In the 21st installment of "Newtro," Vocaloid producer Ine recreates Maaya Sakamoto's "Platinum" featuring Wakabayashi

■ “I wanted to make sure I didn’t ruin the atmosphere of the original song,” said Ine. “I’m so happy to be able to sing my favorite song arranged by the much respected Ine.” (Wakabayashi)

Newtro, a “revival” music project that reconstructs Japan’s greatest hits, has released the music video for their 21st song, “Platinum x Ine feat. Wakabayashi.”

The song being revived this time is Maaya Sakamoto’s “Platinum,” composed by Yoko Kanno and used as the opening theme for the third season of the Sakura Card arc of the popular TV anime series “Cardcaptor Sakura,” which has had a huge influence on girls around the world.

This song was reconstructed by Vocaloid producer Ine, who has been actively providing songs to artists such as Ado and King & Prince since his debut, featuring singer Wakabayashi. The music video illustration was done by mina.

Additionally, an interview with Wakabayashi will be aired on MUSIC ON! TV’s “Newtro” broadcast on September 26th.

■ Comment from Ine
I wanted to create this rendition that would capture the appeal of the original song, its pleasant Japanese feel, and interpret the melody in a way that didn’t damage the atmosphere of the original.
I usually work with a band sound as the base, but this time I added piano to it and increased the number of chords a little more than in the original song.
I created this song with the idea of leaving the pleasant muddy sound to the piano, and then adding band sounds and other sounds on top of that.
I hope that those who are familiar with the anime and manga from that time and have fond memories of it, as well as those who didn’t know about it, will take this opportunity to listen to it.
■ Wakabayashi Comment
I remember being confused and wondering if I should really accept such a wonderful invitation to sing my favorite song arranged by the respected Ine-san.
Ine’s arrangement gave the song a more rock-like, fast-paced melody, so I tried to stay close to that and give it a powerful feel.
However, I wanted to express the original song’s shoujo manga-like quality, or the innocence that makes one’s heart flutter with excitement about the future, so I was careful about the nuances.
Once again, I felt that it was a truly wonderful song, so I hope that this reconstruction will allow its charm to be conveyed from a new angle.