Recently, we had the chance to interview the brilliant Emi Evans, whose voice you’ve likely heard in the beautiful music of Dark Souls, NieR: Automata, and most recently, Vambrace: Cold Soul. We spoke to Emi about Vambrace, and what it’s like to be a vocalist in this industry.
For those who don’t know, who are you, and what are your current projects?
I’m a singer and songwriter mainly for video game soundtracks. I am probably best known for my vocals on Dark Souls and especially on NieR: Automata where I sing in my ”chaos language”- mysterious made up futuristic languages based on real existing ones. My vocals are usually used to create an ethereal and emotional atmosphere.
My current projects include numerous independent game projects from around the world and various Japanese ones which I’m afraid I’m not allowed to mention yet! I am also singing for the ongoing Japanese smartphone game Shometsu Toshi as well as looking forward to various upcoming concerts!
How did you get into this line of work?
It was completely by chance that I began singing for video games.
Previously I had been working as a session singer for TV commercials and dramas as well as performing live at brand events and parties.Through friends of friends I was introduced first to Norihiko Hibino-san, for whom I sang on Etrian Odyssey arrange albums and then a year or so later though different friends of friends, I met Keiichi Okabe-san.
Singing for NieR was my first main project and also the first time for me to be asked to write lyrics and sing in a made up language. I just gave it a shot and discovered that I really enjoyed it! Thanks to the good publicity which the NieR OST received, I was then approached by many other composers in the industry such as Nobuo Uematsu-san, Motoi Sakuraba-san, Sato Tenpei-san, Hideki Sakamoto-san, etc. and asked to create and sing in more of my made up ”chaos language.”
I was really amazed at the power that music within games has to enhance the emotional experience of the player and also I was touched at how passionate and enthusiastic the music fans can be. I was so excited to have found this cool and fascinating niche to which I could be a part of and I’m so lucky and grateful to the game world for having welcomed me in and given me so many amazing opportunities since then!
What is it like to be a vocalist for video games? Does it require a different skillset than other forms of singing and vocal expression?
I love being an artist for video games, exactly because I am allowed to be an ”artist.” Unlike other session singing gigs where I feel one is required to simply perform in the way requested, I am given a lot of trust and freedom creatively as to how I interpret the music and so because of this there is room for lots of inspiration and goosebumps during the process of creating lyrics and bringing the vocals to life in the studio. I really feel like I am a part of the creative team and I love the challenge of reaching out with my voice to emotionally impact the player.
Unlike other forms of singing I think that with video games, my vocals are not required to stand out or be technically impressive or flashy. Anything but, as often my vocals are used as background music to the game, the important thing is to not detract from what is happening but to subtly and sensitively add an extra emotional layer to the scene.
As I am allowed freedom to be creative, I do feel like a bit of my soul goes into every song I perform thus giving me personal attachment to the song. I feel that in order to connect with and touch the players emotions, I must first fall in love with the music I’m singing, if I can do this, then everything else will unfold by itself.
So unique skills required for a game music singer; to be subtle, sensitive and able to quickly fall in love with whatever one sings.
What are some of the difficulties you face as a vocalist that people may not know about?
Obviously there is the ongoing challenge of maintaining your voice and trying not to get sick before a big recording or concert – almost impossible if you have small kids bringing home playschool germs all the time! Also having small children, it is impossible to rest a poor tired voice as I constantly need to talk/shout to them! As a singing Mum, this is definitely a challenge which I hadn’t been told about!
But also I think people aren’t aware of what a tight time-frame singers sometimes have to work on. Often I only get the music a day before or sometimes even on the morning of the recording, so I have to be creatively ready to quickly grasp the concept and atmosphere of the song, make the song my own, write lyrics if needed and then deliver as perfect as a performance as possible.
I am often limited with studio time, because of the studios schedule or with another job to run to myself and so I feel under a lot of pressure to quickly give everything I can to the vocals. I have to really focus and also I have to be super disciplined as to how many retakes I allow myself to do. How I wish I could have endless time to perfect every note but that’s almost never possible!
Is there a particular project that was formative for you or holds a special place? If you could sing for any single game franchise, which would you choose?
The project which holds a special place in my heart of course has to be NieR/NieR: Automata. This project is what really introduced me into the fascinating world of game music, “chaos language,” and created so many incredible new opportunities for me, thus changing the direction of my life as a singer. I love the music of Keiichi Okabe-san and all the songs which I have been fortunate enough to have sung feel extremely dear to me, like part of my family.
So if I could sing for just one game, it would be NieR and hopefully all it’s future series too!
What’s your favorite thing about Vambrace and recording for the game?
What is memorable about the recording for Vambrace is that the song was very different to my usual style of singing, thus a refreshing challenge for me! Singing in an uptempo syncopated rhythm is definitely not one of my strengths! I had to practice over and over and count beats like fury before finally I could get the timing right! I felt stretched by the challenge and I was delighted and most relieved when the Vambrace team gave me the okay! I hope the Vambrace players will enjoy my efforts and that I can help add something special to their experience!
We want to thank Ms. Evans for taking the time to talk with us. You can check out Vambrace: Cold Soul now on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.
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