OTOGIVANASHI is a four-piece band formed two decades ago. Us, their latest album released in June, is surprisingly full of sweet, poppy songs. On Nagame, released in 2018 and considered by Arima as the band’s best work, they reached a point in their musical vision where they wove together minimalistic production and quality melodies. OTOGIVANASHI introduced a psychedelic and neo-soul theme on Realize, which was digitally released in 2019 and physically released in 2020. But the band describes Realize as something akin to a compilation album. The shocking reason it’s not considered an original album will come to light in this interview, but there’s no doubt the fruition of sound and voice in Nagame and Realize created OTOGIVANASHI’s most openly pop album to date, Us. What’s more, they’re having a solo show at the Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall on August 13th, the biggest venue the band will play. The frontman, Kazuki Arima, told us the dramatic story that led OTOGIVANASHI to the present day.  

–You were then able to make, Nagame, which you all regard as the best album you’ve made.  

Arima: Yeah. One of the paths we should take became clear with Nagame. Louis Vuitton approached me when we were talking about what we should do. They never published the photos, but we’re so lucky we had the chance to make music that was opposite from what we had done in the past. Realize is the result of that.  

–Is there a possibility you would’ve experienced burnout had you not made Realize?

Arima: I would’ve. When the first song off of Nagame, “Homework,” was complete, I felt like we made what we wanted to for a long time. I looped the same chord progression and changed the soundscape within that. We reached the ultimate form of changing the soundscape with the guitar. The only thing left to do was to evolve our sound. It’s like how Radiohead made OK Computer, and when people expected them to make something similar again, they made Kid A. That’s what we did with Realize. I was elated about that.  

–You explained it perfectly.  

Arima: And then we made Us. Everything fell into place. Utamaru-san (of Rhymester) went on After 6 Junction (a TBS radio show) and said, “This album is by a rock band, but it doesn’t stay within that category. It’s appealing to someone like me too.” That touched me.  

–Which song drove the album-making process forward? 

Arima: The first song, “Falling.” I wanted it to sound hip-hoppish in how the melodies existed in loops. Also, I wanted to write lyrics that weren’t in your face but stayed with you for some reason. I intentionally didn’t want them to sound either masculine or feminine. I never really did that, but I wanted it to sound more neutral than before.   

–Did you want to combine the state of modern society with your artistry as a songwriter?  

Arima: Yes. We’re indeed becoming more of a gender-neutral society, but I always didn’t like it when people would say things like, “Men should listen to rock music.” That always made me feel alienated, and once covid hit, I started seeing news surrounding toxic masculinity. News stories about film directors sexually harassing people made me sick, and it made me realize that sort of thing was prevalent in my generation, as someone born in 1981. 

–Things like discrimination out in the open and the encouragement of violence.  

Arima: Yeah. I went to an all-boys school, so the vibe was: “Boys should be this way!” 

–Like unspoken rules about machismo; “You’re not a man if you don’t hit back.” 

Arima: Yes, yes, yes. I couldn’t fulfill such things as a man in that environment. I mean, I am straight and even got married. But I went through a divorce last year. 

–I didn’t know that.  

Arima: Yeah. When we got divorced, there was part of me that couldn’t “act like a man.” I wanted everyone to listen to our songs feeling like the protagonist because of what I went through. It’s a shock to think I started writing songs this way after turning 40 and confronting my inner battles. 

Aiming to make an album that people could listen to anytime 

–There have been many changes in the indie scene since you’ve been a part of it. There was a time when bands that were rough around the edges were considered indie, and there was another time when getting responses from an American audience was thought of as the height of indie music. Keywords like indie Tokyo and city pop took on a life of their own, which led to indie musicians drawing from Black music, contemporary jazz, hip hop, and various electronic music to channel their style of music. That’s where we are today. There are so many layers, but I feel like Us looks at previous trends in indie music from a pop perspective and responds to them.  

Arima: That makes me so happy. I agree. In the beginning, we were always thinking about how we looked because of what our peers were doing. We knew early on that punk fans wouldn’t like our music. Although we were like, “This is who we are, so we don’t care,” rock bands were popular then, so we thought we had to make songs in a particular style to perform with other bands. By the time we made Realize, that sort of thing didn’t matter anymore. It was like a weight was lifted off our shoulders. When we were thinking about what type of album we wanted Us to be, we wanted to make something anyone could listen to at any time and feel good, like Kenji Ozawa-san’s Life. I wanted to make albums like that moving forward. That way, we wouldn’t have to worry about trends, and our music could reach people. 

–That makes a lot of sense. 

Arima: I wanted to make an album we could listen to forever. 

—Us is a sweet, poppy album, but for residents in Tokyo, it can sound like different things. At times, the album could make people picture another world, one that’s on the opposite side like Stranger Things.  

Arima: Oh, I see. There’s a lot of blank space in the lyrics and sound. Do you know Licorice Pizza by Paul Thomas Anderson? 

–What a coincidence! I’m seeing it tonight (laughs).  

Arima: No way! I watched it and thought it was just like Us. It made me feel like, “If I make lovesongs by writing down what I genuinely feel, then people could project their feelings onto my songs and feel moved by them.” I’m glad the film made me feel that way. I’m sure you’d understand once you see it.

–It’s hard to say this the right way, but I’m impressed you were able to write love songs after going through a divorce. 

