"It's always such fun and so inspiring for me to immerse myself in completely new sounds" - Emi Evans discusses NieR, Chaos Language inspirations, Kaine, Automata, and coffee
Ahead of the NieR:Orchestra Concert 12026 [ YoRHa ] tour beginning next month, I had a chance to chat with Emi Evans about her early career, her Chaos Language, how she got involved with NieR in the first place, how she would approach a potential new NieR game, Kaine, coffee, and much more.
RPG Site: For those unaware, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.
Emi Evans: I'm an English/Japanese singer, lyricist and vocalist for the ambient duo "freesscape." I now live in Tokyo and sing mainly for video game soundtracks. I am best known for my ethereal vocal work on the NieR series, especially for my creation of Chaos Language.
Emi Evans: I'm an English/Japanese singer, lyricist and vocalist for the ambient duo "freesscape." I now live in Tokyo and sing mainly for video game soundtracks. I am best known for my ethereal vocal work on the NieR series, especially for my creation of Chaos Language.
RPG Site: Most of your fans know you because of your legendary NieR work, but I want to cover a bit about your career before that as well. How did you get involved with the Etrian Odyssey Super Arrange albums? Was that the first video game music track you contributed to?
Emi Evans: Singing for Etrian Odyssey was my first game music track and this came about entirely by chance. A friend of a friend happened to know the composer Norihiko Hibino san and so they introduced me. I gave Hibino-san my duo freesscape's demo CD and he later asked me if I'd like to sing for him.
Emi Evans: Singing for Etrian Odyssey was my first game music track and this came about entirely by chance. A friend of a friend happened to know the composer Norihiko Hibino san and so they introduced me. I gave Hibino-san my duo freesscape's demo CD and he later asked me if I'd like to sing for him.
RPG Site: How did you get involved with NieR all those years ago and can you discuss what led to the Chaos Language for the vocals? Was there any real world language inspiration?
Emi Evans: Meeting Okabe-san was through a long chain of friends of friends! I was at a friend's leaving party and happened to really like the music that the DJ was playing as it was a similar ambient electronic style to my duo freesscape. So I handed the DJ our demo album with my phone number scribbled on the back, hoping he'd enjoy our music and play us sometime.
His friend was by chance the secretary for Okabe-san so when Okabe-san asked if they knew any native English singers, my album was passed on. Although my voice wasn't what Okabe-san was looking for at the time, he remembered me and when the NieR project came up, he invited me to be the singer.
Singing in a made up language was Yoko Taro-san’s idea, he wanted to have vocals which sounded like a real language but had no actual meaning so as not to distract the player or clash with what the voice actors and actresses were saying.
All the lyrics are inspired by real existing languages, imaging how they would sound if they drifted for thousands of years. For all the songs on NieR Replicant, Okabe-san gave me a specific language on which to base each language.
Emi Evans: Meeting Okabe-san was through a long chain of friends of friends! I was at a friend's leaving party and happened to really like the music that the DJ was playing as it was a similar ambient electronic style to my duo freesscape. So I handed the DJ our demo album with my phone number scribbled on the back, hoping he'd enjoy our music and play us sometime.
His friend was by chance the secretary for Okabe-san so when Okabe-san asked if they knew any native English singers, my album was passed on. Although my voice wasn't what Okabe-san was looking for at the time, he remembered me and when the NieR project came up, he invited me to be the singer.
Singing in a made up language was Yoko Taro-san’s idea, he wanted to have vocals which sounded like a real language but had no actual meaning so as not to distract the player or clash with what the voice actors and actresses were saying.
All the lyrics are inspired by real existing languages, imaging how they would sound if they drifted for thousands of years. For all the songs on NieR Replicant, Okabe-san gave me a specific language on which to base each language.
RPG Site: In the original NieR, Kaine / Salvation - Escape is one of my favorite songs of all time. Not just in video games. This was actually where I decided to look into your other songs and projects you are involved in. Can you discuss how it was working on Kaine?
Emi Evans: With “Kaine” I was asked to create made up lyrics based on Gaelic. So I researched the language and listened to lots of YouTube videos of Gaelic songs and language lessons. When I'd grasped the specific sounds of Gaelic which made it feel unique, I wrote lyrics mimicking the sounds I was hearing.
I was told a bit about Kaine's feisty character in the studio, so when I recorded, I had this in mind and tried to sing with beauty and attitude!
Emi Evans: With “Kaine” I was asked to create made up lyrics based on Gaelic. So I researched the language and listened to lots of YouTube videos of Gaelic songs and language lessons. When I'd grasped the specific sounds of Gaelic which made it feel unique, I wrote lyrics mimicking the sounds I was hearing.
I was told a bit about Kaine's feisty character in the studio, so when I recorded, I had this in mind and tried to sing with beauty and attitude!
RPG Site: While the original NieR soundtrack will forever hold a special place in my heart. Your vocals in NieR Automata sound a bit more confident. Is that accurate? Can you cover how it felt when you found out about a new NieR game when Automata was in development.
