Ayase

Ayase (born April 4, 1994) is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as a vocaloid producer and songwriter for Yoasobi, a musical duo composed of himself and vocalist Ikura. He was also a vocalist of the rock band Davinci until its disbandment in 2020.

Early life Ayase was born on April 4, 1994, in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. When he was around 3 or 4 years old, he received his first piano lessons from his grandmother, who was a music teacher. When he started elementary school, he received professional piano lessons at a music school. In his later grade school years, he also learned how to play acoustic guitar after he was given an acoustic guitar as a Christmas present. The first song he learned to play on guitar was originally written by Ringo Sheena.

His early musical influences were Exile, Sukima Switch, Kobukuro, Radwimps, Aiko, Post Malone, Yumi Matsutoya, Mariya Takeuchi, and Toshinobu Kubota. He also stated that he was influenced by several rock and metal bands, such as Maximum the Hormone, Coldrain, Crossfaith, SiM, Slipknot and Bring Me the Horizon before he found the band. His music genre influences include '80s and '90s music, K-pop, J-pop, and folk music. Eventually, the band announced their disbandment two years later in July 2020.

2018–2022: Vocaloid scene and Yoasobi

During Davinci's hiatus, Ayase started making music using the Vocaloid software voicebank Hatsune Miku during his stay at the hospital. He released his first song, "Sentensei Assault Girl", via video-sharing website YouTube and Niconico on December 24, 2018. Following this, he continued to self-publish several songs, including "Last Resort" in April 2019, which was his first song to gain popularity. Eventually, Ayase released his debut extended play Ghost City Tokyo, recorded by Hatsune Miku vocals, on November 17, 2019.

Around the time "Last Resort" became popular, in mid 2019, Ayase received an offer from Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Yohei Yashiro and Shuya Yamamoto, to collaborate on a project to produce songs inspired by short stories published on creative writing social media Monogatary.com. He found Ikura on Instagram, where she covered the song, and later checked her YouTube channel, and contacted her directly to persuade her to form the duo, called Yoasobi.

In 2020, Ayase wrote and produced the song "Saikai", performed by singers Lisa and Uru, to promote Sony noise-cancelling headphones. His second EP Mikunoyoasobi was released exclusively on CD to Tower Records Japan on January 6, 2021. The EP contains cover versions by Hatsune Miku of seven tracks from Yoasobi's debut EP The Book, including "Yoru ni Kakeru", which previously appeared on Ghost City Tokyo. Ayase's self-cover of two tracks from Ghost City Tokyo, "Yoru Naderu Menō" and "Yūrei Tōkyō", were released to streaming platforms on September 8, 2021, after previously being published on YouTube and Niconico during 2019 to 2020. He collaborated with Creepy Nuts and Lilas Ikuta on the single "Baka Majime", which featured on All Night Nippon 55th-anniversary stage drama Ano Yoru o Oboe Teru.

2022–present: Non-Vocaloid music and Dialogue

Ayase released his first non-Vocaloid single, "Hōwa", alongside a self-cover of "Cinema", on September 30, 2022. In 2023, he recorded two anime opening themes: "Shock!" for Buddy Daddies, and "Hiten" with for the 2023 edition of Rurouni Kenshin. Ayase and Vocaloid producers Syudou, Surii, and Tsumiki collaborated for the EP Ryūgūjō, as Dreamers; Ayase wrote the song "Kira Kira Kira". It was released exclusively at the Creators Market of Hatsune Miku: Magical Mirai 2023 festival in Osaka on August 11. In 2024, Ayase wrote and performed the song "From Now!", which was also co-composed and arranged by Yasutaka Nakata, and was released on September 6. It was used for limited event quests and commercials for the mobile game Monster Hunter Now. He was in charge of writing and producing the theme song for the 2024 medical film Doctor-X: The Movie, titled "Episode X", which was performed by Ado.

Ayase released his third EP, Dialogue, the first album outside the Vocaloid scene, on May 27, 2026. It was preceded by the lead single, "Urusa", a week earlier.

Personal life

Ayase has several tattoos, including the one that peeks out from his neck. He has been dating Nina Ai, who works on some of Yoasobi's cover artworks and music videos, including "Yoru ni Kakeru".

Discography

Extended plays + List of extended plays, with selected details, chart positions and sales Title Details Peak positions Sales JPN JPNCmb. JPNHot Ghost City Tokyo Released: November 17, 2019 Label: Self-release Formats: CD, DL, streaming — — — Mikunoyoasobi Released: January 6, 2021 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, DL, streaming 15 24 18 JPN: 3,916 Dialogue Released: May 27, 2026 Label: Echoes, Sony Japan Formats: DL, streaming — — — JPN: 333 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released, certifications and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album JPN JPNCmb. JPNHot "Suima" 2021 — — — "Yoru Naderu Menō" — 24 25 RIAJ: Platinum Ghost City Tokyo "Yūrei Tōkyō" — — "Baka Majime" 2022 — 50 38 RIAJ: Platinum Ensemble Play "Hōwa" — — — "Cinema" — — 73 "Kira Kira Kira" — — — Ryūgūjō "From Now!" 2024 — — — "Urusa" 2026 — — — Dialogue "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Non-commercial releases

Guest appearances + List of non-single guest appearances, showing title, year released and album name Title Year Album "Tachiiri Kinshi" 2022 Mafumafu Tribute Album – Tensei "Hero" 2023 Magical Mirai 2023: Official Album

Songwriting and production credits

All song credits are adapted from the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers's database unless stated otherwise.

+List of songs written by Ayase for other artists, showing year released, artist name, and name of the album Song Year Artist Album Lyricist Composer Arranger "Evergreen" 2019 Ryushen "Inochi ga Naite Itanda" 2020 The Binary Jiu "Wanderer" Satomi "Saikai" Lisa, Uru "Sen'ya Ichiya" Hey! Say! JUMP Fab!: Music Speaks "Shout!" TTJ "Snow Dance" 2021 Genin wa Jibun ni Aru Multiverse "Never Ending" Shoose Velvet Night "Shinkai" Nana Mori "Yuke" Lisa Lander "Alter Garden" Regret (Arisa Kōri) Caligula 2 Original Soundtrack "Cinema" Vivid Bad Squad "Rad Dogs" / "Cinema" "Introduction" 2022 Poppin'Party "Poppin'Dream" "Kaimaku Zenoparade" Varis Kakusei Historia "Wonder Light" Idolish7 "Michizure" 2023 Hoshimachi Suisei Specter "Datsu Karitekita Neko Shōkōgun" Uru Contrast "Michishirube" Masayuki Suzuki Soul Navigation "Four-Man Cell" Top 4 (Kiyo, Retort, Ushizawa, Gatchman) "Episode X" 2024 Ado Ado's Best Adobum

Awards and nominations +Name of the award ceremony, year presented, award category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee(s)/work(s) Result Japan Record Awards 2023 Best Composition Award "Idol" JASRAC Awards 2023 Silver Prize "Yoru ni Kakeru" 2024 Gold Prize "Idol" 2025 Music Awards Japan 2025 Song of the Year for Creators