Arima: That might be because of how I can see the bigger picture in terms of myself. Same with not feeling manly enough, but I won’t change no matter how much I struggle. Our band’s at a good place right now because of other people. Technically, my bandmates are the “other people,” but I interact with them like they’re me. That’s why I get irritated and have arguments with them. But the fact that my bandmates tell me they want to be in a band with me gives me no room to bring myself down. That’s made things easier for me. When I thought about who I am as a person after the divorce, I realized I just happened to be a very feminine man. I wrote the lyrics because I was like, “I’m just going to do me!” 

–You could reach that state of mind because you continued playing with OTOGIVANASHI. 

Arima: Right. I’m glad I kept at it. I wouldn’t have discovered such things about myself without the band.  

Playing at the Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall, the biggest venue OTOGIVANASHI’s performed at thus far  

–You talked to me about how you got to where you are today in a lighthearted manner. You could’ve talked about what you’ve been through with a heavy tone, but you didn’t. That’s a charm of the band and you. 

Arima: I really could talk about everything seriously if I wanted to (laughs). But I make pop music, so it’s whatever.  

–I’d like to ask you about the band’s solo show at the Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall on August 13th. This is the biggest venue you’ll play at without other acts, right?  

Arima: Yes. I’m so scared because it’s the biggest venue. If possible, I’d like not to do it (laughs).  

–But winning the raffle to play at an outdoor venue is hard because of how competitive it is.  

Arima: Yeah. Last year, a live house we play at the most called Shindaita Fever asked us if we weren’t going to do something big for our 20th anniversary. But we’ve done things our way and had no intention of doing something celebratory. Then, Fever said, “Let’s apply to the raffle and do something together!” We did it for a year, and Fever ultimately won our slot for August 13th.  

–That’s the most substantial proof that you’re loved as a band. 

Arima: I feel the love. I’m so grateful for it. We wouldn’t have been able to play at an outdoor venue without the live house. We want to keep the mood on Us going and mark this as the start of the next decade. I want the audience to have fun in a carefree way; I don’t have a fixed idea about it. I hope the show reminds people of what music should be like.  

OTOGIVANASHI 
OTOGIVANASHI is a four-piece band comprised of Kazuki Arima (vocals, guitar), Kenta Ushio (guitar), Hirotaka Kazama (bass), and Keisuke Maekoshi (drums). The band was formed in December 2000. OTOGIVANASHI has released 11 albums until 2021. The band’s collaboration with director Yuki Yamato on “Cosmos” from their first album with Felicity, Culture Club (2015), and the film OTOGIVANASHI Mitai continues to create a devoted following. People in different fields haven’t stopped declaring their love for the band, and how they never stop pursuing new musical expressions even after the band’s 20th anniversary. OTOGIVANASHI released the long-awaited Us in June 2022. They’re playing a show titled “Our Vision” on August 13th at the Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall. They continue to make music based on the concept of “Mysterious, poppy rock n roll by a Japanese band.”
http://otogivanashi.com
Twitter：@otogivanashi
Instagram：@otogivanashi
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd4QzATsDnJqvwG9pmmX6NA

■OTOGIVANASHI  12th album『US』
Label : felicity / P-VINE
¥2,970 
Track List
1. FALLING
2. BITTERSWEET
3. DEAR
4. ROLLING
5. RINNE
6. VOICE
7. VIOLET
8. SCENE
9. VISION
10. ESPERS
https://p-vine.lnk.to/cvpf3d

■Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall＜OUR VISION＞
August 13, 2022
OPEN16:00／START17:00
¥6,600

Translation Lena Grace Suda
Photography Ko-ta Shouji
Edit Atsushi Takayama（TOKION）

The post Making Music OTOGIVANASHI Loves Regardless of Trends: an Interview with Kazuki Arima—Part II appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

OTOGIVANASHI is a four-piece band formed two decades ago. Us, their latest album released in June, is surprisingly full of sweet, poppy songs. On Nagame, released in 2018 and considered by Arima as the band’s best work, they reached a point in their musical vision where they wove together minimalistic production and quality melodies. OTOGIVANASHI introduced a psychedelic and neo-soul theme on Realize, which was digitally released in 2019 and physically released in 2020. But the band describes Realize as something akin to a compilation album. The shocking reason it’s not considered an original album will come to light in this interview, but there’s no doubt the fruition of sound and voice in Nagame and Realize created OTOGIVANASHI’s most openly pop album to date, Us. What’s more, they’re having a solo show at the Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall on August 13th, the biggest venue the band will play. The frontman, Kazuki Arima, told us the dramatic story that led OTOGIVANASHI to the present day.  

–I feel it’d be helpful if you could look back on Nagame, released in 2018, and Realize, digitally released in 2019 and physically released in 2020, before we start talking about the sweet and poppy Us.  

Kazuki Arima: Right. It’s hard to describe our band. I would make songs so it’d be difficult to pin us down, which is part of why we’re called OTOGIVANASHI (fairytale). Honestly, I’ve always had the idea for us to sound extremely poppy and easy to digest, yet hard to pin down in mind. I feel like we did everything possible as a rock band on Nagame.  

—You describe Nagame as a milestone in an interview you gave when you released the album.  

Arima: Yeah. In 2019, before covid, I got asked to model for Louis Vuitton. It was a request from Virgil Abloh (the late artistic director of Louis Vuitton Men’s), who passed away last year.  

–No way! You’re saying that Virgil made a personal request? 

Arima: Someone representing Virgil contacted me. I think what ended up happening was that they wanted to cast The OTOGIBANASHI’S, the rap crew, and looked them up only to find a photo of me (laughs).   

–What a wild story! 

Arima: I think they liked my Asian looks and contacted me to model for them. We did the shoot, but the photos got shelved.  

–Why is that? 

