Anime Expo 2023

YOSHIKI Talks About the Inspiration for His New Song and Writing Songs for Anime

ANN's coverage of Anime Expo 2023 sponsored by Yen Press!

Rock legend YOSHIKI graced music fans with his ethereal presence on Sunday, timed to coincide with the promotion of his upcoming fall tour, "YOSHIKI Classical 10th Anniversary World Tour with Orchestra 2023 'REQUIEM'." Kicking off in October, the multi-city tour includes stops at famed concert venues around the world: the Garden Theater in Tokyo, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and finally Carnegie Hall in New York. In addition to classical pieces by Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff, the repertoire will also include new compositions and orchestral renditions of hits from X Japan.

For fans who aren't lucky enough to snag a ticket to his tour, there's also new music on the horizon—his newest single "Requiem" will drop on July 21. And then on July 28, fans can enjoy "Angel," X Japan's first single in eight years.

Regarding the inspiration behind “Requiem,” YOSHIKI talked extensively about the catharsis of writing the song after suffering the devastating loss of his mother last May. “I couldn't do anything. I was just crying, crying. I couldn't stop crying. I was supposed to appear on a live TV show but I had to cancel." He mentioned that he even went to see a doctor who said there weren't any medications to prevent his tears. "So I started playing the piano and writing, and somehow those tears became music."

In a serendipitous moment, as he was contemplating artwork for "Requiem," he learned that famed illustrator Yoshitaka Amano would be attending Anime Expo at the same time as him, and asked if he would be willing to paint the artwork for the single. The art was first revealed during the Yoshitaka Amano panel, in which YOSHIKI made a surprise appearance but he showed the finished piece again to his panel audience—which elicited gasps of surprise and appreciation. "If you look closely, I'm naked," YOSHIKI joked, adding that the rose symbolized his mother.

The timing of his world tour, which celebrates the tenth anniversary of his YOSHIKI Classical album, comes at an apt time. The original album contains a track entitled "Anniversary," which was composed and performed at a celebration honoring the tenth anniversary of Emperor Akihito's ascendancy in 1999. YOSHIKI reminisced that he had brought his mother to the concert to meet the emperor. "She was so nervous the whole time!" he laughed.

During the panel, the musician also opened up about some of the other losses in his life, talking about how they've shaped his music and his life philosophy. Answering a question about how he kept his energy up despite traveling so extensively for work (he had just flown into Los Angeles a few hours before his panel, having played his new singles on a live TV broadcast in Japan the day prior), he said that he's felt very grateful for the opportunities—like he's been given a second chance. After the passing of his former X Japan band members Taiji Sawada and Hideo "Hide" Matsumoto, he reflected, "I really thought that I was going to be the one to die first, but for some reason, I'm still here. I almost feel like I have an extra life so I feel like I should do as much as I can. I'm flying to London tonight, Paris tomorrow, but I'm okay!" In addition to his recent televised performance, the busy artist was also in the studio a few days prior recording with The Last Rockstars, a supergroup made up of YOSHIKI, MIYAVI, L'Arc~en~Ciel's HYDE, and X Japan/Luna Sea's Sugizo.

The panel was interspersed with video compilations from his previous performances, as well as snippets of his new songs from a recent broadcast. Regarding “Angel,” which is X Japan's first new single in eight years, the song is inspired by his father, who took his life when YOSHIKI was young. In the song, he sings longingly, "If I could fly from a skyscraper, I could fly to you—like an angel." YOSHIKI added that he was nervous before the broadcast, saying that it was the first time he'd sang that song live.

Panelists were also treated to a video snippet of "Crazy Love" by XY, the 13-member boy band produced by YOSHIKI. The single recently debuted on June 30 after having been delayed in production following the untimely passing of lead vocalist Yoshi last November. The music video will be released early this month.

YOSHIKI also spoke about his process for writing songs for anime, of which he's created several. His most recent was “Red Swan,” the opening theme for season three of Attack on Titan. Asked about his writing process, he said that he did a lot of research. “I'm not really into horror films,” he confessed but added that he had to watch the series to familiarize himself. “I know the giants eat humans, so it was pretty scary.”

The panel ended with a Q&A session with attendees, but was quickly derailed when the first fan asked if he'd autograph her music book, which he happily obliged. The second fan started their question with, “I won't ask you for a selfie…” before YOSHIKI quickly jumped up again and ushered the fan onstage for a selfie. Soon, the room was in happy chaos as everyone clambered to get the rock star's attention before things were brought back under control.

Beaming in front of his adoring fans, YOSHIKI ended the panel with a message: “Thank you so much for supporting me. As long as I live, I'd like to create songs, music, and art. I hope this art will support and help you.”