“Everyone helped create LiSA together with me,” the artist tells Apple Music about LACE UP, her seventh album. Marking the 15th anniversary of her debut, the album’s title reflects her desire to bring together the many songs she’s released in the three-plus years since late 2022’s LANDER, and to “weave them together through LiSA”. The album opens with “OPENiNG -LACE UP-”, a track inspired by her routine of tightening her bootlaces before taking the stage, and traces the path of her career so far while powerfully pointing towards what lies ahead. LACE UP’s production team brings together long-time collaborators including Tomoya Tabuchi, Shota Horie, Ryo Eguchi and Yuki Kajiura. “They all have a wonderfully twisted streak as creators, and they’re incredibly sincere,” LiSA says. “I love their total commitment to giving the world what it wants, while also putting 100 per cent of their own twist into it.” LiSA adds that she shares that approach herself, responding directly to what is asked of her while never letting go of the quirks that make her who she is. She attributes this to the fact that her fans have grown up with her, “which makes me feel like I’ve gained more companions”. Rather than viewing the concept of “LiSA” as belonging to her alone, she sees her artistic persona as a presence shaped by the collaborators and fans who’ve walked this path with her. That’s why in “Patch Walk” she sings: “I’m proud of how far we've come.” Below, LiSA goes into more detail about a number of songs on the album. “OPENiNG -LACE UP-” “The opening track weaves together songs from throughout my career, beginning with ‘Believe in Myself’, the first track from my solo debut. I put my heart into this track in the hope that it would let everyone feel the LiSA we’ve created together, and capture some of the moments I’ve shared with everyone I’ve met along the way. “When Ryo Eguchi suggested linking my past songs to celebrate the start of my 15th anniversary, I thought he was a genius. I think this track will give long-time fans a real sense of the journey over the past 15 years, while also offering those who have just discovered me something that might surprise them as they look back on my earlier work.” “DECOTORA15” “This track feels like a spiritual home; it made me want to try doing the things I love wholeheartedly again, so that I could move forward with both feet firmly on the ground. It’s a ska-punk track with rap on the second verse and features genre-blending elements. I wanted to express my feelings in a straightforward, fun way that was a match for my 15th anniversary, so I used plenty of wordplay. This track is sprinkled with nostalgic phrases—for example, there are lines that answer ‘best day, best way’—and it’s filled with little touches that give you a feeling for the past 15 years. For the music video, which we shot together with 300 fans, we used a dekotora [brightly decorated truck] that lit up the scene like stage lighting, creating the feeling of being at a live performance.” “AzukiArai (feat. MAISONdes & Hidefumi Kenmochi)” “Whenever I have the opportunity to sing in other countries, it’s always such a surprise to hear everyone singing along in Japanese. When I mentioned to Hidefumi Kenmochi that I wanted to use Japanese culture to get the whole world dancing, he suggested that we try using yokai, which are spirits from Japanese folklore. He chose to focus on the charming ‘AzukiArai’, and he also worked in my love of sweet red bean paste—which is made from azuki beans. I hope this track will inspire people all over the world to try the traditional Bon dance!” “Abayo” “I’m singing about the way a defiant woman chooses to live. The repeated ‘ne’ at the end wasn’t actually supposed to be in the original melody—I just went ahead and added it myself when we were recording. I’ve worked with Minmin [aka Yasuha Kominami], who wrote the track, for a long time, so I figured she’d let me get away with it. When I tried it, she said, ‘That’s brilliant.’” “HOMEdayo” “Yoshiki Mizuno suggested that we try writing the lyrics first. It was my first time attempting something like that, but he encouraged me to approach it as if I were writing a letter to my fans. So I wrote lyrics that felt like a love letter written in the middle of the night and gave them to him. He then set them to music as they were, even though the phrasing didn't fit the melody at all, and the track was completed just like that—so it’s a little embarrassing, to be honest. “For me, the place I think of as ‘home’ is still the stage. Seeing everyone enjoying themselves right in front of me gives me a real sense of reassurance—it’s the feeling of having come home.” “Shine in the Cruel Night” “I feel like Yuki Kajiura and I are almost bound by fate, so there was a real sense of reassurance in deciding to face things together. I thought it would be better to add a darker tone to this chorus, so I was getting my voice ready for that, but Yuki said, ‘Your usual voice is lovely. I just want you to sing it with a voice that keeps moving forward—that's who LiSA is.’ That made me feel like she was accepting me for who I am.” “ReawakeR (feat. Felix of Stray Kids)” “I try not to push ahead on my own when I’m working on a collaborative track. I hand the baton to my partner and imagine how they’ll sing it, and we decide on a direction for the song together, which gives me a real sense of support as we move forward. This track with Felix was exactly like that.” “Patch Walk” “For the past 15 years, I’ve kept my feet on the ground and moved forward one step at a time. I’ve treated each step as a badge of honour—what I call not a ‘patchwork’, but a ‘patch walk’. The LiSA I am today exists because of everyone I’ve met along the way, and I’ve made it this far over these 15 years because I kept showing up every day without letting myself slack off. I really hope that feeling comes through.”