Arima: I don’t know. The photographer duo Inez & Vinoodh came to Japan to do the shoot. They did tell me I looked amazing when we were shooting on the streets of Golden Gai (laughs).  

–It’s like something out of a parallel universe.  

Arima: Truly. They also shot other artists and actors, but that whole photoshoot got shelved. Back when I thought they would use the photos, I talked to Felicity, the label we’re on, about how we should make an album as a sort of business card for people abroad since the Olympics were supposed to be held the year after. And so, we made Realize. But covid happened, the Olympics got postponed, and the photos got shelved.  

–I didn’t know about all that. You highlighted the psychedelic and neo-soul sound on Realize partially because you took your foreign listeners into account. 

Arima: Yeah. I love Portishead and Solange, so I wanted to make an album in that direction. My face is on the album cover for everyone to see because I wanted to present a cool-looking OTOGIVANASHI album for listeners abroad rather than our Japanese listeners. It deliberately looks like it’s by a solo artist. That was the concept, but the Louis Vuitton photos got shelved, so we were only left with a digital album. To produce Realize, I edited drum loops and all that.  

–The album was produced minimally, then.  

Arima: Yep. I manifested the sounds in my head with Realize. I knew it wasn’t a pop album right from the start, but I wanted to use the same production methods to make the following album super poppy. That’s how Us came to be. 

The miracle of making music with the same people for over two decades  

–You were able to make Us after going through so many unpredictable incidents. 

Arima: I felt I couldn’t talk about the Louis Vuitton incident until last year. And Virgil passed away the same year too. So many things happened. But I did what I had always wanted to do on Us, so I’m satisfied with it. I had always wanted to make an album in this vein, but part of me didn’t think it was possible because we’re a rock band. For the past 20-plus years, we spent more than half of the time making music that matched the band mates’ skills. I was basically in charge of making Realize, instructing them to play their instruments a certain way, but we all love how it turned out. Some of my bandmates said it’s our best work, which made me relieved. You know how people hunt for rare grooves or songs by Brazilian bands that sound so contemporary? I wanted the album to have that sort of mood.  

–The album has that “band” sound, but it could also work on the dance floor. 

Arima: Exactly. I wanted DJs to say, “Isn’t this a cool song? It’s actually by a band called OTOGIVANASHI” (laughs). I constantly thought about those sorts of things. It was so much fun making it. 

–You can probably communicate effectively with your bandmates today. 

Arima: I can. We might have the best communication we’ve ever had. We only talk about rhythm now. 

–As in, how to best streamline your sound? 

Arima: Yeah! In my view, foreign bands are good at making music because they work in the same direction, talk about the same things, and drink together. That is in itself one type of groove. We’ve been in this band for over 20 years, but we still go to cheap restaurants together, which is a positive thing.  

–Being in a band with the same people for over 20 years is a miracle in 2022.  

Arima: Right. Almost none of my peers have been in a band with the same people for this long.  

–Who are some of your peers? 

Arima: They’re not my peers, per se, but Ryohei Shima and Kenta Maeno, from the dresscodes, and I used to play at the U.F.O Club in Higashi Koenji.  

–Those are some colorful, photogenic characters.  

Arima: We’ve played live shows with them as their backup band in the past. That made me realize how strange of a band we are. Something is different about us.  

Self-managing the band from the beginning

–You released your first album, Sale!, in 2007 through UK Project, and then released albums through Rose Records, owned by Keiichi Sokabe, and Felicity. But you’ve managed yourselves from the start, yes?  

Arima: Yes. We’ve never had any management representing us. 

–Is that a deliberate choice?  

Arima: No. I want things to be less complicated and used to wonder why no one would approach us. Even with Felicity, we went to them and said, “Please release our album!” When they asked us how we planned to make it, we said, “We don’t want to make compromises, so we’ll pay for the rehearsal studio, but please cover the recording costs!” Many people told us we were a rare band because of that. I heard from signed bands that they don’t have to pay to rent studios to rehearse in. I was surprised to hear that at first. I used to look at them with envy.   

–What would you do if a management company approached you?  

Arima: I’d ask how much it costs to sign a contract (laughs). I’m getting older now, so I would talk to them properly. Before I would feel happy, I would react like, “Can we trust you?” 

–You don’t expect too much nowadays. 

Arima: I don’t (laughs).  

–You started as a band with a high affinity with Ging Nang Boyz during your UK Project days. I’m assuming you benefited from that, including playing live.  

Arima: We did. 

–Did you feel like you were going to climb the ladder? 

Arima: I vaguely thought we would, but we’re not Ging Nang Boyz, essentially. Many of our songs are sad, and we only make songs you could watch the sunset to (laughs). We don’t try to cheer our listeners up at all. Listeners that realized this started straying away from us. But we have loyal listeners too. A girl band in their 20s told us, “We’ve been listening to you since middle school, and we played music in hopes of playing with you one day!” It made me realize things like that could happen when you’ve been in a band for over 20 years.  

–You probably felt stressed by the discrepancy between what people wanted from you and what you felt was the essence of the band. 

Arima: I felt stressed for so long. It would’ve been fine had I released that stress outwardly, but I internalized it. My band and I used to argue and physically fight a lot. We were on the verge of breaking up when we approached Felicity. But I’m glad I got to apologize to my bandmates for projecting my anger at them; it wasn’t like I wanted to be that way on purpose. Writing songs became fun from that point onward.  

–What prevented the band from completely falling out? 

Arima: I wonder. We continued making weird songs no one had heard before, and we all loved playing them live. Our drummer [Keisuke Maekoshi] said to me the other day, “I don’t make music just because it’s become a habit. Arima, I still have so much fun being in the band.”  

