! This is beautiful! I didn’t realize anisons could be this beautiful” was a song called “Diamond Crevasse” by May'n. I remember about 10 years ago going to a karaoke place and singing this song over and over again. It was my go-to practice song at the time.  There are so many songs that I love, but this is one of the biggest memories and impression.

A-to-J:  We understand that you often work on the lyrics for many of the tracks. Can you tell us about the process behind your writing?
ASCA: There are actually so many ways that I approach song writing. For “Carpe Diem”, I remember vividly walking around my house just listening to the music itself as I tried to come up with lyrics. I think I walked for about three hours or more. I told myself: “I will not go home until this song is finished. Until I finish these lyrics, I am not giving up.” to the point where I almost saw the sun coming up.

"CHAIN" MV

"RESISTER" MV

A-to-J: How are you enjoying your time at AWA so far? Do you have any plans for your time in Atlanta?
ASCA: The first thought for AWA overall: Coming off the airplane from Japan on that long trip, I realize that it’s so easily livable out here. The air is not too humid, not too dry; It’s like perfect weather for a singer or someone who uses their voice. I traveled to a lot of countries this year, but I will say Atlanta is the easiest to adjust too.
For visiting, I’m definitely going to go to the Coca-Cola Museum. I don’t know if this is true but I’ve heard that you can taste all the different Coca-Colas from all the different countries. I’m excited to go there with my Coca-Cola colored clothing.

A-to-J: Speaking of anime, are you a fan of anime in general, or of the shows you’ve done songs for?
ASCA: Of course, I am an anime fan. I watch them in real time and tweet about them especially if I’m featured in the OP or ED. I pretty much watch what’s out at that moment. You don’t really know much about the anime story until you watch it, so it’s pretty much a battle with time. I’m battling time to figure out which one to watch first. I try to watch all of them especially when they all come out at one time.

A-to-J: The single "Sоukyuu no Fanfare", which was used for the most recent "Sword Art Online"movie, featured yourself performing with several other artists. Can you tell us a bit about the track and your experiences working with the other guests on it?
ASCA: It was actually the 10th year anniversary theme song. The song features myself and my labelmates Eir Aoi and ReoNa. I’ve collaborated with other people in the past. However, this was the first time I was able to collaborate in one studio and one time. I was worried at first. When I first heard the song, Eir Aoi had already recorded her vocals for the track. I recorded together with ReoNa at the same time. When it was time for us to record, we first listened to Eir Aoi’s voice and I thought it was literally perfect with the melody and the music.
I was responsible for the low melody part. It was amazing to see how all of our voices layered on top of one another and the differences between our singing styles. As someone putting in the low melodies, I felt like I was responsible for putting the song all in the hole. It felt like we were all main characters in this song.  
Also, the lyrics were written by Yuki Kajiura who’s written a lot of different anime theme songs. Because of her amazing lyrics, it actually turned into a whole movie. I believe that her song allowing us to collaborate and also create room for another movie or another part of the series, adds to the history of the series overall. I think this song has the ability to carry on and open up different doors to new parts of history for the Sword Art Online series.

A-to-J: Lastly, what would you like to say to your overseas fans?
ASCA: This year, I was able to go to so many different countries. I didn’t realize how many overseas fans I had until I actually stepped foot in these new places and got to meet people at autograph signings. A lot of these peoples asked me to come to their hometown and other places. I want to be able to make not just make a verbal promise, but actually physically appear and do a live show.  So please wait for me, and I will be sure to be around your area soon!

We'd like to thank ASCA for the interview and we strongly encourage everyone to check out her music and social media via the links below. As always, keep an eye out for more from ASCA in the future! Also, special thanks to Anime Weekend Atlanta for this opportunity!

ASCA Profile: https://www.asca-official.com/info/archive/?537604
ASCA Playlist: https://asca.lnk.to/playlist

For More Information On ASCA:
Website: https://www.asca-official.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ASCA_and_staff
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asca_jp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044226409327
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ascaSMEJ

The above interview was conducted by Sylvia Thach with assistance and transcription by Jeffery Kelly. Post editing by Manuel Figueroa.