Vocal Discussion of Yuki's Singers

[Kobalos]

^ She definitely looks like she knows it's happening. I noticed a few times in Germany where looked like she had to actually prepare herself to start singing, and even a few times where it seemed as if she were in a lot of pain. When you compare it to Hikaru and Keiko who're singing easily it's just sad to see.

Sign me up if you guys do end up doing it.

 

[Yuki88]

Well, I suggest you send it to Kajiura either way. or Mori.

 

[Kobalos]

Huh. I haven't seen you in a while.

 

[aero.senpai]

So, we're good with "Ms. Kajiura, as fans of all your works and singers, we are here to express our concern regarding Ms. Wakana's health for we have noticed her expression of exhaustion during live concerts, especially the recent After Eden live concert that's available in DVD/BD. Please note that we are concerned about the fact that she seems to be having difficulties to sing, and that we are not just criticizing her performance"? And here's one thing I forgot to write yesterday: would it be good if we signed the mail with our names (not necessarily the entire names), and maybe countries and email addresses? I think that, "showing our identities" like this, we would be taken more seriously, rather than just be taken for trolls or something. Or am I complicating too much?

^This is a scratch I made around page 30 lol, if someone wants to use.

 

[casarina26]

Yup, put my name in it too.

Wakana definitely knows. She's a professional.

And-- this is something I'm REALLY concerned about-- she didn't finish high school. I remember Keiko and Hikaru did. I dunno what Japan is like, but talking as someone in the East, qualifications are very important. A secondary/middle school cert doesn't exactly get you anywhere. Hope she's saved up money or something, paved a road for herself.

And SMEJ, for goodness sake, let her rest a bit.

IMHO, I think Yuki realised it as well. There was someone on youtube commenting on Magia and Snow (is) Falling, saying how S-T-R-A-I-N-E-D Wakana's cords were. I think she let Hikaru be the main one in AE album, because she tried to let Wakana rest. I think Keiko's getting more parts because its indirectly linked to this. She can't (and won't, I hope) risk anything happening to any the girls. But, another thing I'm worried about is Wacchan's sensitive side. She doesn't sound like the type who would say 'no'.

I think it was Ninetales who said to me that they might even end up working Wakana to the point where her nodules actually make her lose her voice completely and they have to do damage control and replace her.

Really hoping it doesn't come to that.

I HOPE NOT!!! that's too cruel....

 

[Mwhlr]

Re:

I'm not sure about that. The record label pretty infamously owns the artists regardless of how much money they make them, though if they're more famous then they get more freedom of course.

Yes, I agree with that. Big record labels get a bad rep for their treatment of artists. I wonder what Yuki's contract with Sony involves. I certainly agree that they wouldn't be happy letting Kalafina go on a *hiatus* for one of the members well-beings. At the same time, I don't think Yuki would allow her to reach the stage of totally losing her voice. She'd be replaced before that happened.

This is a scratch I made around page 30 lol, if someone wants to use.

I'm not really big on the idea of sending her a personal message about it but I certainly won't stop someone else doing it! Just be very, very careful of the wording. A little light shed on the subject would be nice - It could stop us going around in circles.

 

[Boblove321]

So, we're good with "Ms. Kajiura, as fans of all your works and singers, we are here to express our concern regarding Ms. Wakana's health for we have noticed her expression of exhaustion during live concerts, especially the recent After Eden live concert that's available in DVD/BD. Please note that we are concerned about the fact that she seems to be having difficulties to sing, and that we are not just criticizing her performance"? And here's one thing I forgot to write yesterday: would it be good if we signed the mail with our names (not necessarily the entire names), and maybe countries and email addresses? I think that, "showing our identities" like this, we would be taken more seriously, rather than just be taken for trolls or something. Or am I complicating too much?

Count me in

Now I'm sure Wakana and Kajiura-san are aware of this and I don't want to upset them. She has such a unique voice and I feel powerless when SMEJ puts so much demand on Kalafina due to their growing popularity. I've had this concern since 2010 after the red moon live and I feel that in general her voice is getting more strained and thinner. At the moment there is still hope, ( I think Kalafina had a small break before Germany and she sounded so much better in that Animagic recording, almost back to normal) because the last thing I want to hear is that Wakana has to be replaced or loses her voice permanently

So I think a letter from her fans will hi-light the issue and enforce Kajiura-san to talk to SMEJ
As long as the letter is written politely and with utmost care then I think it has a good chance. And yes we could put either our names or countries so it doesn't look like a troll letter

 

[Hime_Wakana]

I think Kalafina had a small break before Germany and she sounded so much better in that Animagic recording, almost back to normal

aye ayeeee *__________________* (She was really good in high notes in both AnimagiC's lives!!)

 

[Kobalos]

@Mwhlr Eh. As long as it's diplomatic. I'll post a revised draft later, see what you think.

 

[Mwhlr]

@Mwhlr Eh. As long as it's diplomatic. I'll post a revised draft later, see what you think.

Sounds good, I will also post my thoughts and then we can discuss it and combine our efforts.


I think what Aero posted is a good framework - It's short and it's to the point. However, there are a few things I'd change:

Dear Ms. Kajiura, as fans of all your works and singers, we are here to express our concern regarding Ms. Wakana's health for we have noticed her expression of exhaustion during live concerts...