–What a heartwarming story.  

Arima: I thought, “Whoa! I might have to buy him a drink” (laughs). 

OTOGIVANASHI
OTOGIVANASHI is a four-piece band comprised of Kazuki Arima (vocals, guitar), Kenta Ushio (guitar), Hirotaka Kazama (bass), and Keisuke Maekoshi (drums). The band was formed in December 2000. Otogivanashi has released 11 albums until 2021. The band’s collaboration with director Yuki Yamato on “Cosmos” from their first album with Felicity, Culture Club (2015), and the film Otogibanashi Mitai continues to create a devoted following. People in different fields haven’t stopped declaring their love for the band, and how they never stop pursuing new musical expressions even after the band’s 20th anniversary. Otogivanashi released the long-awaited Us in June 2022. They’re playing a show titled “Our Vision” on August 13th at the Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall. They continue to make music based on the concept of “Mysterious, poppy rock n roll by a Japanese band.”
http://otogivanashi.com
Twitter：@otogivanashi
Instagram：@otogivanashi
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd4QzATsDnJqvwG9pmmX6NA

■OTOGIVANASHI 12th album『US』
Label : felicity / P-VINE
¥2,970 
Track List
1. FALLING
2. BITTERSWEET
3. DEAR
4. ROLLING
5. RINNE
6. VOICE
7. VIOLET
8. SCENE
9. VISION
10. ESPERS
https://p-vine.lnk.to/cvpf3d

■Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall＜OUR VISION＞
August 13, 2022
OPEN16:00／START17:00
¥6,600

Translation Lena Grace Suda
Photography Ko-ta Shouji
Edit Atsushi Takayama（TOKION）

The post OTOGIVANASHI is in the Best Place Right Now: an Interview with Kazuki Arima—Part I  appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

MIRRORLIAR FILMS is a filmmaking project for short films launched by Takayuki Yamada, Shinnosuke Abe, and Chikara Ito to discover and nurture filmmakers. 36 directors from a wide range of genres made films under the theme of “change.” Endangered Species by Nozaki-kun is one of the 36 films and depicts a world of vampires, zombies, and humans with gentleness and a hint of malice. We shed light on the production of this work and how he shaped his worldview.

Hirotaka Nozaki, aka Nozaki-kun, spends his days making films while visiting zoos and aquariums as his daily routines. He completed his first theatrically released short film as part of the omnibus filmmaking project undertaken by MIRRORLIAR FILMS. The concept behind his 15-minute film, Endangered Species, is to look at the minority in the majority group, a perspective on children, a love of zombies, vampires, and creatures, and a depiction of a zoo, which evokes Nozaki’s originality as an artist and his fetishism. In this interview, we zeroed in on the background of Endangered Species and got a closer look at the real Nozaki-kun, who is still a bit of a mystery.

Five years after making the talked-about short film that was viewed 160,000 times, Nozaki transitioned to a filmmaker from an officer worker

──It was in 2017 when you directed the short film Summer break starring Masaki Sugata, which was released on YouTube, right?

Hirotaka Nozaki: Exactly. I made the film with Tama-chan (Shota Tamada, the designer of TTT MSW, a fashion brand) and Dutch-kun (Kento Yamada, a filmmaker). I was still an office worker at that time.

── After that film, I bet people who are close to you sensed that you would someday make a film for theatrical release. Did you always have the desire to make a film?

Nozaki: Yes. It has been four or five years since I quit my job as an office worker, and I work as a freelancer helping others with drama scripts and movie plots. I even wrote scripts and plots for feature films with the idea of directing them myself, but movies are not that easy to make. The main problem is money.

── First of all, the big obstacle is the budget, right?

Nozaki: I had been working on directing my film for the past several years, but due to the pandemic and other factors, it had been delayed. It was around that time that I received an offer to make this short film.

──Is that how the film came about?

Nozaki: Although it is a short film, it ended up being my first theatrically-released film. I received the offer in the summer of 2020. The release of this short film was also delayed by a few months due to the pandemic. The other day, we finally screened the completed film and I was pleased to see it on a big screen in a theater. Even though it is a 15-minute film, it is nice to be able to watch it in a space like a movie theatre where the audience can’t escape. If you watch it on a computer, you can skip scenes. It is also precious to have the film released as part of an omnibus filmmaking project. I was grateful for the opportunity.

The process of making Endangered Species, in which zombies and humans coexist

──I think that Endangered Species is a 15-minute film that encapsulates your distinctive style of filmmaking. The main concept focuses on the minority existing within the majority. The film also depicts the way you see the children, your love of zombies, vampires, and creatures, and the description of the zoo is unique. When you were writing the plot, were you conscious of using it as a way to present your artistic style and taste?

Nozaki: That’s certainly the case. First of all, when I was offered to do this project, I created about five or six plots, taking into consideration the stipulated budget of 1,000,000 yen. So other stories were completely different from Endangered Species. Some of the plots were difficult to film within budget, and some of the stories unfolded in a room and could be filmed within budget.

── Do you mean a drama unfolding behind closed doors?

Nozaki: Yes. With this budget, I thought there would be dramas in closed quarters to limit the number of characters. However, I thought it would be better to have a variation in the plot to attract the audience. At one point, I decided to put the budget aside and make a film filled with elements I like. Netflix’s Stranger Things and teenage dramas are very popular right now, and I loved Gakko no Kaidan (School Ghost Stories) since I was a child, so I decided to make a story with a child as the main character and my favorite elements. I think I put in a bit too many of my favorite elements. In the end, with the support of many people through crowdfunding, I was able to complete the project.

