“Healing.”
This is the word heard most often when talking about Teshima Aoi’s voice. People who live in a city can experience a great deal: love, intimacy, stressful jobs, and a fast-paced life. There has to be a time for rest and relaxation. Otherwise how can you get up every day and hop on the subway in the morning?
It has been almost ten years now since Teshima first became well-known. Ten years ago also happened to be the height of Studio Ghibli’s popularity, with the huge successes of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. In 2006, Tales from Earthsea finally came to theaters and unexpectedly brought the previously unknown Teshima Aoi, who was then just a high-school student, into the spotlight.
Most people started following Teshima after hearing “Therru’s Song” from Tales from Earthsea, which then became her first hit song. When the director Goro Miyazaki insisted on having Teshima Aoi, still in high school at the time, sing the theme song for his film, media reports all covered the story, with the headlines, “High School Student Hits Fame”. Yet after the stunningly beautiful start to “Therru’s Song”, all doubts about the new musician vanished. Teshima’s voice combines the pure, gentle, quiet, and strong into one sound: smooth, but not weak. To use a description from Japanese, hiding within Teshima Aoi’s sound is a “piercingly cold softness.”
As these ten years have gone by, from a small group of Studio Ghibli fans to the streets of Shanghai where at all times “The Rose” can be heard, more and more people began to know Teshima’s name. Teshima Aoi is grateful for her Chinese fans who have supported her since before she became famous, and in return she has constantly worked hard to explore new possibilities and challenges in her music career. In 2014, Teshima released her album Ren’dez-vous, which possesses very strong imagery and a sense of her more mature self. In the same year, Studio Ghibli’s production department announced its retirement for the time being.
August of 2015, Teshima Aoi held her first concert in mainland China. Looking out at her fans, she seemed a bit nervous at first, repeating in Chinese, “Xiexie, xiexie” (“Thank you, thank you”). Outfitted in a dress, Teshima was her usual shy self as she performed alongside her band members. The band’s other performers from Japan were one guitarist and a keyboardist. With a simple underscore, the sound of “Therru’s Song” seemed no different from its original, ten years prior. After performing “The Rose” and “La Vie En Rose”, there was another Studio Ghibli theme song, “Summer of Farewells” from the film From up on Poppy Hill:
“If I call your name under the sunset, will we be able to meet again.”
Below the stage there were fans following along with their glow sticks, swaying back and forth.
At least we have Teshima Aoi’s voice to carry us along.
Neocha: I heard that when Studio Ghibli approached you to do voice-over and recording for Tales from Earthsea, you declined at first. What later changed your mind to take part in the film?
Teshima Aoi: When the film’s director, Goro Miyazaki, first contacted me, I was still in high school at the time, and I wasn’t prepared to enter into a career in music. I initially wanted to wait longer before entering the music world, but Goro was very persistent, and I later realized that with his help, it would be an easier process. So in the end, I took the opportunity.
Neocha: What does music mean to you?
Teshima Aoi: Since I was young, I have always listened to the music in movies, on the radio, and in TV shows, and I would sing along. Those were wonderful days. Even though I never thought of becoming a singer when I was growing up, I have always had a passion for singing. Later as I grew older, I found out quite luckily that others liked to hear me sing, and that gave me all the confirmation I needed to pursue singing.
Neocha: What is different about your new album Ren’dez-vous from all your previous work?
Teshima Aoi: This album has many songs about love and many songs that are about the feeling of being heartbroken. It has already been ten years since I began my music career, so I wanted to show the another more mature side of myself through this album.
Website: aoiteshima.com
Contributor: Taylor Shen
Photographer: Ka Xiaoxi
Originally published at neocha.com on August 12, 2015.