After "Dear Ms. Kajiura" (We can sort out the proper way to address her later), I think you need a very short introduction instead of launching into the subject at hand. Tell her who we are and that we all enjoy her work. A good way to break the ice might be to congratulate her on the success of her 3 day special and that many of us watched the live stream? I say this because, in its current state, it sounds a little forward and aggressive. "We are here to express our concerns" could be worded more gently - Something like:

"Over the past number of lives and singles, some of us have noticed a change in ms. Wakana's voice as well as an uncomfortable expression when she is singing at times."

concern regarding Ms. Wakana's health for we have noticed her expression of exhaustion during live concerts...

Similarly, I think this part could be changed. I don't think mentioning her health is a good idea, as it could be seen as acting on an assumption. A lot of what we've talked about in this thread IS based on assumptions and educated guesswork, so I wouldn't go as far as to use it as part of the message. I'd keep this email relatively vague and curious, so if Yuki Kajiura wants to explain anything to us, she can. I think it gives you a better chance of getting an answer in the first place. So following the initial concern, simply something like...

"We were wondering if there was any reason for this."

...might suffice.

Also be polite as possible - End it with "We hope you don't mind us emailing you with this question/Thank you/etc"

Perhaps keeping it gentle and vague is the totally wrong way to go about it - If you think so, just say.

I think it's very, very easy to step over the line with this kind of thing, especially if the email is emotionally charges (that the right term to use?) in any way. If the message seems very relaxed about the subject, in my opinion, you'll have a better chance of a response.

 

[Ophelia Arcana]

So, we're good with "Ms. Kajiura, as fans of all your works and singers, we are here to express our concern regarding Ms. Wakana's health for we have noticed her expression of exhaustion during live concerts, especially the recent After Eden live concert that's available in DVD/BD. Please note that we are concerned about the fact that she seems to be having difficulties to sing, and that we are not just criticizing her performance"? And here's one thing I forgot to write yesterday: would it be good if we signed the mail with our names (not necessarily the entire names), and maybe countries and email addresses? I think that, "showing our identities" like this, we would be taken more seriously, rather than just be taken for trolls or something. Or am I complicating too much?

^This is a scratch I made around page 30 lol, if someone wants to use.

Count me in too.

 

[Kobalos]

Re:

Dear Ms. Kajiura [discuss later]

This letter was written collectively by a group of people who consider themselves fans of your work and the work of your singers, both in soundtracks and in singing projects.

Firstly, we would like to congratulate you on the success of your 3 day special. Many of us were thankfully able to purchase tickets to watch the live stream and enjoy the performances that you, the musicians and the singers gave.

One thing we have noticed, however, and have been noticing in the lives that each of us have been lucky enough to attend or purchase recordings of individually, is that occasionally it seems as if Ms. Wakana looks strained whilst singing. In some cases, it appears even painful.

As fans, we are obviously concerned as to whether there is anything wrong. We would appreciate any insight or reply on the situation, if just to alleviate our curiosity.

We apologise if this e-mail is inappropriate or seems rashly made. Many thanks, and with much respect, your fans.

^ How's that? Edit it at will or whatever.

 

[Mwhlr]

Re: Re:

Dear Ms. Kajiura [discuss later]

This e-mail was written by a group of people who are fans of your work and the work of your singers.

Firstly, congratulations on the success of your 3 day special. Many of us, from all over the world, watched the live stream and enjoyed it very much.

One thing we have noticed, however, is that at the lives we have attended, it seems that Ms. Wakana looks strained sometimes whilst singing. Sometimes it appears even painful.

(^ I'm not really sure how to approach this paragraph - Should the change of tone even be mentioned?)

We apologise if this e-mail is inappropriate, but as fans, we were wondering if something might be wrong. Many thanks, and with much respect, your fans.

A few changes - Edit at will!

 

[aero.senpai]

^I think that it's very important to note that we have been noticing Wakana's condition worsening for a long time - almost two years now. If we don't say so, maybe they won't take it so seriously, thinking that we are talking about only one live performance. And we should surely speak about the "noticeable" parts of it, like the change of tone, the sweating, straining, etc. That would give foundation to what we are talking about.

 

[tabete.mio]

^I dont think its appropriate to enumerate all the noticeable bad things, as of yet, for this letter. Keeping it vague and curious, as Mwhlr said, will give us a higher probability of a reply. We do need a reply so as to give light to the situation. And if she does reply, hopefully, then we can talk about details.

One thing we have noticed, however, is that at the lives we have attended, it seems that Ms. Wakana looks strained more often whilst singing. Sometimes it appears even painful.

please edit at will

 

[Cerise]

Re:

I support the idea of sending a message to find out what's wrong but I also think as someone said paaaaages back that we should check on it with george or Kera or one of the other mods (sorry, I'm not too sure at the moment who you all are!) if it's okay to send it under the CPM name, or under something else...

I think it was Ninetales who said to me that they might even end up working Wakana to the point where her nodules actually make her lose her voice completely and they have to do damage control and replace her.

I will be utterly devastated if that happens

 

[tabete.mio]

^I think its best not to involve the site in this. Like what had been said before, it might give unnecessary attention to CPM. Though we can always say that this is actions done by a group of fans. But we still need to inform them(I dont know all of them as well ) since we are using this site to talk about this issue.

 

[Hime_Wakana]

^I think its best not to involve the site in this. Like what had been said before, it might give unnecessary attention to CPM. Though we can always say that this is actions done by a group of fans. But we still need to inform them(I dont know all of them as well ) since we are using this site to talk about this issue.

Good good thought!

 

[Boblove321]

Agreed

 

[Mwhlr]

Yes, I was going to say that myself - If you send this, don't associate it with CPM in any way. You guys seem to have built a good relationship with YK - even if it's just a small one. The last thing you want to do is have this letter backfire. Keep it anonymous.