───The way the animals in the zoo are featured, and how the film is constructed using certain images, I see that this is a film that you could only make. 

Nozaki: I’m glad to hear that. Even though the film is 15 minutes long, there is a minute and a half of animal shots. 15 seconds would just be an explanation of the situation, so I wanted to make it long enough to make the viewer feel a sense of discomfort. When I was working with the editors to adjust the length of the film, I had to cut some parts to keep the length of the film under 15 minutes, but I made sure not to cut the animal scenes.

──Was the title and theme of Endangered Species decided when you were working on the plot?

Nozaki: Yes. There are many stories about a world where non-humans become the majority over humans, such as The Last Man on Earth, I Am Legend and Daybreakers. But this time I wanted to tell a story about a world where neither zombies nor vampires attack humans, and the humans are treated specially as a minority—receiving preferential treatment. There are elements of horror in the film, but it’s not scary even for a second. 

──I think there is a mysterious sense of fear in the air all the way through.

Nozaki: Did you sense that, too?.

──I sensed it from the dodgeball scene at the beginning of the film. Through the main character, the boy, I wondered if this is the kind of discomfort that the royal family feels among ordinary people.

Nozaki: That’s right. It is not bullying, which is negative. It’s rather a sense of isolation where the other side treats you in a special way, but doesn’t seem to understand your feelings at all. No one is a total jerk, but I wanted to depict a protagonist who is in agony in the midst of it. If he was being blatantly bullied, I would say that would be the worst, but that is not the case for him, which makes it even more uncomfortable for him.

───How was it directing the children and teaching them how to act? I imagine it must have been both difficult and interesting in its own way.

Nozaki: Children can turn off their switch to break their concentration. I guess we can say the same about grown-ups. When the switch is turned off, they start playing. After a few hours, they usually call their mothers. As I learned about their behaviors, it was fun to direct the children.

Awareness as a minority based on real-life childhood experiences.

──Did you always have a sense of alienation caused by this kind of uncomfortable kindness that you depicted in the film?

Nozaki: I think I have always felt this way, even subconsciously. The film reflects my thoughts from the time I was in elementary school. I am not a member of the Royal Family, so I have never felt a sense of isolation, of being treated specially in a group, but I think the fear of group society is born when you are in elementary school. For example, when we were all making noise together, the teacher got angry at us and made us stand in front of everyone and said, “You interfered with class, so apologize to us!” In this instance, the peers who had been making noise with me also started to say, “Apologize! Apologize!” I witnessed how the ones who had been making the noise with me suddenly changed their attitude.

──I totally get that.

Nozaki: I have had the experience of feeling the fear and danger of such a group mentality since I was a child, so I may have always had a twisted feeling toward the majority.

──In other words, you have always been aware that you are on the minority side?

Nozaki: For example, when I was asked about films that I liked, it’s not that I was met with comments such as, “You’re watching that kind of film? That’s creepy.” No one was mean to me, but my taste is particular. I have lived my life as a good-natured person, but that may be partly because I have become a good-natured person as a result of a series of bad experiences.

──You are a good-natured person, or rather, you are very social.

Nozaki: I like people. I love my friends. But there are times when I feel detached in a group atmosphere.

──You suddenly feel serious?

Nozaki: I can get animated when I am watching sports or having a good time with friends, but there are times when I suddenly become calm and still.

──I have the impression that you are always observing people. Even when you are with friends, I think you enjoy the moment and observe them as if you are staring at animals in a zoo. You are observing the differences of each individual and how they behave.

Nozaki: It is true that since I started going to the zoo more often, I have come to love all living creatures as a whole, and that there are many different kinds of people, just like animals. Even if someone pisses me off, I try to imagine that person’s childhood. When I do that, I don’t get so angry anymore. If I think, “This person became this kind of person because of these things that happened to him or her,” I don’t feel that I have to deny the person at all. I try not to make a big deal, but I do get pissed off at other people. But now that I’ve grown up, I am not as inclined to get “pissed off” as I used to be. But it still happens sometimes.

Attracted by the instinctive behavior of living creatures

──So, frequenting the zoo became a daily routine for you, and that was a big turning point?

Nozaki: It was huge. I started going to the zoo frequently after graduating from university when I was still in a daze after my job search didn’t go well. At first, I spent time there not only observing animals but also thinking about myself. At that time, I was escaping to the zoo every day, so my friends were worried about me. Looking back, I think the time when I was looking for a job in my fourth year of college was probably the time when I was trying to figure out my environment thoroughly and objectively. I put aside what I liked and felt like pandering to those around me for the time being. But as it turned out, it didn’t work out, and it wasn’t a fun time for me either. Now I am not making any money, but I am happier as a person.

──For example, I feel that many of your video works, including the music video you directed for ODD Foot Works “KAMISAMA,” depict chewing or inhaling something through the mouth. Is this some kind of your fetishism?

Nozaki: That’s right. I wasn’t really aware of it myself, but when I look at the films I have directed so far, I see that I usually include scenes of eating or actors putting something in their mouths.

──I think that the act of chewing or putting something in a mouth is directly connected to the act of living, but I wonder if you are also attracted to the instinctive appearance of living creatures.

Nozaki: Any living creature would die if it did not eat, and no matter what their ideology, they all look the same when they are eating or sleeping. Maybe that’s why I like it. It’s like the moment when everyone becomes a plain living creature.

──That is when we are the most vulnerable.

Nozaki: I guess I like looking at people munching their food.

