“Haaa, you’ve improved beyond recognition.”
As we finished recording the drums and bass and returned to the control room, Hichika-san greeted us with a voice full of admiration.
“It’s completely different from when I heard the pre-pro, and it’s changed again since that live performance.”
“I’m glad to hear that...!”
On the other hand, Sako and I were completely out of breath.
While listening to the metronome, Sako and I had to maintain eye contact and communication to synchronize our timing down to a fraction of a millisecond. On top of that, we had to perform our parts without a single mistake.
Adding in the factor of trying not to let the tension make the performance too stiff, we had completely exhausted our concentration.
“If I were told to record one more time, I might not be able to do it...”
Sako leaned back against the sofa, looking utterly spent.
“I think you’ll be fine. It was really great! Right, Yuri?”
“Yeah! Sakohasu and Konuma, nice job!”
“Thank goodness...”
“Ahaha, well, let’s give it a listen for now.”
Hichika-san pressed the play button.
“Yeah, this should be good.”
“It’s fine with me too.”
After listening to the sound source, Sako and I gave the OK with a sigh of relief.
“Understood. Well then, next is the acoustic guitar... Are you ready?”
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
Ichikawa stood up abruptly.
...Ichikawa’s recording session went so smoothly it made me wonder what all my struggling was for. The acoustic guitar, the electric guitar, and the vocals—everything.
As expected, it wasn't exactly one take for everything, but even so, we proceeded with what could be called the bare minimum of re-recordings, to the point where even Hichika-san was caught off guard.
When it came to the vocals, hearing 'Omamori' without performing it myself, the lyrics soaked deep into my heart once again, and my eyes grew moist.
It was one of those moments where I felt the cruelty of Ichikawa’s talent for the umpteenth time.
Regarding the idea of using a boombox proposed by Tsubame-chan, Hichika-san didn’t just handle it without a single complaint, but she even said:
“Did Tsubame-san think of this? It has a really great retro feel! Maybe I should buy a boombox too...”
She praised it with high spirits.
“No, no, it was nothing, ehehe...”
Tsubame-chan, who was being praised, was acting all giddy, which was quite a sight in its own way.
And so, the recording ended smoothly, and the mixing followed suit just as smoothly.
Then, a few hours later, in our hands was...
“This is the master CD...!”
The five of us, the members of amane and Tsubame-chan, held up the shining disc to look at it.
“Holding it up won't make the music play, though, ahaha. It’s so fresh and nice to see.”
Hichika-san smiled warmly.
Having finished cleaning up the instruments along with the mixing, we realized the studio session time was nearly up and stood to leave.
“Alright, I’ll send the audio files to everyone as soon as I get home!”
If she did that, would I be able to listen to it on the way back? I was worried since there was no Wi-Fi, but today, I felt like I wouldn't be able to hold back from using my mobile data.
“Alright, let’s get home as fast as possible!”
Just as we stepped out of the studio with high spirits, Kanno-san was standing there with her arms crossed.
“Before that, let’s talk about Lock-on!”
That’s right! I forgot!