A very interesting interview about the album, the live, and what she wants to do in the future
Can you tell us your thoughts about this ep, for which you wrote the lyrics, and how it felt to be involved in the song production?
- First, the title, DAYBREAK, means dawn. It's a new dawn/morning for me as I am re-starting my music career after my hiatus, and also a sign of respect for my old group, Morning Musume.
When I decided to make new songs, I thought it would be meaningless if I didn't sing and perform the way I am now that I am older. Otherwise people could just watch old videos. That principle applies both to the music production itself, and the music genre I would choose. As for lyrics, I have been very careful to communicate in my own words.
- Reading the lyrics, I thought they were very personal. If you have some favorite lyrics in the ep, please tell us how you felt when you wrote them.
- Usually, in my columns, I try to make my points clear, but also not to hurt others with my comments. While I am honest, I re-write them many times to avoid any misunderstandings. However, since the lyrics are an expression of myself, I didn't have as much of a filter. I wrote down what came to mind, but then I began to feel anxious and thought "is it a good idea to publish this?" That's what I thought about all the songs.
It is difficult to write lyrics due to all the limitations that come with matching them to the music, so I was wondering if I should be so honest. One of my favorites is the b melody of "Find me out" where I sing about how "I want you to know me better, but I'm afraid of you finding out what's inside me". This is a sentence that represents my personality very well. When I was writing the lyrics for this song, I wanted to bring out what's inside me, but I realized that I'm really not good at doing that, and that's how I came up with that line.
- This is the first time you have been so involved in the music making process, right?
- It is, yes. The first time.
- You worked with hit-makers such as Akira Sunset-san, and TAKAROT-san. How did you work with them? Did you ask them to write music and lyrics?
- The approach differed depending on the song. For example, in "LAZER", I talked to TAKAROT (music), and Kami Kaoru (lyrics) about both the lyrics and the music from the start, until we agreed on what I wanted to convey and what music would fit the song. In "Find me out", the lyrics came first. I wrote the lyrics first, and then asked Gento Miyano-san to write the music.
On the other hand, for "Simply me" and "Butai" the music was written first by Akira Sunset and APAZZI. I talked to them about my feelings for dancing and the stage, and the lyrics were added afterwards. "Puzzle" came from a competition, and I chose it as I thought "Ah, this is good...". It really was a completely different process for each song.
DAYBREAK: It starts before dawn, and ends when the sun rises
- DAYBREAK starts with "Find me out", which is about finding you, and continues with BUTAI, which is about standing on the stage. It seems that the tracks form a story, and the songs become brighter, and the emotions "bigger". Was this a conscious decision on your part?
- You are right, the album starts before dawn, and the last song is about the sun rising. That was the image I had in mind. The order however was decided after listening to them again, and it wasn't a factor when writing lyrics. I think subconsciously I was thinking about what words to use or how they matched with each other, but when I was writing, I was only thinking about the song itself, not how it worked with the other songs.
We didn't really pick a genre. I just told my co-creators what I wanted to sing and how, and they took that into consideration and wrote the music, and when we re-arranged them, the album turned out great (laughs).
- You gave it a lot of thought (laughs).
- But I'm glad that we did. It's true that the songs form a story, and listeners get that. By having the concept of the "dawn" in mind, the songs become progressively more positive, right?
After 5 and a half years, her way of singing has changed in her solo debut
- You sing very differently here than you did before. Was that a conscious change?
- I've always listened to different genres of music, so I've always trained myself to sing different types of songs. I think I was able to do that in this album, and also to make the studio versions of the songs sound like live versions.
I'm the type of person whose singing is affected by my emotions, and I used to be frustrated when my live singing sounded very different than my singing in the studio versions of songs. I gave this a lot of thought during this project, and I ended up working it out through trial and error. I think the difference this time was that I was able to make the recorded version sound more like my usual voice.
- I think what you learned at Hello! Project helped you in this trial and error process, and in making music. What are some of the things you learned from that period that you can apply to your work now?
- That it's all about the rhythm and the groove. BUTAI, and "Simply me" have great rhythm, and I am glad people have noticed that.
- I think it's been a while since you last recorded music. How was it?
- It's been about 6 years, and at first I had a hard time finding the right distance from the microphone. Ah... I had a hard time with that in the past too, so it was fun to remember that. It was a lot of work, but the difference with the Morning Musume period was that I had more of a voice on the process, and could express my opinions more firmly.
I used to have to wait for director-san to give the OK, but this time I was able to re-record until I was satisfied. And when I was feeling good I would just say "Let's record now!" Being more proactive also made me realize how big my role in the project was.
- You wrote lyrics for all the songs. Are you interested in writing music too, in the future?
- I wouldn't say that I am, but I never studied music theory, and I regret that. That's why I am trying to learn music now on my own. I don't know if I will eventually be able to write music, but I think I can definitely benefit from having a better understanding of music. I wonder if I ever will be able to write music (laughs).
- You probably don't want to compromise in terms of quality, but I think fans would be interested in listening to your own songs. I've heard that when you can compose your own music, the ways in which you can express yourself, expand dramatically.
- Is that so? I think it's great to be able to do everything yourself, and say this is 100% my creation. On the other hand, I like how artistic expression can be expanded by working with other artists, and by discovering new ways in which my words can be expressed in worlds that are not my own. I will take a step by step approach, and maybe one day I will try music composition. Maybe when I feel like making something of my own (laughs).
- By the way, has Mizuki Fukumura told you what she thinks of the album (her generation mate at Morning Musume)?
- My generation mates messaged me saying "Congratulations!" I wonder if they're listening to it? I would like to hear their thoughts!
I wanted to be my real self* at the return live concert
*Riho uses the expression kokoro o suppin, which would translate to heart with no make up
- About the live on August 9: can you tell us how you were involved and what your input was?
- The order of the songs, the choreography, and the idea to have a band were my suggestions. Since this was my first live performance after my comeback, I wanted to do it with "my heart not wearing make up", so I thought it would be good to have a simple band. Flashy productions are fun, but maybe another time. This time, I wanted to be myself, and to keep it as simple as possible.
A band is more flexible than an orchestra, and even a few days before the performance, we could make some adjustments, such as extending the intro or an interlude. This also made it possible to direct, by doing things such as adding more dance parts, or a band solo. It was a good experience for me to have the opportunity to come up with such ideas. I also had to plan when to do the MC parts.
- So you also had to think about the MC parts.
- It's been a while since I stood on a stage and talked to the audience, and if I don't think about it in advance, I will be overwhelmed and never stop you know. I accomplished so much with Morning Musume, and to be able to re-start is such a privilege.
- Finally, after the release of DAYBREAK and your live performance, please tell us, how do you feel you have grown? And what would you like to do in the future?
- In the past, I used to look at songs from the outside. Now, I am more aware of how much I can be a part of a song. I think that's a good change for me, and another thing is that now I have my own opinions on how to present a song, and what elements to incorporate in it, and I can give my opinions more firmly.
I used to be a good kid who would say "Yes, I understood!" I think that was because I was a member of a group, and also because I didn't want to cause disruptions. This has changed a lot, and while I do listen to others' opinions, I am now able to make suggestions and say "but I would like to do this myself". Being able to express my opinions instead of keeping them to myself, is a big step for me.
- What about what you would like to work on?
- I would like to work with various artists. At the moment, the people around me have been figuring that out, and introducing me to creators I can work with, but in the future I would like to do that myself and find artists to work with. I would also like to do some unexpected collaborations, and by doing that, expand my range as an artist even more.
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