──You mean when they munch, munch…..

Nozaki: The music video for “KAMISAMA” also has a scene where you kill a person and inhale human memories (tapioca) from the corpse’s head. But I actually don’t like real blood. When I see it, it makes me sick. I feel anemic. But I like to see blood stains and other artificially created sloppy things in the fictional world of movies. In this video, I made the color of the blood a little darker than fresh blood.

The experience of watching horror films with my mother

──Can we say that the color of the blood is the thematic color in your films? I think you have been exposed to a variety of films since you were very young. What was your primary experience with movies?

Nozaki: I’m more of a movie buff now, but my mother used to watch horror movies at home. My relatives also tell me, “You have been watching live-action horror movies since you were 2 or 3 years old.”

───There is a general implicit rule not to show horror movies to young children, but I guess it was different in the household you grew up?

Nozaki: I wonder why that was the case. I was never told, “You are a child, so you are not allowed to watch this kind of thing.” I watched Child’s Play and Friday the 13th when I was in nursery school or first grade. Horror movies were gradually being taken off the air on the terrestrial wave because of the criticism of horror movies due to the effects of actual incidents, but when I was in elementary school, movies such as Friday the 13th were broadcast on the terrestrial wave, although some of the cruel scenes were cut out. When I talked to the elementary school students during this shoot, they all said they watched Squid Game on Netflix. I think little kids also like stories where people die and things that are a little scary. Also, I still remember that the director’s cut version of The Exorcist was released in 2000. I was in the 5th grade at the time, and we went to see it in the theater at the end of the year when it was snowing. I was really scared of the scene where the girl comes down the stairs backward. I was so traumatized by it that I couldn’t climb the stairs in my house anymore. I really liked watching horror movies and being scared.

──So you were exposed to various cultures through movies?

Nozaki: Exactly. Most of my introduction to music was through movies. I became an avid fan of Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, and Rob Zombie in junior high school because they were often played in horror movies. I also got into Elliott Smith because of Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park, and I started to listen to The Rolling Stones after watching Full Metal Jacket. …… I also learned about David Bowie’s famous songs through the movie. It was also through movies that I became friends with Reiji-kun (Okamoto Reiji of OKAMOTO’S). At one point, we went to three movies a day. I made most of my friends through movies.

──And then you go to the zoo with the people you have become friends with?

Nozaki: Yes. The good thing about the zoo is that everyone can enjoy themselves even if they do things on their own. When you meet someone in a normal setting, you have to be careful, but when you are at the zoo, you can act freely.

──And do you also have this sense that you are spending time together?

Nozaki: Yes, I think so. I really enjoy that feeling.

──What is your vision as a filmmaker?

Nozaki: I would like to start preparing for a feature film soon. At first, I was writing a feature film that is not a horror film at all, in which no one really dies. Of course, I would like to make a film like that. However this time I want to make a horror film that includes my favorite elements. I want to write scary stories with children as the main characters, like Gakko no Kaidan (School Ghost Stories). I would also like to make a film in which there is a lot of blood. In that sense, Endangered Species brought me back to my roots and made me want to pursue what I love. However, to be honest, I had wanted to make a debut with my first theatrical film in which no one dies.

Hirotaka Nozaki
Born in 1988, Nozaki is a filmmaker. After graduating from college, he worked for a company that handled licensing. Concurrently he appeared on a radio show with Hiroto Komoto and on a TV show as a friend of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. In 2017, he was featured in a campaign for WEGO. He designed the artwork and band merch for Wednesday’s Campanella’s album “UMA” and shot the video for ODD Foot Works’ single “KAMISAMA”. His short film Summer break, starring Masaki Sugata was viewed more than 120,000 times and became a hit.

Edit Noriko Wada
Photography Yuki Aizawa
Translation Fumiko.M

The post The World of Hirotaka Nozaki (aka Nozaki-kun) Portrayed in the Short Film Endangered Species appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

I wrote music about my life and that became this album

──Considering your music career up to this point, the fact that this is your first album is very moving.

Ryohu: Actually, if the concept of a “first album” didn’t exist, maybe I wouldn’t have made an album like this. I think it would’ve been very natural to keep doing what I had been, but this year, I turned 30. Looking back at how I started making music in middle school, and made music with crews like ZUTTOZULETTELLZ and BANKROLL from when I was 19, I think this was the right time to make a first album. Before I had even turned 20, I’d have Hama [Hama Okamoto/OKAMOTO’S] and Reiji [Reiji Okamoto/OKAMOTO’S] take me to Shimokitazawa GARAGE [A music venue that could be called Ryohu’s home ground], and from there, I was jamming with all kinds of musicians. That’s how I met Ryosuke [Ryosuke Nagaoka/PETROLZ] and Koi-chan [Yusuke Koide/Base Ball Bear], and I hung out with so many older musicians. I think I was always like a little brother to the older guys.

──That’s true.

Ryohu: But even back then, I had thoughts, although vague, of myself at 30. Like how I wanted to become an independent man, rather than everyone’s little brother. Through my 20s, I thought it’d be fine to just go with the flow, but when I turned 30, I felt like that would be a bit uncool.

──I think in your 20s, your approach to music was to go with the flow while also valuing the present moment and your relationships.

Ryohu: Right, I was just going with the flow. Actually, that was a conscious choice. That’s the way I lived my life, and in my late 20s I got married, and in August of this year, my child was born.

──In regards to songs from your album, “External” and “You” both express your feelings about becoming a dad.

