This new song is a "stirring" song that gets your heart racing.
. You made your debut in 2019 and have released 4 EPs in a year. I guess that's a rather fast pace, but are you planning to get off to a good start?
I hadn't made any particular decision, but when I realized that I had finished a bunch of songs, I decided to release them. I felt like, "I can finally output!" . and I was able to release a lot of them. . When that stock runs out, it may settle down, or it may go on forever. For now, it looks like I'm not going to stay still at all.
. Your new song "checkmate," which is your first release this year, has a cutting edge to it. . And it is the theme song for "Zettai Zetsumei Russian Roulette" (Bet on Grui: The Movie).
When I was asked to write the theme song, I read the script for this film and watched the previous film again, while working from-scratch.
How was the movie?
. I have always been a fan of "Gaket Kegurui". Fans of the manga are often worried about live-action adaptations of manga, but I had no worries about "Kaket Kegurui" from the beginning. However, I had no worries about "Gaket Kegurui-" from the beginning of the drama, and on the contrary, it was very interesting to see how well it was reproduced! The actors' performances were dynamic and over-the-top, just like in the original work. The actors' performances were dynamic and over-the-top, just like the original, which matched the worldview of the work and brought out the vividness of the human beings, which was an interesting trigger.
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What theme did you set for the theme song when you created it?
Each of the characters was fascinating, so I wanted to make a song that could be a character song for any of them. They are all crazy in a good way, so I wrote the song with the keyword "crazy" in mind. I felt as if I was one of the characters in the song.
What color did you feel from "checkmate", by the way?
It was blue. When I watched "Gakkegurui" many, many times and thought about what would happen if I entered that school, what would happen if I was forced to gamble, even to the point of death, I was sure that I would "get excited" like Yumeko (the main character). Right? I think I would be like Yumeko (the main character, Yumeko the Plague-Eater)! I think I would be like Yumeko (the main character) and would be the most lively person in my life, wanting to shine at the end of my life (laughs). (Laughs.) What I see there is the hottest part of the flame, the blue. The image of my blood boiling.
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You have a strong stance on lyrics as well.
I tried to be aggressive.
You don't speak English here, do you?
Yes, voilá! . (French for "How's it going? It means, "Hey! in French, but doesn't it make you angry when you hear it? (laugh). (laughs). I wanted the song to be a bit cheeky and provocative. I wanted to include that nuance, and I also tried to give the song a different feel than the Japanese and English words.
. Overall, I felt that the mix of Japanese and English, as well as the rhymes, emphasized the sense of language. . Although there is a large percentage of English, it is easy to listen to.
I wrote the lyrics with the idea of making it sound seamless, jumping between English and Japanese, so I'm glad you feel that way.
The word choice is also exquisite. Like "Tonde tante mitai idioto dakara" and the beginning of the chorus, "I want to perform it again".
I like the Japanese lyrics of "checkmate" , too. . the words came to me only because I watched "Kaket Kegurui". . I think I was able to discover my unknown sense of words by being involved in this work.
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Lastly, what are your plans for this year?
It's already the end of April. ...... Another month to go, and we will be halfway through the year , which is fast. I've been working on various things behind the scenes, and thankfully, after releasing this song, I will be going on tour for the first time. Anyway, that's what I'm looking forward to the most this year . I have wanted to do this for a long time, but last year it was cancelled and I was frustrated, so I have a lot to showcase! I will be touring from Hokkaido to Kyushu, so I just want to meet all my fans, whether they are coming to my show for the first time or have been supporting me for a long time. So I hope you are looking forward to it too!
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