It’s a couple of weeks late, but hey, this blog is probably infamous for its lack of scheduling organisation by now. Welcome to the first edition of Fandom Friday!
For those who don’t know, last month I introduced a new segment here on A Girl & Her Anime called Fandom Friday – a chance for you to spread the word about talented people in the anime, gaming or K-Pop communities! For the first edition, I’m going to be introducing you to an anime music producer!
Meet AJ. Based in the UK, he produces English covers of well-known anime openings that haven’t already been covered on YouTube. Living with dyspraxia, AJ produces these covers for fun and not for financial gain, comparing himself to One Punch Man‘s Saitama – a guy who is just a hero for fun.
I was first introduced to AJ when his cover of Even…if (the OP to Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory) had just been released. Collaborating with singer Caroline Gordon, amongst many others, it was clear to me that AJ knows how to mix not only in the musical sense, but also in the community sense. He brought light to many people’s talents and this is also seen his the comment section, with the audience stating that the translation he’s used for his production being better than the translation used by the original singer. If that isn’t a compliment, I don’t know what is!
AJ’s latest release is Hibana – the ending of Golden Kamuy. This time collaborating with ShiroNeko, it’s certainly nice to see that the English translation used here doesn’t stray too much from the original. With this cover, not only is AJ bringing together the anime community once again, but he’s even bringing in anime fans across the world. Too many times I’ve seen similar channels stick to using Western, native English-speaking singers, but AJ has given attention to ShiroNeko – a singer from Hungary. Kudos to you, AJ for including the European fans! Not only that, but this cover brought my attention to the original song too, which I am thankful for as that song is a bop.
So, this Fandom Friday goes to AJ. Sure, he’s a music producer, but he’s much more than that. He brings together vocalists, bands, cosplayers, photographers and translators all with a mutual interest in anime and that is what the community is all about – sharing interests and helping one another.
Check AJ’s work out by visiting the links below!
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