Emi Evans: I agree that I was much more confident with the vocals in Automata. With NieR Replicant it was my very first time to sing in my own made up languages and I really didn't know how they'd be received. But thanks to all the positive feedback the soundtrack gained, when working on Automata I had no worries to hold me back. I was also more adventurous, deciding myself what language to base each song on as well as exploring languages which were totally unfamiliar to me, such as Bulgarian and Chamicuro.
Emi Evans: I agree that I was much more confident with the vocals in Automata. With NieR Replicant it was my very first time to sing in my own made up languages and I really didn't know how they'd be received. But thanks to all the positive feedback the soundtrack gained, when working on Automata I had no worries to hold me back. I was also more adventurous, deciding myself what language to base each song on as well as exploring languages which were totally unfamiliar to me, such as Bulgarian and Chamicuro.
RPG Site: If you were involved with a potential full new NieR project, how different would your approach be compared to past games?
Emi Evans: I think my approach would be exactly the same, the only difference being that I would try to create lyrics based on languages I'd never used before. It's always such fun and so inspiring for me to immerse myself in completely new sounds!
Emi Evans: I think my approach would be exactly the same, the only difference being that I would try to create lyrics based on languages I'd never used before. It's always such fun and so inspiring for me to immerse myself in completely new sounds!
RPG Site: Going back to the Chaos Language, do you approach your vocals differently in English and Japanese compared to Chaos Language?
Emi Evans: Completely differently! With Chaos language of course I'm so in my element and everything just flows but when writing in English, it takes much longer and I have to wait until inspiration hits me. So normally I ask my Dad, who is a natural poet, to help me out! He understands me so well so all I need to do is describe what I want to express and he nails it pretty much every time. I love collaborating like this with him!
With Japanese lyrics, although I can speak fluently, I am not a native speaker so I always turn to my close Japanese singer friend SAK (who I sing together with on a game called Shometsu Toshi) and she writes amazing Japanese lyrics for me! So you can see the process is very different for each language and even more so when I'm performing! I use a different part of my brain to memorize Japanese, English and Chaos. Funnily enough Chaos Language is the easiest for me to remember!
Emi Evans: Completely differently! With Chaos language of course I'm so in my element and everything just flows but when writing in English, it takes much longer and I have to wait until inspiration hits me. So normally I ask my Dad, who is a natural poet, to help me out! He understands me so well so all I need to do is describe what I want to express and he nails it pretty much every time. I love collaborating like this with him!
With Japanese lyrics, although I can speak fluently, I am not a native speaker so I always turn to my close Japanese singer friend SAK (who I sing together with on a game called Shometsu Toshi) and she writes amazing Japanese lyrics for me! So you can see the process is very different for each language and even more so when I'm performing! I use a different part of my brain to memorize Japanese, English and Chaos. Funnily enough Chaos Language is the easiest for me to remember!
RPG Site: Can you discuss how you approached some of your lesser known roles like Chicory and NIS' Labyrinth of Refrain and Galleria games.
Emi Evans: With Chicory, the composer Lena Raine presented me with the track "The Mountain Top" with the lyrics already there. Listening, I immediately fell in love with the beautiful, sometimes unexpected harmonies and so just sang what I felt with no direction at all.
With Labyrinth of Refrain and Galleria, the composer Tenpei san called me up and asked me to create Chaos Language and record vocals. I recorded at Tenpei san’s studio and he directed me the whole way through. There were many layers of rich harmonies and although it was really hard work concentrating for so long, I remember feeling so happy with how beautiful it all sounded at the end. And then Tenpei-san gave me an ice cream!
Emi Evans: With Chicory, the composer Lena Raine presented me with the track "The Mountain Top" with the lyrics already there. Listening, I immediately fell in love with the beautiful, sometimes unexpected harmonies and so just sang what I felt with no direction at all.
With Labyrinth of Refrain and Galleria, the composer Tenpei san called me up and asked me to create Chaos Language and record vocals. I recorded at Tenpei san’s studio and he directed me the whole way through. There were many layers of rich harmonies and although it was really hard work concentrating for so long, I remember feeling so happy with how beautiful it all sounded at the end. And then Tenpei-san gave me an ice cream!
RPG Site: How has it been working with Scarlet Moon for so many years? Also how does it feel with J'Nique Nicole having joined Scarlet Moon?
Emi Evans: It's been wonderful! Jayson Napolitano was a great friend to start off with and working together has been so fun and always busy! I especially love that I get to work with indies companies and up and coming composers. There is so much contagious enthusiasm and passion! I really wanted J'Nique to experience this too so am delighted that she's joined me on the roster!
Emi Evans: It's been wonderful! Jayson Napolitano was a great friend to start off with and working together has been so fun and always busy! I especially love that I get to work with indies companies and up and coming composers. There is so much contagious enthusiasm and passion! I really wanted J'Nique to experience this too so am delighted that she's joined me on the roster!
RPG Site: How do you like your coffee? Go into as much detail as possible.
Emi Evans: Freshly ground and hot with no sugar and a splash of cream, please! And I also need a bite of chocolate to make my coffee time complete!
Emi Evans: Freshly ground and hot with no sugar and a splash of cream, please! And I also need a bite of chocolate to make my coffee time complete!