Ryohu: I’d recorded “External” and “You” by December of last year. I found out I was going to have a kid while making this album, so I thought that should be reflected in the lyrics. I didn’t know if I was going to have a boy or a girl, but I wrote “You.”

──In that sense, this album is like a documentary about everything you’ve been through, isn’t it?

Ryohu: That’s true. It became a historical album that contains my memories, and that’s how I wanted to the album to be. I’ve made albums before, but this time, I was more conscious than ever of leaving my mark on the world.

──It became a monumental work.

Ryohu: Yeah. Also, there will probably be people who want to listen because it’s technically a first album. But I wanted to also include the people who already listen to my work, and show everyone the passion and significance behind my music.

──If you’d made this album one or two years earlier, it definitely wouldn’t have turned out like this.

Ryohu: I definitely don’t think it would have. I think it was really huge that the words I wanted to say and can say have changed. Although on the flip side, there may be things I can’t say anymore, too.

──But I think the simple words hold more power now.

Ryohu: Maybe that’s the charm of being in your 30s? (laughs)

──I think it’s the persuasiveness.

Ryohu: That’s true. Maybe it’s the persuasiveness of the words I couldn’t say in my twenties. So, it’s not that I wanted to make this kind of music. It’s more like I wrote music about my life and that became this album.

Mixing Tomita’s pop sense with my style nearly reaches the limit of how pop I can get

──For sure. The album has songs with a trap-like beat, but it’s not a trap album, and it’s an album by a rapper who knows his old school hip hop, but it’s not a boom bap album. I think this album really shows your unique music and hip hop style. I think this is due in large part to the fact that you worked with Keiichi Tomita on many of the songs.

Ryohu: That was really huge. There were a lot of songs about me on this album, so there weren’t many songs that were directed at everyone else. “The Moment,” which I made with Tomita, is a large-scale song, but the lyrics themselves are basically about things that are very close to me. But on the other hand, I think “The Moment” allowed me to dig deeper within myself. “The Moment” is an extremely positive song. The singular concept behind “The Moment,” of living in the moment, is related to all the other songs, and I guess it’s also the goal of the other songs. It’s like a deep and detailed depiction of that concept.

──When did you make “The Moment?”

Ryohu: Um, if I’m speaking in chronological order, this album was really planned to be released earlier. I think it was supposed to be released before summer. But then the coronavirus happened, and I wasn’t really able to move forward mentally. For a while, I knew I had to make new music, but I just couldn’t.

──Your song ”No Matter What” expresses that kind of frustration, doesn’t it?

Ryohu: “No Matter What” is the only song I wrote about confronting the coronavirus pandemic. But other than that, I wanted to keep the rest of the songs positive, with absolutely nothing about the coronavirus. Also, the mastering for “The Moment” was finished by last December.

──Oh, it was done that long ago?

Ryohu: Yeah. But from around March, we weren’t able to play live shows because of the coronavirus, right? So, with that in mind, I decided to rework the release plan. When we were rethinking the music video for “The Moment,” I was talking to the director, Margt from PERIMETRON, and the producer Shu Sasaki, about how even though this song isn’t about coronavirus, we can send out a positive message about living through these times. I didn’t want to send out too direct of a message; I just wanted to create a music video that made everyone think about living in today’s world. This was a year where a lot of issues besides the coronavirus came up, wasn’t it?

──Like race and gender issues as well.

Ryohu: Right. And all of these aren’t issues with a simple solution. But I think that’s exactly why as individuals, we have to think about them. I wanted to include that sentiment in the music video, while at the same time making something that showed that if you want to live honestly, you’ll have these moments of worry like, “I wonder what my friend is doing now” or “I’m in a fight with my friend, what should I do?” It doesn’t matter if the problems are big or small. Thanks to the fact that we were able to create a music video that expresses those feelings, I think “The Moment” gained more depth.

──I think it’s also that “The Moment” had a lot of potential as a song. It was created before coronavirus, but it’s become a song you can still sing after the coronavirus.

Ryohu: That’s true. Tomita was a big help in that regard.

──In the US, combining rap and gospel choir is recognized as a specific style, as we see with the artists like Chance The Rapper and Kanye West. However, it was unexpected for you to incorporate a choir. But I heard this song and thought, “Wow, he’s been hiding this trick up his sleeve.”

Ryohu: If I’d made it by myself, I couldn’t have made this kind of beat. I’d never made anything resembling a positive song in the first place. I started out like, “What is positive, even?” (laughs)

──Up until now, you probably wouldn’t have liked it if someone told you a song was positive.

Ryohu: That’s true. I’m the type of person who is like, “Shut up!” when someone tells me to cheer up or do my best. Like, “I’m already on it without you having to tell me!” (laughs) But now, I think the best thing you can do is live life to the fullest, in the present.

──I think the beat in “The Moment” makes it easier to express that, too.

Ryohu: I think so. When you’re working on an album, it’s standard to make a few songs that you think could potentially become singles. This time, I thought those shouldn’t be my beats. Of course, I had already made some beats. But I really didn’t want people to think that the first step I was taking with this album was to use my beats, because I didn’t want people to think that I was doing the same thing I always do. Ultimately, I wanted my first step to be like a door to anywhere, so I could enjoy the process of opening that door, bursting out of it, and finishing the album with that energy. Tomita is on the same label [SPEEDSTAR RECORDS] as me, and I was also a featured artist on four Tomita Lab songs two years ago [Tomita Lab’s October 2018 album “Mentality, Physicality, Computer”], including the title song “M-P-C,” and it was really fun. I’ve done countless features up until now, but I think that was the most exciting one in recent years.

──Do you mean that in a musical sense?

Ryohu: Yeah. And also, I like his warm personality.

──Also, I really feel like Tomita has a lot of respect for hip hop. I sensed that from how he uses the choir in “The Moment,” too.

Ryohu: Yeah, he listens to a lot of hip hop. When Tomita used to DJ, he would put on all kinds of hip hop music.

──I think he’s someone who really shows unparalleled wisdom as a pop maestro, because including his understanding of jazz and fusion, he’s fundamentally a real alternative musician.

Ryohu: Yeah. I think mixing his pop sense with my style nearly reaches the limit of how pop I can get. I think “The Moment” is right at the limit of what I can do as a solo artist within what I consider the Japanese pop world. Maybe that limit will change a few years down the road, but I think that’s where my current limit is.

──I see. That makes a lot of sense.

Ryohu: I had a meeting with Tomita around last October or November, and we were talking about what kind of song would be good. There was one choir song we agreed on. I like beats that incorporate choirs, but I’d never tried making one, so I told Tomita-san that I didn’t want to just copy something. I’m not a regular churchgoer, and I’m not well-versed in the cultural background behind gospel. So I thought it would be tacky for me as a rapper and musician if I just jumped on the bandwagon. So that’s why as a Japanese rapper, the way I wanted to incorporate choir—I wanted it to be different from Chance and Kanye’s approach, with a song that worked for Japanese rap, so I’m glad it turned out that way. I was nervous at first, and thought that I would feature a singer who could actually sing, but Tomita quelled a lot of my worries as we worked on it, and it turned out this way.

──That’s the work of a producer.

Ryohu: I think so. I wrote the lyrics to the hook at the studio, and when I asked, “Is it okay to keep the lyrics this simple?” he told me, “Actually, I think you won’t be able to write this later.” I think he’s right in that if I wrote it at home, I’d overthink it and write something hard to understand. Once again, I thought Tomita was really amazing.

A rapper and a musician. I think I’m both of those things.

──I think “The Moment” makes introspective songs like “Heartstrings” or boastful songs come alive.  

Ryohu: That makes me happy. “Heartstrings” is the only song that memorializes the way I used to be—how I thought that ambiguity was everything. (laughs)

──The last song, “Rose Life,” made me be like “Wow, Ryohu is singing!” It’s simultaneously charming and touching. (laughs)

Ryohu: That song was a love song, so I figured I should properly sing. I’ve had the beat for a while, but I couldn’t write the lyrics for some time because I was too shy.

── Is the person reading the letter in “Tatan’s Rhapsody” your grandma?

Ryohu: That’s my wife’s grandma. Just before that, I’d found an actual letter my wife’s grandma wrote me, and when I read it, I felt like her grandma had written what I wanted to say. Like how to approach music.  

──It’s like it talks about the essence of music in a simple way. 

Ryohu: Exactly. The content of this letter relates back to the way I work, and rather than explain it myself, I thought it would be nice if what her grandma had said to me was conveyed to the people listening to this album. So I asked her to read it aloud to me. She was really happy.

──I know I’m repeating myself, but this album is really about life.

Ryohu: Yeah, it’s about life. And it goes on from here.

──I think it’s not so much about the major release, but the fact that you turned 30 and were able to show where you are in life and your music. And on top of that, with Tomita’s help, you were able to do something fresh and pop, which I think is very valuable.

Ryohu: I feel like my wings have officially sprouted.

──By the way, what were the reactions from KANDYTOWN members?

Ryohu: They said, “You’re a musician.” I get told all the time that while I’m a rapper, I don’t really fit the image of a pure rapper. So they told me, “That’s probably why you’ll be able to continue as a musician for a long time.”

──I think from a certain time, you started to pursue a career not only as a rapper, but also a musician.

Ryohu: That’s true. Maybe I chose that path because I simply like music.

──KANDYTOWN’s beats feel like they were made by a musician.

Ryohu: Maybe being a rapper and a musician is a big key idea. Normally, rappers might be included in the category of musicians, but in my mind, they’re independent of each other. I think I’m both of those things.

──It might be too soon to talk about this, but after this album, do you have a vision for 2021?

Ryohu: I’m avoiding thinking about that on purpose. I want to have everyone listen to this album and then find out what they thought and felt about it. Maybe the feeling that comes after the satisfaction of releasing my first album will lead to my next album. If there’s anything I could say right now, it’s that although there are more people who were a part of this album than ever before, I think there could be even more people involved. I’d like to try making albums with even more kinds of people. This time, I put importance on singing myself, but I think next time, it’d be nice to have some songs with a featured artist singing the hook. I think I’d like to make something with people I hang out with, the people who I’m close with but have surprisingly never made a song with, or people I’ve jammed with on stage but never made a song with. That’s about it, but I worked hard in 2020 to make this album.

Ryohu
Ryohu is a beatmaker/rapper who is part of the hip-hop crew KANDYTOWN. He started his music career in his teens, and was part of ZUTTOZULETELLZ with OKAMOTO’S members. In 2016, he released his first album with KANDYTOWN, the self-titled “KANDYTOWN.” In 2017, he began seriously working on his solo career, releasing the EP “Blur” (2017) and the mixtape “Ten Twenty” (2018). He has also been featured on songs with artists such as Base Ball Bear, Suchmos, Petrolz, OKATAMOTO’S, and AIMYON.
Twitter：@ryohu_tokyo
Instagram：@ryohu_tokyo
https://www.ryohu.com/

Photography Kentaro Oshio

Translation Aya Apton

The post On his debut solo album, Ryohu recounts his journey and thinks about the future appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.