Sphere released their 10th Anniversary Album on the 8th of May titled 10s.

After a year and a half to recharge themselves, Sphere returned in February with a concert at Maihama Amphitheatre titled LAWSON presents Sphere 10th Anniversary Live 2019 Ignition. With the title of Ignition, they start their engines going into their 10th year.

For this album, all 4 members contributed lyrics to the lead song titled Music Power→!!!! as well as working with JAM Project for a new song Hagane no Victress with JAM Project. There’s also songs focusing on each individual member with CITRUS*FLAG, My Sweet Words, SPOTLIGHT and Partage. Natalie also interviewed members of this group during in after a year and a half break, and asking the members of Sphere about their new songs and themselves going forward.

This is the last of five parts in an interview translated from Natalie.

Feels like taking the road not taken

Until now it has been mostly been all unique songs but the 8th song, Hagane no Victress with JAM Project…just reading the song name feels powerful.

Tomatsu: Right? (laughs) I’m sure it’s the one song everyone is interested in the most. Especially since the lyrics and composition is by Hironobu Kageyama.

Takagaki: Amazing!

Tomatsu: Many times before I’ve said “It would be great if Kageyama could write something for us” and that wish finally came true. However, not just him we had the entirety of JAM Project to join us for the chorus which added even more colors to the song. It feels as if Sphere became a part of JAM Project.

In another sense, in a good way, I feel that song stands up in it’s own as a Sphere song even though it is very intense.

Tomatsu: I’m very glad!

Going from a hardcore Hagane no Victress, you go on to something equally as strong with Absolute Pride.

Takagaki: The lyrics is made by Kodama and the composition is by Kikuta, the same team who made GENESIS ARIA. This time we asked them to make another strong track for us. Kodama replied to us saying “what if we made it into a story about Sphere fighting their way to get where they are now?” For example, using Jeanne D’arc as the protagonist.

I see

Takagaki: I’m glad that many people say that “Sphere is the pioneer for seiyuu units.” We are just daredevils who run headlong into it, and objective looking at us, we would have definitely opened the path for something or someone. There’s still more for us to do even now. I really like the lyrics which say “there are none before us”, with this 10th anniversary album as a base, we want to continue walking down the unbeaten path.

The next song is an electro-pop titled Pl@net Spheres!! You can see the atmosphere of the album change again from here.

Toyosaki: We actually have a web-radio which we upload once every week titled Pl@net Sphere and we realised it doesn’t have a theme song. So we thought to ourselves “let’s make it.” (laughs) It’s a show based on the listeners where they tell us what they feel about Sphere and whatnot. We asked our listeners to asked us what they feel about Sphere in as mail and we got Aki Hata to use those words as lyrics.

Takagaki: Hata has helped us with many Sphere songs until now.

Toyosaki: We call her the 5th member of Sphere, and she’s one of our most important composers, we definitely wanted her to be one of the composers for our 10th anniversary. There were many words we couldn’t use for the melody, so we’re releasing an alternate version for digital release on the same day. The CD version is very packed to the brim already but for the digital release, it is just us screaming, yelling and having fun so it feels more fitting for our radio.

The 10 keywords that begins with s

The 11th song Future is Now! is a very true to class Sphere songs.

Kotobuki: Future is Now! was actually originally suggested by the director to us 4 years ago but the timing wasn’t good and nothing came about. So it is a song 5 years in the making, with the director shouldering our thoughts as the Sphere team. From our debut song Future Stream, Future Is Now! has all of our hard work in it and it feels like a second start going from here onwards.

Toyosaki: This was everyone’s idea but for Future Is Now!, we have a rap corner where we have 10 keywords that signifies Sphere beginning with the letter ‘s’. That’s why our album isn’t called 10th, but 10s. It is Sphere’s ‘s’ and it is 10 words precious to our hearts included in it.

Kotobuki: We did monthly meetups for the recording of Future Is Now! and 10s.  And we had 2 songs already made before our re-charge period so it is an album full of amazing songs. I hope you all listen to it many times.

Tomatsu: The order of 10s was decided by all of us, sorting out which would be the first and last. For example the part where we have the JAM song and Absolute Pride following feels like the last boss from a game. (laughs) We really enjoyed thinking how to arrange them.

Toyosaki: For this 10th year, we did our best to express this 10 keywords as a form of thank you to our fans. In June we will have a new single releasing, and September we will have our tour as well…actually we still have projects we cannot mention yet. Please look forward to it.

Takagaki: And not just that but the years following our 10th year, we will have more stuff even we don’t know yet but we want people to say “they don’t usually do this” or “there hasn’t been a unit like this.”

Source: Natalie