Chapter 27: The Best Years

For his debut single's lead track, Ye Zhao ultimately chose the song he used to sing while performing on the streets—Masaharu Fukuyama’s “Rainbow.” Since he’d already performed this near-million-selling single as a street musician, he figured he might as well release it now, lest Fukuyama himself be struck by inspiration one day, which would make things complicated. Moreover, as a folk-rock piece, the song didn’t stray far from BEING’s style, nor would it brand him as a distinctly “BEING-flavored” artist right from the start.

Ye Zhao’s fingers deftly plucked the guitar strings, drawing out the melody. To be fair, Masaharu Fukuyama’s music seldom dabbled in the realm of art, but without exception, his songs were pleasing to the ear—a guarantee of their commercial success.

Nagato Daikichi nodded along, listening intently. A man who had heard countless songs, he instantly recognized the value in this piece. He had initially worried that Ye Zhao’s compositions “Summer Color” and “Secret Base” might have been mere flashes of inspiration, but now his concerns were much alleviated.

When Ye Zhao finished playing, Nagato Daikichi applauded softly and praised, “This is an excellent song. I have a feeling it will be a hit.” Then, with a slight change in tone, he added, “Though it’s not quite the kind of track BEING usually produces.”

Ye Zhao smiled. “I’ve just joined BEING; I still need to explore what my style will be. Besides, ‘Summer Color’ isn’t a rock song either. If I were to change my style right after debuting, the audience would probably think I’m a fake.”

Nagato accepted his reasoning. “In that case, let's settle on this as the lead track. What’s its title?”

“It’s called ‘Rainbow.’”

“Good—simple and memorable,” Nagato nodded. “By the way, have you prepared the C/W track? If not, it’s fine; with the lead song decided, we can always pick something from the library for the B-side.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Ye Zhao replied as he tuned his guitar. “Before signing with BEING, I used to perform on the streets of Shibuya, and I wrote several new songs during that time. To be honest, the ‘Rainbow’ I just played is one of those. As for the C/W track, I’ve already chosen it—it’s called ‘Because You’re By My Side.’”

This song, “Because You’re By My Side,” was not well known in its own right, not even as a B-side. However, anime fans would likely recognize the title track from the same single, “My Heart Pounds,” which was the very first opening song for the Detective Conan TV series.

In the thirteenth episode of Detective Conan, during the Ayumi kidnapping case, Ayumi tells Conan, “I’m not afraid, because I know you’ll protect me if anything dangerous happens.” As she speaks, this song gently plays as the episode’s insert track.

The band behind these two songs, THE HIGH-LOWS, was fronted by Hiroto Kōmoto and Masatoshi Mashima, both former core members of THE BLUE HEARTS, a pioneer punk band from the eighties. THE BLUE HEARTS ranked nineteenth in RB HMV’s list of the one hundred most influential artists in Japanese music history—a testament to their caliber.

Sure enough, after Ye Zhao performed “Because You’re By My Side,” Nagato Daikichi lingered in thought for a long time before finally uttering only one sentence: “You truly are a genius!”

With the tracks selected, Ye Zhao’s life suddenly became a whirlwind of activity. Aside from his mandatory morning vocal lessons, all his time was devoted to ironing out every detail of the two songs.

Arrangements for both tracks were handled by Akashi Masao. As Ye Zhao’s teacher in arrangement, Akashi naturally took it upon himself to oversee this project when he learned of Ye Zhao’s upcoming debut. The two of them holed up in BEING’s studio, working out the specifics of the instrumentation. Tetsurō Oda dropped by several times to offer suggestions on the melodies and arrangements. With the combined efforts of these two musical giants, the final versions of the songs were decided a week later.

Akashi Masao’s arrangements carried a distinct personal style, which was a key ingredient in the so-called “BEING flavor.” Under his direction, the folk-rock “Rainbow” gained a much stronger rock presence, almost as if it had been completely reinvented. As for “Because You’re By My Side,” Ye Zhao set the main tone for the arrangement with Akashi’s help, and after some revisions, the result remained faithful to the original.

As they worked fervently on the arrangements, the ORICON singles chart was equally lively. First, Chage and Aska appeared with their new single on August 3rd, followed closely by BEING’s own ZARD, with Izumi Sakai releasing her latest single “Even So, By Your Side” on August 6th. Amid this barrage of releases by top stars, it was only natural that Ye Zhao’s “Summer Color” lost its chance at the weekly top two spots. Nonetheless, he maintained a steady pace of selling twenty to thirty thousand copies a day, holding firmly at number three on the weekly chart.

At this point, both the media and the public’s curiosity about the mysterious singer known as Ye Zhao peaked. Nagato Daikichi seized the opportunity to announce to all major outlets that BEING had signed Ye Zhao and would soon release his debut single. Having tasted the benefits of the no-face strategy, Nagato deliberately withheld Ye Zhao’s photo, so all the media could do was use a silhouette as a stand-in for his image.

While the outside world buzzed with this explosive news, production on the backing tracks for Ye Zhao’s new songs was nearing completion. The most noteworthy event occurred during the recording of the backing track for “Because You’re By My Side.” Both Ye Zhao and Akashi Masao agreed that the song’s greatest charm lay in its guitar accompaniment, yet none of the guitarists involved in the session could capture the feel they envisioned.

Amid their frustration, Maki Ohguro, who had been secluded while preparing her new album, gave Ye Zhao a tremendous gift: thanks to her good relationship with B’z, she invited Tak Matsumoto to record the guitar part for Ye Zhao. Of course, Matsumoto didn’t appear in person but recorded the accompaniment in the studio and had his assistant deliver the tape to the company. Given Matsumoto’s status as one of Japan’s top guitarists, this was a tremendous favor. His performance was gentle and graceful, making the accompaniment even more moving than Ye Zhao remembered from the original.

With the backing tracks completed, the recording sessions were scheduled to begin.

The recording took place at birdman WEST Studio in Roppongi, Tokyo—a ten-minute walk from Roppongi Station. Officially, Nagato Daikichi was listed as the single’s producer, but in practice, Akashi Masao oversaw the entire process, guiding the project safely from start to finish. However, as Akashi was also responsible for arranging songs for several other artists and couldn’t devote all his time to Ye Zhao, and with Nagato insisting the single be completed before the end of August, the first recording session was set for 10 p.m. after some adjustment.

Unlike the more modest Submarine Studio where Ye Zhao first recorded, this studio was outfitted with advanced equipment, as well as a fully equipped kitchen and lounge—perfect for musicians who often worked through the night.

Drawing on his experience from recording “Summer Color,” Ye Zhao quickly found his rhythm. The session went smoothly, time slipping by in a blur of productive work. Before he knew it, it was nearly midnight. While he and Akashi Masao were discussing the recorded parts at the mixing console, there was a gentle knock at the control room door.

“Come in,” Akashi called.

The lock clicked, and a clear, gentle voice floated through, “Good evening, Mr. Akashi~”

Ye Zhao instinctively looked over.

Standing in the doorway was a woman dressed in a loose, light blue embroidered blouse, the sleeves casually rolled up to reveal graceful forearms. Her signature, natural black ponytail hung down her back, her fair face free of makeup, not even adorned with earrings. Yet, perhaps because of this, her innate beauty shone all the more, unobscured by any artifice.

A faint smile graced her lips; under the soft lighting, she looked as tranquil as a painting. Nearly calling her name out loud, Ye Zhao found his throat unexpectedly constricted, unable to utter a single sound.