E-SIDE

E-SIDE

The English-language versions of YOASOBI’s Japanese singles collected on E-SIDE earned the synth-pop duo a whole new buzz through their attention to detail in the translations. After forming YOASOBI to release songs based on online short stories, producer Ayase and singer Ikura scored a viral hit in 2020 with “Yoru Ni Kakeru,” the Japanese original of “Into the Night.” Part of the strength behind their breakthrough song comes from its knotty verses guided by tricky melodies, which feels even more of a head rush when paired with its cascading piano riff and propulsive bass line. Lyricist Konnie Aoki preserves this intricacy for his translation on “Into the Night,” respecting the melody while choosing lyrics that closely match the phonetics of the original, triggering fans to hear parts of the English version as if it’s still being sung in Japanese. That uncanny wordplay found in “Into the Night” appears throughout E-BOOK. While “Haven’t” dazzles with its faithful recreation of the original’s key lyrics at a granular level, “Monster” indulges in a simpler joy of rhyme, rattling around creative English replacements for the Japanese onomatopoeia. The English versions maintain the playful language driving YOASOBI’s songs alongside the sheer density of information in the verses—catching up with the zooming lyrics on busier cuts like “Into the Night” and “RGB” can feel like trying to read an endless string of text rapidly scrolling across a video screen. That said, the demanding nature seems partly designed as the very appeal behind the songwriting, with its challenging web of rhymes like a dare to take on. E-BOOK helps shed light on the meaning of YOASOBI’s singles, yet it also strives to recreate the listening experience of the originals as they might sound to Japanese speakers.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada